Do you actually play handheld consoles in public places?

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by TigerClaw

I went to a trip to Cuba once and took my 3DS. But i never really got around to playing it. Just wasn't in a gaming mood. But I took my tablet and was playing the android version of Duck Tales Remastered. Never got around to finishing it though.

Yeah, similar story here. I went to Madeira Island and, despite bringing my 3DS along with me, I think I've only played on it about 35 minutes in total in the 3-4 days I was there.

[TigerClaw]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Yeah, similar story here. I went to Madeira Island and, despite bringing my 3DS along with me, I think I've only played on it about 35 minutes in total in the 3-4 days I was there.

I guess its just that I was bored and just wanted to chill the whole time. Its difficult to find someone to play video games with. So you end up not being in a gaming mode the whole time. Playing video games alone kinda sucks.

[oldmanwinters]

I do pull out my Nintendo handhelds in various places if I know I'm going to be sitting around a while waiting for something, but I admit I do feel a little juvenile doing it, so at some point I'll probably start reading a book and then maybe alternate back and forth.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

I do pull out my Nintendo handhelds in various places if I know I'm going to be sitting around a while waiting for something, but I admit I do feel a little juvenile doing it, so at some point I'll probably start reading a book and then maybe alternate back and forth.

I once saw a guy playing Street Fighter at an electronics store who must have been about 45-50 years old. Not that common to see that, but older gamers are out there.

As for Nintendo handhelds, never saw anyone that old playing it in public, but I think I'd find it surprising yet kinda cool.

[neatoman]

Not that often but only because it's easier to browse the internet on the phone.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by Prowler

The Switch is quite pricey. I'm not sure I'd even take it with me if I were to fly somewhere again. I'd take the 3DS tho. But tbh, like I've said already, the last time I travelled by air plane to stay at a hotel for 4 days I barely played on my 3DS at all. I'd get up early in the morning, explore the island and only go back to my hotel past dinner time to sleep. I basically only slept, showered and had breakfast at the hotel I stayed at. I was there ot enjoy the vacation with the small group I went with.

Originally Posted by TigerClaw

I went to a trip to Cuba once and took my 3DS. But i never really got around to playing it. Just wasn't in a gaming mood. But I took my tablet and was playing the android version of Duck Tales Remastered. Never got around to finishing it though.

Well it wasn't just my Switch I took with me. I took my 3DS with me as well. I worked on Mega Man X and Earthbound, but I didn't get very far. They were both just hard, although I've finished Mega Man X once before when playing it on GameCube through the Mega Man X Collection.

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

I do pull out my Nintendo handhelds in various places if I know I'm going to be sitting around a while waiting for something, but I admit I do feel a little juvenile doing it, so at some point I'll probably start reading a book and then maybe alternate back and forth.

Originally Posted by Prowler

I once saw a guy playing Street Fighter at an electronics store who must have been about 45-50 years old. Not that common to see that, but older gamers are out there.

As for Nintendo handhelds, never saw anyone that old playing it in public, but I think I'd find it surprising yet kinda cool.

It's sad to feel juvenile playing a 3DS in public, but I'll admit that perhaps it does feel weird doing that sort of thing now that I'll be 40 next year. I mentioned the guy who felt self-conscious playing video games in the presence of women in particular, but I remember seeing a girl who might have been in her early 20s or mid-20s playing a GBA some years ago.

Now this is back in the summer of 1990. When I was going to Florida, I saw a man at the airport who looked to be in his late 40s or early 50s playing a Game Boy and he looked like he was on a business trip since he was wearing a suit. He must have been playing Tetris.

When I brought up the discussion about feeling embarrassed playing video games in public, this one guy gave a response that I thought was interesting.

I feel more ashamed when dumb people killing other people and blaming it on video games for the crime; then playing handheld video games out in public.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

Well it wasn't just my Switch I took with me. I took my 3DS with me as well. I worked on Mega Man X and Earthbound, but I didn't get very far. They were both just hard, although I've finished Mega Man X once before when playing it on GameCube through the Mega Man X Collection.





It's sad to feel juvenile playing a 3DS in public, but I'll admit that perhaps it does feel weird doing that sort of thing now that I'll be 40 next year. I mentioned the guy who felt self-conscious playing video games in the presence of women in particular, but I remember seeing a girl who might have been in her early 20s or mid-20s playing a GBA some years ago.

Now this is back in the summer of 1990. When I was going to Florida, I saw a man at the airport who looked to be in his late 40s or early 50s playing a Game Boy and he looked like he was on a business trip since he was wearing a suit. He must have been playing Tetris.

When I brought up the discussion about feeling embarrassed playing video games in public, this one guy gave a response that I thought was interesting.

