Handheld Gaming Devices -When, Where, and What for Do You Use 'Em

Pondering Purchase of PSP or PSV.

Curious about when and where and what for you guys are using handheld gaming devices. Like a book on your bedside table? To do serious gaming? To pass time on commutes and other travels? Playing bite-sized games and puzzlers and such? Meeting friends for ad-hoc multiplayer? Gaming outside on a hot summer day? Enjoy games and summer weather?

Which is it? Because I can't quite figure out yet when and where and what for I'd be using my PSP, respectively PSV. I know I love the idea of having FFVI sitting on my bedside table. And Final Fantasy Tactics. And god knows what other games I have nostalgia for. I heard the PSP does SNES ROMs too with some tinkering? That's a most enticing prospect.

Nonetheless - I just don't see me finding the time and place for actually taking advantage of such a device. I would have to create that 'space' for it. I'm really curious to hear about how you guys 'live with handheld gaming devices'. I haven't done it since the days of the GBA and even then I did most of my gaming with that thing-a-mabou peripheral for sticking under the gamecube.

I agree I would have to find time to play a handheld device but usually I would play one during commutes. Even with me needing to find the time to use a handheld device I still bought/pre-ordered a psvita.

Back in high school I had a bus trip that took 40 minutes, so I occasionally got some gamin done on the fly. Usually though it's in my swivel chair hunched over my PSP/DS. I guess I mostly play RPGs. In fact, looking back, almost exclusively. P3P, Disgaea, Valkyria Chronicles 2, Crisis Core, Chrono Trigger, etc. Those games, with the possible exception being Disgaea, just didn't lend themselves to the portable, bus ride play. Crisis Core had some of that with the quick side missions, but those sucked even when I wasn't playing them at home. I don't know, I think that I would prefer to read a book or take a nap in those on the road situations.

I don't have one anymore because I only played it at home, and at that point, why would I play on the psp or vita when I could just play my ps3. My lifestyle just doesn't fit with a handheld system. If I really need something to play I'll just download something quick and cheap on my iPhone.

Yeah, I do a lot of handheld gaming in bed right before sleep. I also play a lot of RPGs, but since you can just put the devices on rest the lack of short missions or definitive stopping points doesn't bother me. I also like to listen to podcasts and play at the same time, as it lets me consume 2 media at once. And yeah, gaming outside can be real nice as long as the lighting is right.