A brief look at Nintendo’s contribution to handheld gaming console market

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Nintendo is one of the most loved gaming console companies, at the same time also mired in controversies. The company, while not the creator of the first handheld gaming console device, sure helped to popularize it with some of the best gaming devices containing a roster of fun and engaging video games.

While there are other console devices in the market from Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo has reigned supreme over the handheld space simply due to its quality of devices and the games released on it.

Its most powerful device currently, the Nintendo Switch, is the most popular handheld device with over 120 million units sold across the world. Despite being released back in 2017, the games released on it rival the modern AAA games.

The Nintendo Switch features some of the best games of all time like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel Tears of the Kingdom, Mario series, Pokémon, Metroid games along with cult classics like Bayonetta and Splatoon.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can be purchased here while Tears of the Kingdom can be bought from here.

Prior to the Switch, the company started its handheld console journey with the Game Boy back in 1989. The Game Boy was such a huge success that the market was flooded with its cheap copies. It was the same with other early Nintendo consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System or the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Moving on, the company released other popular handheld consoles like Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 2DS and finally the Switch and witch Lite. With each console the company advanced in tech and video game quality.

The company, however, has recently been criticized for not focusing on the gaming communities and issuing copyright claims to gamers playing modded Switch games. While it can be argued that the Nintendo just wants to survive in the competitive environment by reducing expenses or protecting device exploits, the action does seem a little harsh.

There were previously some versions of the Switch consoles that were vulnerable to modders, but the company has fixed the issue moving forward. Games, however, are still being pirated which can explain Nintendo’s harsh actions.

Players interested in trying out the Nintendo Switch in India can get it from here.
There is also an OLED version which can be purchased from here.

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