I feel more ashamed when dumb people killing other people and blaming it on video games for the crime; then playing handheld video games out in public.

I bought Mega Man X last summer on the 3DS eShop. beaten it about 10 times or close to it already. Got nearly 30 hours in it. Am yet to beat X2 and X3 though. The latter stages of those games are harder.

I'm starting to think I'm better at MM than the average person since a lot of people I see online complain about the games being very hard and never being able to beat any of them or just one or tow at best. So far I've beaten:

Mega Man 1: I don't even know HOW
Mega man 2: Countless times
Mega Man 3: Beat it countless times on the GC AC version but never on the 3DS MM Legacy Version. For some reason the game is a lot tougher than I had remembered it.
Mega Man 5: A couple of times.
Mega Man X: Several times.


Played but never beat MM4, MM6, MMX2 and MMX3. Also, I've played a bit of Mega man 7 and Mega Man 8 way back in 2007, but couldn't go very far in either, so I don't really count those.

In this football forum I post on, there is a massive video game thread where two users once claimed their dads(both around 70-72 years old) are big gamers and have been since the Atari days or so. I thought that was kinda cool but also kind of mindblowing. I've NEVER met anyone that old that loves games.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by Prowler

I bought Mega Man X last summer on the 3DS eShop. beaten it about 10 times or close to it already. Got nearly 30 hours in it. Am yet to beat X2 and X3 though. The latter stages of those games are harder.

I'm starting to think I'm better at MM than the average person since a lot of people I see online complain about the games being very hard and never being able to beat any of them or just one or tow at best. So far I've beaten:

Mega Man 1: I don't even know HOW
Mega man 2: Countless times
Mega Man 3: Beat it countless times on the GC AC version but never on the 3DS MM Legacy Version. For some reason the game is a lot tougher than I had remembered it.
Mega Man 5: A couple of times.
Mega Man X: Several times.


Played but never beat MM4, MM6, MMX2 and MMX3. Also, I've played a bit of Mega man 7 and Mega Man 8 way back in 2007, but couldn't go very far in either, so I don't really count those.

In this football forum I post on, there is a massive video game thread where two users once claimed their dads(both around 70-72 years old) are big gamers and have been since the Atari days or so. I thought that was kinda cool but also kind of mindblowing. I've NEVER met anyone that old that loves games.

Well I might want to get Mega Man and Mega Man X Legacy Collections to be able to play the games on those sets that weren't able to be played on the go before.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

Well I might want to get Mega Man and Mega Man X Legacy Collections to be able to play the games on those sets that weren't able to be played on the go before.

I only grew up with MM2. Didn't get a chance to try the other 7 of the original series until I got the Anniversary Collection for the GameCube in Christmas 2007.

I played MMX for the 1st time in 2017 and loved it.

[Donatello19]

I've really been wanting to take advantage of the Switch's portability, but I'm just so darn paranoid I'll drop it/it'll get badly scratched, etc. I have used it on long car rides/road trips and around the house in handheld mode, though

[Icebot]

I used to play the game boy advance and DS in public, now I play the 3DS.

Sometimes I play the switch but I usually stick with consoles that fit in my pocket.

[Adwan]

I've been playing my portable consoles in public since my first Atari Lynx back in the 80s. I have almost the complete collection of Lynx games and keep my favourite carts in the pouch I take it around in. The old arcade-style games on the Lynx are great for short bouts, nowhere near as involved as your typical console or home computer games so I can get a decent amount of gaming done in short intervals.

I also have a Gameboy Advance SP which I mainly play King of Fighters on, which I can finish a whole game of in under 20 minutes. But the Lynx will always be my mainstay because it's just badass and you make friends with these things. Here's a photo my girlfriend took of me playing California Games on my Lynx at the airport in California, about to fly home to Australia after having spent the weekend with the creators of the Lynx.

[Andrew NDB]

I really wish the Switch was available in a non-portable version. It's already gotten knocked or pulled off the mantle (by the USB cable charging the pro controller) a couple of times and both times I feared the worst.

[Voltron]

Sure do! I love my 3DS. Mostly because it's the only gaming system I can afford at the moment.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Adwan

I've been playing my portable consoles in public since my first Atari Lynx back in the 80s. I have almost the complete collection of Lynx games and keep my favourite carts in the pouch I take it around in. The old arcade-style games on the Lynx are great for short bouts, nowhere near as involved as your typical console or home computer games so I can get a decent amount of gaming done in short intervals.

I also have a Gameboy Advance SP which I mainly play King of Fighters on, which I can finish a whole game of in under 20 minutes. But the Lynx will always be my mainstay because it's just badass and you make friends with these things. Here's a photo my girlfriend took of me playing California Games on my Lynx at the airport in California, about to fly home to Australia after having spent the weekend with the creators of the Lynx.

