Rob Browning <pluvius3@hotmail.com> writes:
> "What's the point of playing something with a tiny screen and an
> unergonomic design at home when a console or PC is much more
> comfortable?

I disagree that the design is unergonomic, or that playing on a
console or PC is necessarily much more comfortable.  I tend to play my
wife's GBA sitting on the same couch as when I play the PS2, and I'm
not more or less comfortable playing either.

> "Portables were meant to be played when circumstances keep people from
> playing with larger, more powerful devices.

That is simply not true.

>  Because of this, portable games are supposed to be quick to play
> and enjoy during the time you spend on the subway or a ten-minute
> coffee break."

That is an opinion, not a fact.

> "Sorry, but it's physically impossible to make a system that's both
> portable enough to fit well in a pocket and at the same time is as
> comfortable to manipulate as a console controller or keyboard/mouse
> setup or as easy on the eyes as a moderately sized TV or monitor. I've
> tried the DS and it doesn't break those rules."

It doesn't for you.  Which makes your opinion no less valid, but it
does not make it any more fact.

> If I have to hunch over the thing and contort my hands to play it,
> it doesn't matter if I'm in a frigging meadow; it's still not going
> to be comfortable."

Then you're holding it wrong, or it's just not a good fit for you.
That doesn't make it any more of a fact for anyone; it just means that
your opinion is based on your experience.  Others have different
experiences.

> "It is if you don't allow the player to save where ever he wants,
> which is the case with console RPGs.

So, uh, gosh, maybe that will change for portable RPGs.  Big whoop.

> And besides that, save files still don't fix the problem of not
> feeling like you've accomplished anything after your ten minutes of
> play.

Others have posted disagreeing with this point, so it's clearly not
fact.

>  Not many console RPGs can give you that sense of accomplishment in
> that short amount of time."

Apparently FF3 can, and DS9 is likely to (based on the developers not
being morons).

-=Eric