I have never seen a person playing a handheld in public.

I dunno if it's just my city or what, but in my entire life I have never seen any person besides like 5 year olds with a DS using any kind of handheld. Everybody is just on their phones.

It makes me feel awkward if I use mine. Do you usually see people playing things?

No but I know they're out there because I rack up streetpasses on the bus.

I do sometimes. That kind of environment is the last place I want to play a game though

I've seen kids playing theirs at malls every now and then. The only other instance I can think of was when I was visiting the UK last month - I was on a coach to Bristol from Cardiff and there was a man in a Chicago Bulls cap playing something on a 2DS. I think I racked up more streetpasses in the three weeks I was in the UK than I have the entire rest of the time I've owned a 3DS.

Personally, I don't really play it when I'm out, but if I'm out I'm either driving or with someone, so I don't have much occasion to.

I've seen people playing handhelds out in public. They tend to be a certain type of person though. Not meant to sound as derisive as it did.

I've seen a guy playing 3DS on a subway, and while waiting on line at the post office. I think the former was an aqua blue 3DS, and the latter was a red one and he was using ear buds. I also saw two different people playing PSP on the subway long ago. I've also seen people using original DS/Lite/DSi back during its heyday, probably many times. Also, someone was using PSP at the laundromat once.

I'm only counting grownups or older kids/teenagers.

I used to do it, even with PSP despite PSP being not that portable, but nowadays I game exclusively at home so I'm surprised whenever I see anyone doing it now that we've entered the smartphone era. That one guy with PSP surprised me since he didn't have any coat or bag with him, so maybe *he* is that guy in internet gaming forums who says his PSP fits inside jeans pockets just fine and everyone who disagrees obviously must have small pockets or something. -_-

I have seen it a few times but not very much either. And I think it's only been kids.

I once saw a woman on a bus using a DS Lite, but she was using a fork as a stylus.

I see people play on a form of DS ot 3DS all the time at the airport. I saw a PSP once my entire life and never a Vita.

I fly about ten times a year and my vita is always on during those flights. I have yet to see another vita in the sky.

@seemah: Mine will be flying soon.

I'm pretty sure I've seen people, particularly young adult people, playing handhelds in public. I can't recall a specific instance though. What I can recall are several instances of people playing on their laptops in public and it registering in my brain as weird, since they always had bigger laptops than I'd expect someone to carry around and most of them were playing World of Warcraft.

My PSVita fits in my jeans pockets (not that I ever actually leave it there). You must have small pockets or something.

Come to think of it, no, I really haven't. In this era of smartphone gaming, I don't really see a need to. Handhelds occupy a really weird space - the games they offer are obviously smaller in scale and production values than console games, but they're still not quite made for 5 minute pick up and play sessions. I mean, there are games where you can do that, but my phone does super quick gaming bursts better than my 3DS or Vita.

Nothing quite beats being able to take games that you could play for hours anywhere, though.

While I rarely actually SEE anyone playing one, every weekend I go out I get the max 10 street passes on my 3DS. When I go to do grocery shopping just up the road I usually get 2 or 3. Only ever streetpassed the same person... twice? So there are definitely people out and about with them.

This is in the UK.

Edit: I don't see people gaming on their phones either. None of this stops me from playing games when I'm on a long train ride.

Not so much anymore; I used to see handhelds a lot more 5-7 years ago. Phones have really eaten into the handheld market share though.If I was a parent I would get a handheld for my kid, because all I hear about when I'm out is kids whining at their parents to let them play a game on the phone.

Never come across someone no, at least not that I remember. Then again I am rarely in a place where I might see that happening, I'm hardly ever on the bus where I imagine more people might do so or... I don't know... a park or something? If I'm out and about I'm usually somewhere people would be walking or in a store or something so it doesn't make a lot of sense.

I live in a relatively rural town and go to a small community college. In the student recreation center, there's often a group of people playing video games, many times on their 3ds' playing Monster Hunter 4 or Smash Bros together.

Last time I got a StreetPass was about... actually, it was about a week ago, but that was the first in like a MONTH. Yeah, I don't see a lot of 3DSes out there (and I'm just gonna assume nobody in NH owns a Vita), so I'm gonna guess it's just that people are migrating to phones now.

To be fair, though, phones have got some sick games and they can browse internet better than the 3DS's paleozoic bull honkey.

I see people playing 3DS all the time. The school I go to has quite a few people that own them because I get at least 10-15 street passes whenever I bring mine with me.

Yeah I get street passes regularly in Chicago. See people playing all the time. Still regret the time I didn't say anything to the cute girl across the bus aisle playing pokemon same time I was.

I've seen people playing handhelds, but it's few and far between (and almost always kids).

I've seen a lot of people playing games on their phones though - all ages.

I'd say I rarely see one being played out in public but just yesterday I saw a guy playing Smash on the bus.

Planes. And this dude at work has a 3DS he plays on break.

I hardly ever see them, but I get tons of street passes daily walking around campus. Occasionally I pull my 3ds out if I have some long downtime between class, but otherwise the only reason I carry it on me is for the passes. Most of my actual playtime happens at home. Guess there are a lot of people who think like that?