Wow someone actually owned an Atari Lynx?!

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I really wish the Switch was available in a non-portable version. It's already gotten knocked or pulled off the mantle (by the USB cable charging the pro controller) a couple of times and both times I feared the worst.

Yeah, the Switch is a bit too pricey and big for me to have the guts to take it outside with me.

Whenever my brother comes over he always brings his Switch along with him, and I notice how he lets it lie on the bed or near the edge on the top of a drawer. Sometimes I don't notice at first what it is and assume it's a book or something and almost knock it down or almost drop some water on it. My heart has definitely skipped a bit a few times.

[Leo656]

I've only ever had a Game Boy Advance, and I never played it outside my house. I've always generally operated under the philosophy, "Never leave the house with anything you'd be devastated to lose." Especially after I got mugged once when I was 9, by some older kids. I "luckily" didn't have anything of value on me, not even any money, so I "just" got roughed up a bit, but after that I definitely made it a point not to take anything of value with me when I left the house, outside of essentials. Just seemed like common sense.

Of course, that GBA I had was later stolen from inside my own house, by a "friend" while I was in the bathroom. So in the end it's not like my endeavors to not get robbed did me much good anyway. I have a Game Boy Advance Player hooked up to my GameCube so I just never bothered replacing the GBA, although I might one day.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I've only ever had a Game Boy Advance, and I never played it outside my house. I've always generally operated under the philosophy, "Never leave the house with anything you'd be devastated to lose." Especially after I got mugged once when I was 9, by some older kids. I "luckily" didn't have anything of value on me, not even any money, so I "just" got roughed up a bit, but after that I definitely made it a point not to take anything of value with me when I left the house, outside of essentials. Just seemed like common sense.

Of course, that GBA I had was later stolen from inside my own house, by a "friend" while I was in the bathroom. So in the end it's not like my endeavors to not get robbed did me much good anyway. I have a Game Boy Advance Player hooked up to my GameCube so I just never bothered replacing the GBA, although I might one day.

Exactly. Like I said, my brother somehow lost his original Game Boy outside when he was a kid. I never understood how he did that but my mother was clearly upset at him for losing it, so she never let me take any toys or handhelds to school. And tbh, I was a kid at a time where there weren't that many handheld games with multiplayer. If anything it sucked not being able to trade Pokémon or battle with other kids in school, but it wasn't a big deal for me either.

Yeah, that's why I never buy expensive phones. Wouldn't wanna risk losing it or getting ti stolen from me.

I was robbed once when I was 14 back in 9th grade. At a bus stop nonetheless. I was stolen about 40 cents. The guys who robbed me asked me for my cell phone but I leid and said I didn't have one. Lucky for me, they believed it.

[Leo656]

Ahh, the days when you could tell someone "I don't have a cell phone" and there was at least a 30% chance it was true. If that happened today they'd probably have pistol-whipped your ass for telling such a blatant lie. Glad it didn't go worse, though. Seriously.

The worst when I was a kid, were the kids who'd bring their Game Boy to school and put on a big display of playing with it at recess, making sure everyone noticed it, and of course were like "NO, you can't try it out!" They were insufferable with such a transparent grab for attention. It's not like they were gonna get much game-time within ten minutes or whatever; they pretty clearly only brought the damn thing to school in the first place to try and make people jealous and/or notice them.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Ahh, the days when you could tell someone "I don't have a cell phone" and there was at least a 30% chance it was true. If that happened today they'd probably have pistol-whipped your ass for telling such a blatant lie. Glad it didn't go worse, though. Seriously.

The worst when I was a kid, were the kids who'd bring their Game Boy to school and put on a big display of playing with it at recess, making sure everyone noticed it, and of course were like "NO, you can't try it out!" They were insufferable with such a transparent grab for attention. It's not like they were gonna get much game-time within ten minutes or whatever; they pretty clearly only brought the damn thing to school in the first place to try and make people jealous and/or notice them.

Actually, it was already in 2005. Pretty sure all people aged 50 and below had cell phones by then.

Nah, I doubt I'd have been shot. It's not very common for thieves to carry firearms in my country. But I might have risked a stabbing.

Tbh, it's odd how back in the day people gathered around someone playing the Game Boy. Depending on the angle you probably couldn't even see what was happening. And the screen was so small and needed to be played in a well-lit room.

[Leo656]

I honestly don't think I had a cell phone until around 2007-ish. I do know I was one of the last people in the civilized world to get one and resisted it for as long as possible. It might not even have been until 2009. I can't remember.