The success of the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck has shown, to the surprise of many, that the market for handheld video game consoles is far from over. Of course, this has also caused other major companies to see an opportunity to enter the sector and try to get a piece of the cake. The next to do so will be Logitech and Tencentwhich announced a partnership to develop your own portable console.
Now, there is an important nuance to take into account. Unlike the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, whose hardware takes care of the entire processing of games, Logitech and Tencent’s proposal will follow a completely different path. And it is that both companies will bet on Cloud Gaming, so all your games will be processed on external servers. That is, your console will only receive the video signal and will send the actions executed on the command.
“Logitech G and Tencent Games share a mutual vision for the future of gaming and are committed to ensuring that the quality of experience is seamlessly blended to deliver on the exciting promise of cloud gaming.”
Logitech.
The above, perhaps, will discourage some. While cloud gaming is the future of gaming, its current adoption remains limited to a very specific niche. Fortunately, services like Xbox CloudGaming Y Nvidia GeForce Now They have been responsible for popularizing Cloud Gaming thanks to the expansion of its infrastructure. In fact, Logitech and Tencent’s plan is for these two platforms to be supported on their laptop.
“The new device will support multiple cloud gaming services, and both companies are working with the Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now teams so gamers can play AAA games when they’re not on their console or PC.”
Logitech.
The new Logitech and Tencent will compete against smartphones
For now, yes, Logitech and Tencent haven’t shared too many details about their hardware.. However, since the rendering of the games will happen externally, the console can get by with basic components. It will be interesting to see the technology of the screen and, of course, its controls.
The device will not step on the ground of the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, but it will will put smartphones in the spotlight. And it is that it is on this platform where many players are taking advantage of the benefits of Cloud Gaming. In fact, various manufacturers offer accessories to turn a terminal into a small video game console. The most recent case is Sony’s Backbone One PlayStation Edition, which is currently only available for the iPhone.
How to convince a consumer who already enjoys Cloud Gaming from his smartphone to buy a portable console dedicated to the same? That’s him big challenge that Logitech and Tencent must solve. “Logitech G’s leadership in PC and console gaming equipment makes them an ideal partner to help us realize the vision of bringing a better gaming experience to gamers around the world. Today marks the beginning of a new opportunity.” for our companies to further push the boundaries of gaming devices,” said Daniel Wu, General Manager of Tencent Games Smart Solution Innovation Lab.