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Comment by VyseofArcadia | Hacker News Reader

The max size I want a gaming device is probably that of the 3DS XL. Anything bigger than that definitely won't fit in my pocket. So screen size, what I really want is as big a screen as you can fit on a device that size without making it uncomfortable.

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Nintendo handhelds from GB to New 3DS XL were mostly very pocketable (except for 2DS.) I am still a fan of the 3DS XL form factor, and the dual screen clamshell design. DS and GBA SP also had great clamshell form factors. 3DS was also fun to carry around for streetpasses.

But I really like the Switch in handheld mode, and I actually want a bigger screen since for me it's more of a baggable rather than a pocketable, and many games have tiny text or UI elements sized for docked/TV mode rather than handheld mode.

I don't mind the existence of baggable handhelds. I own both a Switch and a Steam Deck, and the Steam Deck won't even fit in the oversized pockets of cargo shorts. But I wish there were room in the market for both baggables and pocketables[0]. I'd 100% buy a scaled-down Steam Deck that is roughly 3DS XL-sized.[1]

[0] For a while Nintendo was claiming that the Switch wasn't their new portable console, it was just a console that happened to be portable. There would still be a successor to the 3DS at some point. I guess you could argue that's the Switch Lite, but I still feel a little betrayed to not get a smaller next-gen handheld.

[1] I'm aware there's a flourishing market of mostly Chinese arm64 devices running Android and loaded with emulators for every system you could imagine. But I want an x86 device to play my existing GoG and Steam games.

I'd almost forgotten about the Switch Lite. It is like a slightly larger PSVita (14mm wider, 6mm taller, and 1mm thinner than a PCH-2000).

https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/vita-revisited-playstation-...

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