#handheld-consoles

#handheld-consoles

Sales of gaming hardware in the US during March 2026 rose by 69% compared to March 2025, reaching $500 million. Circana said the Switch 2 'drove the overall gain' for March 2026.

"Beginning June 2026, if you have not completed age verification, you can continue playing on PlayStation, but some features won't be available until you verify your age."

"Three weeks ago, we filed an amicus because mobile competition still matters and we believe the future of play should be more open. While I am still learning, the idea of an Xbox mobile store is not dead."

Sony's new age verification policies will require users to confirm their age to access communication features, including joining parties and voice chatting, starting June 2026.

Sony's new filing describes a smartphone mounted directly onto a DualSense controller, with the phone functioning as a live secondary input device. Its touchscreen, motion sensors, and hardware would all be available to developers as genuine control surfaces, feeding into the game in real time rather than simply mirroring it.

The PS5 Pro is getting the biggest price increase of all. The console launched in 2024 with a $700 price tag. In August 2025, it, along with other PS5 consoles, got a price increase, with the Pro jumping to $750. And next week, it leaps up to $900, which represents a $200 price increase in two years.

The handheld features a 4.88-inch display with a resolution of 1080 × 1620 pixels and a 3:2 aspect ratio. This format is particularly appealing for retro gaming because it better accommodates older console titles that do not match modern widescreen displays. The panel is also noticeably sharper than the screen used in some competing handhelds, such as the Ayaneo Pocket Micro, which uses a smaller 3.5-inch display with a lower resolution.

Sony and Nintendo are reportedly feeling squeezed by RAM shortages as demand from AI data centers takes up an increasing share of memory chip production. In response to rising costs and dwindling chip supplies, Sony is considering pushing back the release of its next PlayStation console "to 2028 or even 2029," according to industry sources cited by Bloomberg, while Nintendo may increase the $450 price of its Switch 2 console this year.

Nintendo's Switch 2 Pro controller committed the one cardinal sin no gamepad should ever perpetrate: it made me lose. Nintendo's $90 first-party controller exclusive to the Switch 2 has large, snappy stickstoo snappy, in fact. Flicking the joystick from one side and releasing it will cause it to flick back so fast that the gamepad will register an input in the opposite direction.

Nintendo's Virtual Boy is arguably one of the strangest-looking gaming contraptions I've laid eyes on. It sits on a desk like a little portable grill, but you look into it like a microscope. Your eyes are enveloped in a ruby-red interface, where you can play retro 3D games with the paired controller. Last week, I got a chance to spend some time with some upcoming video game releases for the Nintendo Switch 2-like Mario Tennis Fever and Resident