From the Nintendo Switch to the Steam Deck, here are CNET's top gaming handhelds of 2024. CNET's tested a ton of gaming handhelds over the years, and I've tested a lot of them myself. But it's a great and transitional time for handheld

gaming. A lot of options, but we know a lot of stuff is coming. Nintendo is supposed to have a successor to the Nintendo Switch coming in 2025, pretty soon, and Microsoft and Sony are expected to be working on their own handhelds as well. What those will be, we don't

entirely know yet. Plus, Windows gaming handhelds are continuing to explode with new options, and the Steam Deck is going strong. So here are some of the things that we're still playing. The Nintendo Switch is still fantastic; it's our favorite gaming handheld. It's my

favorite gaming handheld, my favorite console, and it plays a lot of great first-party games. It's got a ton of indie games, connects with a TV, does multiplayer, goes on the road. I mean, there aren't a lot of pieces of hardware out there that do all of that

and this does it in the box for a pretty affordable price. It is 7 years old, so it's getting really long in the tooth, but I still find it's a great option for anything handheld that I want to take with me. The Valve Steam Deck—that's a

great second-place option for me, and for a lot of people, it's a first-place option. This gaming handheld's been out there for years. The OLED version that came out last year is the best one; it's got a great display, it's got solid controls with a lot of options, and it

Plays PC games, including ones like Elden Ring, plus a ton of indie games. And that's the great thing, because Steam always has interesting things bubbling up all over the place. It does not have detachable controls; it's pretty big, and if you want to connect it to a TV, you

need to get a separate dock. But the price is not bad, and UFO 50, a recent indie game, made me fall in love with it all over again. Now, when it comes to other consoles, there's the PlayStation Portal, a strange option that's not a true standalone handheld,

but this device, which came out last year, has been getting gradually better. It's $200, which is not too expensive, and the 8-inch display is good. The controls are really nice and have solid haptics, but it streams games from the PlayStation 5 in your home into that handheld, so you

can play them in other rooms. It also added the ability to stream PS5 and other games, if you have the right PlayStation Plus subscription, uh, wherever you are, as long as you have internet, which is a great add-on. You can also do that with your phone or tablet as well. The Portal

is a pretty good option for its price, but it's niche as well. If you want weird and small indie games, I still love the Panic Playdate. This little tiny handheld from Panic is a complete little game system, and it's so tiny and it has

this little weird crank that comes out of the side, plus controls. It's like an interdimensional Game Boy! It comes with 24 indie games handcrafted for this that come with the purchase price, but there's also a game store to download other games. You can sideload games from other places.

like the Analog Pocket, and it's adorable. The only thing is that it doesn't have a backlight, and the screen is a little small, but I love the spirit of this thing, and I carry it all over the place. If you are really into retro games, the

Analog Pocket is the best option for dusting off your collection of classic games and taking them with you. It's basically a Game Boy with a really beautiful display and controls, but it plays Game Boy games, Game Boy Color games, and Game Boy Advance games, and

with an adapter, it'll play things like Sega Game Gear games or Atari Lynx games. There are also options in the settings to load in other emulation systems to simulate other platforms and play retro games. You can sideload games from it, as well. It's a really

versatile and cool handheld. And for a wild card pick that's pretty popular, the iPad Mini. I mean, obviously phones are game handhelds already; buy a controller, you can do a lot of great stuff with them. The iPad Mini, the new model that came out, has a nice chip

upgrade. It's a great size for carrying around, and if you want to stream games through different streaming app services, you could attach a controller or use a separate controller, and the Mini is actually a perfect size for that. So those are CNET's top gaming handheld options for 2024. If you want to read

more about it, check out our best lists on cnet.com and look at our continuing coverage on gaming handhelds. I hope it helps. If you have more questions, let me know down below. Thanks for watching.

Best Gaming Handhelds of 2024

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2024년 핸드헬드 게임 시장 개요

CNET이 선정한 2024년 최고의 게임용 핸드헬드를 살펴보고 시장의 과도기적 상황을 조명합니다.

향후 출시 예정인 Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony의 게임도 기대됩니다.

Windows 게임용 핸드헬드가 인기를 얻고 있으며, Steam 덱이 강력한 경쟁자로 남아 있습니다.

주요 권장 사항: 닌텐도 스위치와 스팀 데크

닌텐도 스위치는 다용도성, 경제성, 방대한 게임 라이브러리로 호평을 받고 있습니다.

밸브 스팀 덱은 특히 OLED 버전이 강력한 2위 옵션으로 주목받고 있습니다.

Steam 데크의 강점은 디스플레이, 컨트롤, PC 게임 호환성입니다.

Steam 데크의 단점은 크기와 분리 가능한 컨트롤이 없다는 점입니다.

PlayStation 포털은 PS5에서 게임을 스트리밍하는 틈새 옵션으로 설명됩니다.

플레이스테이션 플러스 구독을 통해 원격으로 게임을 스트리밍할 수 있는 플레이스테이션 포털의 기능이 언급되었습니다.

패닉 플레이데이트는 독특한 디자인과 엄선된 인디 게임으로 주목받고 있습니다.

아날로그 포켓은 레트로 게임 애호가에게 추천합니다.

게임 스트리밍을 위한 다용도 옵션으로 iPad Mini를 추천합니다.