The year or two when the DS Lite was the hottest shit on the planet I saw all kinds of people of all ages playing in public.

I once saw someone playing Metroid Fusion with a strategy guide spread out across his lap on my morning subway commute. All of us standing up were basically cheek to cheek and this guy was happy as a clam.

Here in the netherlands, never actually now that I think about it. I used to do it myself though when i had to take the train to school every day.

I take my 3ds everywhere and get like 1 spotpass a month if I'm lucky and most of those seem to be people who dont live in this country. (there also is one girl in the neighbourhood I keep streetpassing and for the past year the only thing she seems to have played is nintendogs...) most times I see any kind of handheld its busted up as shit and in the hands of a small child. But even kids seem more into ipad's and stuff these days.

When I used to ride the bus I saw it all the time.

Few people at work have 3d nintendo gaming devices, some of the new variety. And one more has a Ps vita.

Now that i drive i don't streetpass like i used to. But when i was doing public trans id often get a ton of streetpasses. Didn't seem them out and being played often, tbh. Think i've seen PSPs mostly.

Also no qualms playing my 3DS and Vita whereever, cept maybe for slight fear of getting it jacked.

I play my Vita or 3DS often on the train.

I play my Vita on the bus to and from work. I've seen two other guys on that bus play 3DS's. That's about it though. It's rare to see people do it. And if I have it with me I'll play my Vita in coffee shops if I'm waiting for a friend.

For me anyway, I don't care if people think "oh look at that guy, he's playing games, that's weird", because chances are that person is playing some game on their phone or reading Facebook updates.

The only thing I ever worry about is like @ripelivejam says, getting the thing jacked.

Back when I was bussing a lot, I would see people with DS's and 3DS's. Occasionally I would also see Vitas. Or perhaps they were PSPs? I can't actually tell the difference unless I'm looking close enough to see the right stick.

It's kinda rare, but maybe once every other month I see someone playing a Vita or 3DS on the train.

I very rarely play my own handhelds in public either though.

I played a bit of Animal Crossing in the bus a while back to test out the street pass system but I got none at all, but I usually just grab a book and read.

When I was going on holiday to Japan I brought my DS for in the plane, but then my flight got delayed by 2 hours , then the plane had technical difficulties and we had to switch planes and by the time I finally sit down and took off, my brain was mashed patato's and felt like doing nothing at all.

I did fly in business class once and it had a Super Nintendo built in to the seats which was pretty amazing.

I play monster hunter on the bus all the time, but yeah I pretty much never see other people playing anything... other than worthless phone games of course but those do not count.

You shouldn't feel awkward about anything though, fuck what other people might think, it's their problem.

I saw an adult playing a 2DS in my doctor's office last year and I haven't done so since the GBA SP, mostly because the systems since aren't that portable to me. But if you want to, go for it. Fuck other people.

I saw two separate people with some variation of the 3ds on the last train journey I went on. I also remember seeing a guy playing the Witcher on a train about a year ago on his laptop, explaining the game to some old woman next to him. That guy is pretty cool.

Video killed the radio star. Mobile gaming killed the public handheld gamer. There was always a slight social stigma surrounding the public consumption of handheld-games. (Game Boy, DS, PSP, etc...) Nothing major, but some people would always look askance at someone toting around a handheld for entertainment.

Now that mobile platforms are as prevalent as they are, no one even looks twice at someone playing a game on their tablet or smartphone. If you have a mobile device with you, you can enjoy whatever games you please to your heart's content, and never have to feel even mildly self-conscious about it.

In a way, this is a step forward for the medium. By opening gaming up to a wider audience, mobile gaming has helped to erode the stigma against playing games in public. At the same time, they are constantly eating into the market-share of more traditional hand-held video game experiences. Well, any kind of progress comes at a cost.

The only place I ever play mine is on the plane/airport.

That's weird. I see people infrequently but regularly. I've seen everything, ds's, psp's and vita's. All on public transit.

Saw a guy playing a Vita on the train the other day. Seemed pretty normal.

I've seen it, and I've done it.

Some grognard in one of my college courses would play his 3ds with the sound on before class started :/

Can't recall too many cases of that taking place over here either. I've played Vita or 3DS myself whilst travelling by train.

@dudeglove: I know. I was baffled too, wish I could have taken a picture or something. But that would've been rude.

Yeah, on campus. I do it waiting for class if a game has come out (and it doesnt need sound cause im not an asshole)

It's not super common but I've seen people playing them on the train or in university.

Lots of people seem to do so at the airport/on airplanes. A -lot- of kids, though I saw a girl playing on a vita on the plane this Christmas. Lots of kids play the DS on campus. Even saw a few clam shell Gameboy Advances this year.

I once saw a guy with a beard playing a small nintendo DS on a bus. But once I saw a baby/toddler who didn't know how to talk yet having so much fun playing this maze game on an iPad. I was watching his screen and all he was doing was swiping it to make his character hit the boundary which made a really loud sound and an animation that the baby thought was extremely funny. When his mom tried to stop him he instantly stopped laughing and tried to hit his mother's hand away. When he realised he didn't stand a chance he quickly swiped the screen to make the sound one last time lol.