Everybody knows it’s not the size, but what you do with it, that counts. As such, I’ve always had a soft spot for Sony’s ambitious portables. Whether it’s killing a few hours (and aliens) in car🐠s, or snuggling up in an armchair at home, there’s something magical about holding a universe within your hands.

Tilt-a-world platformer LocoRoco is so special, for example, that I recently spent several 🦂lunch breaks hunting a charger for my ten-year-old PSP after re-purchasing it from a second-hand bargain bin. Using those shoulder buttons to move the entir𒈔e environment like an all-powerful god is a uniquely palpable, intimate experience that just isn't the same on a distant screen.

The same is true of PS Vita efforts Gravity Rush and Tearaway – they’re games to handle. Using the gyroscope for Kat’s gravity-defying combat feels second-nature on PS Vita – while it, er, functions on PS4. Poking up platforms (your digi-fingers appearing in-game) for Iota to hop on? Genius. Tickling the undercarriage of your PS4? Not gonna happe💙n.

When devs celebrate ♌this tactile tech, we’re treated to truly memorable games. St𒁏udios seeing handhelds as an afterthought, something to cram console-native mechanics into, produces sub-par efforts.

Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida has been open about his reluctance to create a PS Vita sequel, citing the success of mobile. But the way to make handheld gaming essential again is to take advantage of its singular qualities – to craft more of the unparalleled, the innovative, the must-p꧟lay. No-one’s clamouring for Candy Crush copycats and compromised big-budget IPs. We need console-defining originals that cou💙ld only be played on handheld.