REPORT THE
ON THE PORTABLE PARADIGM SHIFT T
David Cole from DFC Intelligence gets into the consumer shift towards gaming-on- the-go, and what it could mean for the video game market going forward
he appeal of gaming-on-the-go via dedicated portable devices has been known for years. However, portable game
systems have historically paled in comparison to what console systems and gaming PCs could deliver. With drastic improvements in technology and the emergence of cloud streaming, today’s
portable gaming systems are now shifting this paradigm. The Nintendo Switch set the ball rolling, breaking sales records as a
console/portable hybrid. Steam Deck and a host of PC-based devices are looking to do the same for PC games. Microsoft is dipping its toe in the water with a PC-based, Xbox-branded device. Clearly, the movement to high-end portable gaming has significant implications for the direction of the video game industry.
CONSUMERS LOVE PORTABILITY The appeal of gaming-on-the-go is obvious and well-established. Every DFC consumer survey conducted in the past several years has indicated the demand for portable gameplay. In a recent DFC poll of high-end PC gamers (defined by spending on PC game hardware), the Nintendo Switch came out as the number two system behind desktop PCs (even beating out laptops). Of course, almost everyone in today’s world can and does play games
on their smartphone. But this is a different market and experience. What consumers crave is a portable game system that provides the quality content they play on their home PC or console systems. The growth in the portable game segment is for secondary devices that allow consumers access to their home game library on the road.
RISE OF PC-BASED HANDHELDS This clear market demand has driven a wave of PC-based handhelds led by Valve’s Steam Deck. The success of Steam Deck, which launched in 2022, has spawned a raft of would-be competitors such as ASUS’s ROG Ally, Lenovo’s Legion Go, MSI’s Claw and now Microsoft’s ROG Xbox Ally. These new devices are positioned as secondary systems for power users. Consumers can access their game library through storefronts
26 | MCV/DEVELOP October/November 2025
like Steam and play high-end games when away from their core system. Comparatively large, high-resolution screens have been a key driver for the portable form factor. Nevertheless, this is still a nascent market. The Nintendo Switch has
sold over 10 times all PC game handheld systems combined. In its first year, DFC expects the Nintendo Switch 2 to sell over 16 million units or twice what all PC handhelds have sold in the past three years (Switch 2 sales exceeded total Steam Deck sales in the first week). The demand is clearly there but compared with Nintendo systems, PC handhelds are still a niche market. Currently PC handhelds target what DFC calls “DIY gamers.” This is
an important segment of influencers that love hardware, are not afraid to open and reconfigure game systems and are there first in line to buy new hardware. These are the heavy spending gamers but are not always where the mass market lies. True market growth is about reaching the people that demand convenience, value pricing, and refuse to do more than hit a button and play. This is the audience that has driven Nintendo to great heights over the years.
NINTENDO DOMINANCE Nintendo remains the unchallenged leader in portable gaming. The Nintendo DS and Switch have lifetime sales exceeding 150 million units each. PC game handhelds aren’t even in the same ballpark in terms of unit sales. Much of this success is due to Nintendo’s ability to build a self-contained ecosystem that PC game handhelds, with the possible exception of Steam Deck, have found hard to match. Ironically one of the key features of PC game handhelds is a major
limiting factor. PCs in general are open-ended game ecosystems. Any manufacturer can build a hardware device to play PC games. This has significant appeal to both developers and consumers but also hinders overall growth. Nintendo has a consistent hardware/UI experience, tightly controlled exclusive content, and most importantly Nintendo’s marketing muscle
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