Thoughts "I would rather play Uncharted on 50 inch TV" Argument

I have always wondered about this argument. Even during PSP era(well... it was more like a year but whatever), people said a lot of things like that.

"I would rather play GTA on my TV."

"Nobody wants to play God of War on a small screen."

etc etc

I have never understood such sentiments.

True. God of War is amazing on a big TV and GTA is most certainly better on a big TV. But wouldn't it be awesome if you are able to play those games on the road? Which... is what portable devices do and is their whole purpose?

What is wrong with playing console games on portable devices when you're away from your home? Yeah graphics are not as good as PS3/Wii and how can it be? But I am playing Uncharted/Mario on my Vita/3DS while I am on a bus/subway/airplane to go to work/school/business trips/home. Why is that a bad thing?

Maybe because I appreciate high standard portable entertainment devices more because I travel a lot. But I cannot honestly see the validity of the argument of "I would rather play this on a big HDTV" unless he/she has purchased the device and plays it at home, which, in that case, you obviously made a bad a purchase.

So people, enlighten me. What am I missing? What part of this argument am I not understanding? Or, are you with me on this?

I have always wondered about this argument. Even during PSP era(well... it was more like a year but whatever), people said a lot of things like that.

"I would rather play GTA on my TV."

"Nobody wants to play God of War on a small screen."

etc etc

I have never understood such sentiments.

True. God of War is amazing on a big TV and GTA is most certainly better on a big TV. But wouldn't it be awesome if you are able to play those games on the road? Which... is what portable devices do and is their whole purpose?

What is wrong with playing console games on portable devices when you're away from your home? Yeah graphics are not as good as PS3/Wii and how can it be? But I am playing Uncharted/Mario on my Vita/3DS while I am on a bus/subway/airplane to go to work/school/business trips/home. Why is that a bad thing?

Maybe because I appreciate high standard portable entertainment devices more because I travel a lot. But I cannot honestly see the validity of the argument of "I would rather play this on a big HDTV" unless he/she has purchased the device and plays it at home, which, in that case, you obviously made a bad a purchase.

So people, enlighten me. What am I missing? What part of this argument am I not understanding? Or, are you with me on this?

Whats not to understand? They want the big screen and big speakers, not much to it than that I think.

I think it's mainly the fact that a lot of people don't have long commutes where they have time to play games. For these people, to keep up with the series you have to play a portable game at home, which is as you said, a waste of time. The way a story plays out is different too. Most PSP games just tried to cram a console style story on a portable. Long sequences that could take you 3-4 sessions just to make it through. You have to change a single player campaign to make it work with the portable, which many developers won't do. Peace Walker did a great job with this.

It just isn't for some people. I live in st. Louis mo where public transportation is almost non-existent. I am also 28 and drive everywhere. I may travel twice a year so my gaming is done at home. Guess what. That is most of America. If I had access to public transportation it might be different or if I was a kid who spent a good chunk of time in school or even at college. The way it is though I would rather play gamees on a Tv.

I think Nintendo doesn't get this argument either. Look at the WiiU. There is the option to play the games on the tablet while other people use the TV to watch other stuff. Dad can watch the ball game while the kid plays Mario on the WiiU.

With the lower graphical requirements of mobile devices mobile games can be produced at a lower cost and faster. Rockstar Leeds was able to push out 2 GTAs on PSP (and port them to PS2) while Rockstar North worked on GTA4. Sega's Valkyria Chronicles 2 sold more in it's first week on PSP in Japan than the original did on PS3 in North America during it's first year. Within a year they had VC3 out and 10 months later a rerelease of VC3 with extra content. Atlus seems to get it too. All those Persona remakes and other SMT games are going to PSP/Vita and DS/3DS and not home consoles.

@nohthink: It's similar to the idea that watching a movie in the theater is superior to watching at home. Better picture, better sound, bigger screen, etc.

I don't know what life you might have...

But as a young adult who has to book it to class or to work. No, I no longer have these long stretches of time where I'm waiting around outside. I had to wait at a doctor's office last month and I watched an episode of Louie on my phone.

If I'm playing these handheld games I'll be playing them at home, so why would I do that when I have all 3 consoles and a PC...

Especially considering the fact that this is a non-Naughty Dog Uncharted.

Mario 3D Land works because it is broken into short chunks. The nature of Uncharted and God of War prevent this. If I am going to play a game that demands big chunks of my time I want to do it on my couch. If I am going to be playing it on my couch I want the big screen experience and not a watered down version.

Most of my handheld usage in the past has come from me travelling from one place to another. Now my commute is too short to make playing games on a handheld truly enjoyable. So when I do have time to play games, I'm usually at home, where I do have an entertainment setup. And if I have to choose between experiencing a game on that, or experiencing a game on a handheld on my sofa, I will usually opt for the former. The exception to this is when I'm falling asleep, which is about the only time I'll use my DS or PSP nowadays.

As for the lower cost/shorter dev cycle "advantage" for handhelds, the expectation of outstanding quality and production values only really exists for games you pay $60 for on retail shelves. I still wonder why the DS and PSP got so many RPGs, and why their publishers made the decision to release titles on those platforms instead of on XBL or PSN. Tactics Ogre is the game in my PSP at the moment. Why wasn't that released through a console's digital storefront? I'd love to see the rationale behind that business decision, because I really would like to know why the PSP got loaded with so many of Falcom's RPGs. And it's not like the PC has the same problem. I can buy Skyrim and Cave Story+ on Steam, and both games are on the opposite ends of the budget and development time spectrum.

Hey I'm the guy rants about this bullshit around here.

People don't want to play handheld games that are better suited for TVs. That is all.

My gaming is done at home, otherwise it's a pastime at work. Simple fun games like Peggle or Angry Birds are good, stuff I can pick up, do for a bit, put down, not play again. That's not a knock, I love Peggle and I think Angry Birds is pretty ingenious too.

But I can't get involved in thrilling action scenes and complex emotional dialogue when I might have to put it down and stop every 30 seconds. I can't be considering the impact of an event on a character's life when I'm also trying to pay attention to when I need to transfer, or when my boss is around so I have to hide my lazy work habits. I can do that in between throwing a bird at a pig, though. I can't be dodging zombies in a new awesome Resident Evil game if I might have to pause and come back to it 5 minutes later. You can't play 'console style games' 30 seconds at a time.

At the same time, if there's a fast, fun way of playing Vita on a TV (wireless to the PS3 would be like magic) I have no problem buying a Vita.

Same reason I don't want to watch a movie on my phone

I think it depends on the game as was mentioned above. But, "simple fun games" that people pick up and play while waiting for the bus don't interest me at all. On the other hand, I will and have sunk 50, 70 and more hours into JRPGs like Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger and earlier GBA titles. Hell, if I had a PSP, I probably would have done that with the Valkyria Chronicals sequels and Personas. These are different types of games than the actioneers like Uncharted and God of War. I understand the argument against playing them on a handheld, although all information seems to suggest that the Vita is a powerful machine, so some of the reasons like poor graphics might be moot. Either way, I am looking for games with meat to them that I can play on a handheld. Why not on a console? Because, I still enjoy the mobility and simplicity of a handheld. I can sit on my couch with the game on and still get into leveling my character or exploring a dungeon. There is a certain amount of flexibility that a handheld provides. Consoles and PC games require your undivided attention while playing them, but I can close my DS, watch 5 minutes of Man vs Food and then flip the portable back open without missing a moment. With a handheld, I can enjoy two things at once...like eating nachos on the toilet.