Handheld PCs are too big, and Android games aren’t good enough

Much of the gaming I do in my downtime is now split between a ridiculously overpowered desktop PC, loaded with power-hungry components and unnecessary RGB, and the rest on my beloved Steam Deck. It’s a sound system, and one that gets me away from the same desk I sit at all day to work, but it could be even better.

The problem is, handheld gaming PCs like Valve’s iconic progenitor and Windows-based responses like the high-scoring ASUS ROG Ally and its Microsoft-centric offshoot, the equally appreciated Xbox Ally X, are just too damn big to be genuinely convenient. Sure, they’re portable, and I’ve traveled around the world with both types, but they take up too much space in my carry-on luggage.

We’re already craving more affordable, strange handhelds to offset the ultra-premium options like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and the Lenovo Legion Go 2. As Rebecca says, “It would be great to see some smaller designs like this that are actually, truly portable and better protected.” She’s right, and I recently found a relic that perfectly demonstrates how PlayStation did it right in the past.

That faint rumbling sound is thousands of rolling eyeballs from gamers who don’t appreciate my comparison between Valve’s fully fledged PC and Sony’s 333 MHz PSP Go from 2011, but hear me out — it’s the pocketability that I miss. Yes, the singular hockey puck-esque thumbstick wasn’t ideal, and the shoulder buttons were a spongey mess, but the sliding-screen mechanic was clever.

We came close to seeing its form factor return in 2024 with AYANEO’s Slide, but it only revealed a hidden QWERTY keyboard, like some mutated BlackBerry with tacked-on joypad controls. Still, if Mr. Mobile and CrackBerry Kevin can spearhead the Clicks Communicator on the back of that kind of nostalgia, why shouldn’t I yearn for a spiritual PC sequel to the PSP Go?

After all, why not? What’s preventing manufacturers from returning to this pocket-sized convenience category anyway? Well, even a light pondering of the topic reveals at least two answers: the ergonomics of built-in controls will be compromised, and smartphones are already capable of running modern games without issue — but I hate playing games on my phone.