The Best Portable Gaming Consoles to Gift This Holiday Season
Now that we are in Cyber Week and at the height of the holiday shopping season, there will be a ton of video games on sale. What probably won’t be on sale are gaming handhelds.
These handheld consoles are currently the hottest trend in gaming, with companies manufacturing their own handhelds. With so many choices available, you may be wondering which one to choose. Luckily, this guide will help you decide which gaming handheld to choose.
Whether it’s someone who has played video games their whole life or someone who just wants to get into the hobby, the Steam Deck is the handheld for you. Not only is it one of the most affordable portable gaming devices available today, starting at $400, but it’s also one of the easiest to set up and has a wide selection of Steam games for purchase. For those who like to tinker with their hardware, a Steam Deck can also be used to play Xbox and PlayStation games, while also being able to install emulators for virtually every gaming console that has ever existed.
The only downside to the Steam Deck is that its hardware is somewhat outdated at this point, making it difficult to play newer AAA games.
If you’re looking for a gift for someone who only plays consoles, whether it’s a combination of an Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PS5, the Xbox Ally X will be the best option. It’s ideal for Xbox Series console owners because its main selling point is providing a portable Xbox experience, but its Steam integration makes the handheld the best of both the console and PC gaming worlds. The Xbox Ally X also has enough performance to play virtually any game available.
When it comes to power to take with you, it doesn’t get any more powerful than the Lenovo Legion Go 2. One of its big advantages over the Xbox Ally X is its OLED screen. It’s for this reason that the Legion Go 2 is perfect for hardcore PC gamers who are always tweaking their rig to ensure games run at their highest settings. When they’re on the go, they just don’t want to skimp on visual fidelity when gaming.
This entry is a no-brainer, but if the person you’re looking for is a Nintendo fan who hasn’t bought the Switch 2 yet, that probably means they’re waiting for someone to buy it for them. The Switch 2 does what the original Switch couldn’t do: offer an experience comparable to that of the Xbox Series and PS5. Make no mistake, though, as home consoles can still outperform the Switch 2, but developers already have plans to port their AAA games to Nintendo’s latest console, something that couldn’t have been said with the original Switch.
When PlayStation Portal came out two years ago, it was a little confusing for everyone. Its only use was to play PS5 games remotely, right next to the PS5. Since then, Sony has made great strides with the Portal. For starters, the Portal can be used for remote gaming when you’re away from home, provided the Wi-Fi is good. Second, Sony has added cloud gaming support for the Portal, meaning that if you have a PS Plus subscription, hundreds of games are available to play on the cloud with no console required. Considering its sub-$200 price point, the Portal is something that every PlayStation fan would want to have, even if they don’t realize it yet.
What else to buy
Case : If you’re buying one of the handhelds above and want to get some important accessories, or perhaps more affordable gifts for grandparents, then a suitcase is the way to go. Each handheld has different cases designed specifically for it or you can purchase a case for everyone.
MicroSD cards: With the exception of PlayStation Portal, all handhelds listed support additional storage, and if you’re buying a handheld for someone who games a lot, it probably has too many games to fit on the handheld’s default storage. The Steam Deck, Xbox Ally X, and Legion Go 2 support traditional microSD cards, while the Switch 2 uses microSD Express cards. The minimum storage you’d want to buy is 512GB, but ideally you’ll need 1TB.
Docks: Of all the handhelds, the Switch 2 is the only one that comes with a proper docking station. The others you will have to purchase separately. The PlayStation Portal is a bit of an outlier when it comes to docks, as it doesn’t connect to a TV, but there is a charging station available upon purchase to ensure it is still billed. There is docking stations that fit the Steam Deck, Xbox Ally X and Legion Go 2but it is recommended to have these docks designed specifically for them.
Power Banks: All handhelds except PlayStation Portal get about 2 hours of battery life if you max out the settings while you play. The portal, since it is streaming only, has a battery life of 6 to 8 hours. For those who play on the go, have a power bank is practically a necessity. There is a wide range of power banks, and 10,000 mAh would be the absolute minimum, as this can double the battery life of most handhelds.
