Great news for the world of video games: Logitech has announced a partnership with Tencent Games to create a portable console dedicated to cloud gaming. Expected release by the end of the year. In time for the holidays?
Abandoned by manufacturers in favor of ever more powerful machines and increasingly demanding games, the portable console has experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent times. It must be said that the success of the Nintendo Switch, the only real portable console currently, is enough to arouse envy. Some have decided to follow his example, like Valve with its Steam Deck, or the Aya Neo Pro. Small problem: these devices are still rather large – and heavy – and look more like mini-laptops than portable consoles. In the end, the result is not really suitable for any mobility. The solution would rather be on the side of cloud gaming, and Logitech understood this well.
Logictech and Tencent Games: a shocking partnership
In a Press release, Logitech, the leading Swiss specialist in computer accessories, has announced a partnership with the Chinese publisher Tencent – specializing in online and mobile services. Together, they will develop a game console dedicated to cloud gaming, that is to say to the game “through” the Internet. “Today, Logitech G and Tencent Games are announcing a partnership that will bring a portable cloud gaming console to market later this year that will combine Logitech G’s hardware expertise with Tencent’s software services expertise”can we read in the press release.
Daniel Wu, general manager of Tencent Games Smart Solution Innovation Lab, does not hide his enthusiasm for this project and thus declared that “Logitech G’s leadership in PC and console gaming gear makes it the perfect partner to help us achieve our vision of bringing a better gaming experience to gamers around the world. Today marks the beginning of a new opportunity for our companies to push the boundaries of gaming devices even further.” With this in mind, the two groups are working directly with two major players in cloud gaming: Nvidia GeForce Now and Microsoft Xbox Cloud Gaming – which notably offers cloud gaming on console, PC, mobile and smart TV with its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. The console should also support other upcoming video game streaming services, such as Google Stadia, Amazon Luna or PlayStation Plus – if Sony decides to extend the cloud gaming function of its PlayStation Plus Premium to others devices as consoles and PC.
Cloud gaming: the future of video games?
Cloud gaming is a booming sector that can revolutionize the habits of many players and break down certain barriers. Where a computer or a console provides all the resources to a video game to run it, “Cloud gaming uses servers to deliver games to consumers. There is no need to download or install PC or console games. Instead, games are rendered and played on remote servers and users interact with them locally on their device”, the statement said. The device that supports the game calculates almost nothing since it only serves to display the images of the game which are calculated remotely, by specialized servers, and sent in real time. All heavy processing, which requires powerful processors, such as graphics, but also a large cooling system and a latest generation chip – and which weighs down the console – is carried out on the servers. Consequently, this should impact the design and weight of the future portable console while making it financially more accessible. Microsoft has understood this well with the announcement of its new console dedicated to cloud gaming, the Xbox Keystone.
But although the server does everything, it is still necessary to limit the latency between the server and the player as much as possible, video games being by nature interactive – unlike films or music. They therefore require exemplary responsiveness, especially for online games, which requires very good 4G coverage, or even access to 5G, when the player is on the move without the possibility of connecting to Wi-Fi. the console are not yet known, nor its price. But the know-how and the commercial strike force of Logitech should logically promote the growth of this emerging and very promising market.