Do you remember the N-Gage? We definitely do. The cell phone-on-hand device was the property of all the rich nerds in schools around the world, but we could never convince our parents that it was a good idea to merge our communication device with the crazy Gaming Boy. all our time spent on it. Joke is to you, parents: now everyone has a phone that plays games.
We feel a little justified in finding out that the N-Gage is only 17th on The Guardian’s list of the top 20 handheld consoles of all time, far below the Nintendo Switch (which of course we all own), the DS (which we … probably everyone owns?) and the 3DS (which we must everyone owns, as it is the best.
The rankings, written by former Guardian Games editor Keith Stuart (a well-known Dreamcast fan), put the Nintendo Switch in pole position, although it is only the fourth best-selling handheld of all time, behind the PSP, the DS and the Game Boy Advance.
The DS comes in just behind the Switch, and the 3DS comes third, with the Game Boy Advance and SP in fourth place, and the Game Boy in fifth place. Not up to 6th place can a non-Nintendo computer look: the PlayStation Vita.
The Guardian’s argument for putting the Nintendo Switch in the first place is simple: the merger of the handheld and home console combines the largest parts of all its consoles into one.
‘The Switch is essentially the culmination of everything Nintendo has been trying to do with games since 1989. […] The Switch is more than a piece of technology – sometimes it feels like a friend. ‘
Do you agree, or do you think the 3DS has been robbed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.