Hand held games have become very popular in recent years. The gaming market has opened up to both kids and adults, but children still comprise a large percentage of this market. The hand held games range from simple electronic games to full blown hand held game systems that have numerous games available to purchase that go with the system.



The first category we will examine are simple electronic hand held games that only let the user play one game. These are available in a large number of titles that include popular card games like Uno and Crazy Eights, board games like Monopoly and Life, dice games like Yahtzee, sports like baseball and basketball, hunting, wrestling, and an almost infinite number of other titles. These are great for travel as they require small batteries that will last quite a while.

The next category we will look at are portable hand held video game systems, like Game boy, Sony PSP, and Nintendo DS among others. These systems require game cartridges or disks to operate and play a specific game. These also run on batteries, but they have an adapter available so that you can play off of household power outlets. These are charged so that the user can play for an extended period of time. The newer Sony PSP also will play movies that are specially formatted for it. There are a wide range of games available for these systems. There are action, adventure, arcade, educational, sports, science, racing, and numerous others. PSP also has some of the newest movie titles available. Any of these systems would make a great gift for a child.

The price range on all hand held games can run from ten dollars to several hundred dollars. The electronic games in the first category are usually not expensive, in the ten to thirty dollar range. These are just a simple electronic game, but they have the ability to amuse both kids and adults for hours on end. The second category of hand held games can get expensive, depending on personal preferences. A Game Boy system, even the newest version, will run between fifty and ninety dollars without games. Games will range from fifteen to forty dollars a game. That is cheap compared to PSP and DS. These systems range from one hundred and fifty bucks to two hundred and fifty bucks for the system alone, no games. Games will run another forty to seventy dollars each. PSP movies will cost between fifteen and forty bucks each, with an average of twenty five dollars.