While some thought the portable consoles were dead and buried due to the rise of mobile gaming, one particular Nintendo Switch has come to turn things upside down. While the options for smartphone gaming remain numerous, portable gaming devices still have potential. And if Valve has already decided to take the plunge, two other actors have decided to band together to be more cautious.
Qualcomm and Razer have just introduced a portable console based on Snapdragon G3x technology. For the time being, both partners insist that this machine is not for sale. In fact, this is a “Development kit
According to Qualcomm, you can play with the device both locally and via the cloud. The console runs on Android. But it will also be able to launch games in the cloud and stream game services to consoles and PC. From a graphical point of view, the handheld console will be compatible to display true 10-bit HDR. But it can also be connected to an external monitor.
A 4K capable portable console on paper
And according to Qualcomm, the display can go up to 4K with a frame rate of 144 fps. reach. The manufacturer also states that their development kit will be compatible with variable rate shading. In terms of connectivity, this portable console should be compatible with mixed reality headsets. And as for internet connectivity, it will also be 5G compatible.
For its part, Razer insists that this is not an announcement for a portable console to be marketed:
This is not a hardware announcement from Razer. The Snapdragon G3x Development Kit is a device from Qualcomm. Our collaboration with Qualcomm on this collaborative partnership is aimed at attracting more publishers and developers and realizing our shared vision for shaping the future of portable gaming.
A possible commercial future?
In short, Qualcomm wants to show game developers what can be achieved on a mobile device thanks to its technology. The American company wants to position itself against NVIDIA. In addition to its shields, the latter also equips the Nintendo Switch with its Tegra X1 chip. For its part, Razer only offers assistance in terms of handling.
In summary, one might wonder how this portable console / development kit is received. Could it lead to the development of a commercialized console? Impossible to say at the moment.
What do you think of this Qualcomm “portable console” announcement? Do you think the simple development kit will stick with it? Do you think the market is big enough to support multiple portable consoles? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
