The Best Portable Gaming Platform

Author: Michael Crider / Source: reviewgeek.com

In times past, if you wanted a portable game machine, you just bought the latest incarnation of the Game Boy. The environment has gotten more complex lately, even if Nintendo is still the clear leader.

Best Overall Portable Gaming Platform: Nintendo Switch

The Big N has held a deathgrip (sorry) on the portable gaming market for decades, and its latest entry is something of a killing blow to its only true competition, Sony.

This is a bit of a cheat, since the Switch is both Nintendo’s successor to its Wii U home gaming platform and a powerful upgrade to the 3DS series. But even given the high starting price for a portable system, the Switch has so much going for it that it’s impossible to recommend anything else above it in terms of sheer quality and versatility.

In addition to Nintendo’s ever-strong lineup of first party games, the Switch has full-power ports of console games like DOOM, Fortnite, and Rocket League. Plus, indie developers are flocking to its more curated online store for portable versions of games that previously appeared on Steam, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network.

All that’s on top of the Switch’s big standout feature, its seamless transition from a portable system to a home console via its included dock and break-away Joy-Con controllers. Nintendo’s insistence on the Switch as a portable socialization machine seems a bit gimmicky at best, but there’s no denying the appeal in grabbing your tablet-sized gaming system from your TV and throwing it in your bag without missing a beat. Between this and support from both Nintendo itself and third party developers and publishers, the Switch won’t be dethroned as the king of portable gaming anytime soon.

Best Budget Portable Gaming Platform: NEW Nintendo 2DS XL

The Switch gets the headlines, but there’s plenty of life left in Nintendo’s 3DS hardware, especially if you’re buying for kids or you don’t want to spend a lot of dough. The lineup of 3DS machines is a bit confusing if you haven’t looked at it in a while, so here’s a quick breakdown: