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The Nintendo Switch is one of the most successful consoles of all time, and much of that is thanks to Nintendo’s slick hybrid approach to console design, letting you play handheld or on a TV with ease, but the Switch is far from the first handheld to offer this option!
5PSP
Sony’sPlayStation Portablewas the company’s first foray into proper handhelds—if you don’t count the PocketStation, which I don’t. I sold my PlayStation 2 and bought a PSP at launch, since as a working adult I just didn’t have the time to plonk down in front of a home console anymore.
While the first generation of PSP didn’t offer you a way to play on a TV, the 2000 and 3000 series had a video out function that only required an AV cable to work. So you could play your PSP while out and about, and then plug in a cable when you get home to enjoy your game on a bigger screen.
4Sega Nomad
The Sega Nomad was essentially aSega Genesiscrammed into a handheld form factor. Its screen was terrible and tiny, it ate disposable batteries as if they were free, and the Nintendo Game Boy completely ate the Nomad’s lunch, breakfast, and dinner.
However,since this was essentially a Genesis it meant that you could simply buy a Nomad instead of a Genesis and have the option to play your games portably if you wanted. The idea was solid, but the execution was limited by the technology of its time. Still, this is clearly a case of Genesis does want Nintendidn’t at the time.
3The PSOne (Sort Of)
Yes, this might seem like a stretch, but Sony’s slim redesign of theoriginal PlayStationdid offer a unique way to play your PS1 games on the go. There were both official and third-party screen attachments for the PSOne, which meant you could take it with you and play wherever you could plug it in, such as a car’s lighter socket or, of course, a normal outlet. However, what really makes this count is the fact that third-party companies like Mad Catz madebattery packsfor the PSOne, turning it into a true portable system.
2NVIDIA Shield Portable
The NVIDIA Shield Portable was a 2013 handheld console made by the GPU giant, pushing the envelope of what a portable system could do. A decade or so ago as of this writing, people were marveling at the ability to playHalf-Life 2andPortalon a handheld.
While it didn’t have a TV-out function at launch, with a later Android update it was possible to connect the Shield Portable to an HD TV and use a Bluetooth controller with it. It was effectively a slightly less elegant take on the Switch concept. What’s even more interesting is that the Shield is the Switch’s direct ancestor, since inside the Nintendo Switch is exactly the same NVIDIA Tegra technology that made the Shield possible in the first place.
1The Dingoo A320 (Seriously)
I’m not going to pretend that I even knew the Dingoo existed before reading up for this article, but it turns out that all the way back in 2009 this little emulation-focused console was absolutely stuffed to the gills with forward-looking features.
It’s a tiny machine with a 2.8-inch 320x240 screen, perfect for retro games and, before we disqualify it for being a console focused on emulation, the Dingoo A320 had original games likeNose BreakerandDingoo Snake. Sounds gripping, I know.
The system included emulators for the GBA, NES, Neo Geo, SNES, CPS-1, CPS-2, and Genesis. Plus there were a heap of community-created emulators on top of that. There were even two other versions known as the A330 and A380.
It all sounds pretty good actually, and the Dingoo is basically a spiritual forerunner to modern emulator handhelds by companies like Anbernic, but it’s on this list for having a TV out function in 2009, which meant coming home, hooking up your Dingoo (haha) and continuing your game of Nose Breaker.
In the world of science and technology, it’s been proven time and time again that being first doesn’t mean being successful. Look at Apple, as a prime example. In the case of the Nintendo Switch, the idea of a hybrid consoles was far from original, but the details of the execution are what make it the historic success it is today.
