A Comparative Usability Analysis of Handheld Game Consoles

A handheld game console is a small and portable video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Playing a handheld game console involves multiple operations and buttons. The usability of game consoles is influenced by users’ expertise and skills. In this study, we mainly focused on testing the usability of products instead of video games and we adopted three variables from Leventhal and Barnes’ usability model (reference) to analyze two game consoles (Switch and 3DS-LL) on three variables: task match, the ease of learning, and the ease of use. We recruited novice users and compared the usability of the two-handle mode and single-handle mode of Switch, and of Switch and 3DS-LL. Finally, we raised some suggestions for the design of handheld game consoles regarding usability.