Stumbled across this today. At the moment looks like it's a US-only release, but that's not to say it won't eventually launch elsewhere if it's a success - or be imported by anyone willing and able to. Also (from skimming the article only) it seems to be tied to Game Pass and Nvidia's offering unlike the Steam Deck being more of a mobile PC, plus it sounds as if it will be fully streaming-focused rather than using onboard storage (which the name kind of gives away, really). It is cheaper than the Steam Deck, which seems to be the current favourite, but how it will manage streaming when out of wi-fi range is a question - I didn't see anything regarding a slot for a data SIM for example. If a mobile can be utilised as a hotspot, that would solve one part of the problem but this would be no good on an aeroplane. I did pose the question on the Steam Deck thread re: whether anyone had attempted to use the Deck for Xbox Cloud Gaming, but no answer as yet so would be interesting to see how the two compare when possible. Have done no other research as yet, but thought I'd post it up and see what commentary or info others had (along with a fun opinion poll!). Also felt it would make a nice change from all the bullshiit, arguing and self-aggrandising permeating the rest of the forum. So - thoughts? Anyone excited for this?
Barely cheaper than a Steamdeck and far less powerful and flexible, looks to only be good for streaming and mobile games, buy a slot in game controller for your phone, job done, save a load of dough. like a gamesir x3 or kishi v2 if you want to get spendy, still a third the price Only benefit would be battery life, weight, and perhaps a nice formfactor android games machine. negatives latency on the cloud stuff, steam deck can play things locally.
I was thinking along broadly similar lines, funnily enough. Had my eye on a Kishi for myself and the little 'un but not sure if the phones are up to the job with the more demanding titles (Samsung A50 and LG G6) so thought this might be a decent compromise cost-wise, as well as the battery probably lasting longer than my phone will. Those would be the only reasons I'd go for it over a Steam Deck (having the square root of zero experience with either, it must be noted), but there's always the consideration that buying the cheaper version of the Deck and then upgrading it yourself to add capacity, dock and whatever else to get the most out of it does start to push that cost up further. We don't really play mobile games - or at least, I certainly don't (apart from that bloody addictive Jewel thing in the Xbox app when I'm in a queue or something) and I won't be dropping that sort of cash on the Logitech just for the kid to resort to those either. Latency would of course be a massive issue though and my recent experience of Cloud Gaming on the desktop machine was horrendous (the reason for which I still can't figure out), but I've yet to try it on my phone. Seems to me these gadgets hit two different use points, being "longer time playing only Game Pass as long as you have a connection" vs "possibly needing a powerbank to have access to your whole Steam library (at better settings?)". That Gamesir certainly looks interesting, with its fan and customisable sticks/pads/buttons, but it seems for an extra £15 the Kishi is the better bet. The previous version of the Kishi is also only £60 or so - might be worth checking out v1 and v2 and returning whichever one is not so good (assuming the phone hardware is up to scratch, obvs). Will keep an eye on prices and then see whether or not the phone can hack it once all the parts are in place. I do know that that Jewel, of all things, eats my battery so as far as an actual real game would go... EDIT: Just seen JL have the Kishi v2 for £100 with a two-year guarantee which is tempting, but Razer get a battering on Amazon for their customer service. EDIT 2: Looks like you can actually Steam Link to your library on PC with this thing as well. Although that may not help if you're away since nothing is stored locally, it might be good enough if you're playing in bed or on the sofa as some Deck users have mentioned.
