Wristbands are back this year. Here’s how the game will play out in 2023 | Daily News Byte

Thanks to the Nintendo switchiPads, phones, VR headsetsand a ton of New gaming handheld, I’m not playing much on my TV. Of course, the game appears in other places than the big screen that hangs on my wall. Of course, this will be the case before 2022. But thanks to the arrival of the Steam Deck and other handheld devices, it seems that something that I have been waiting for years will happen: the start of Gaming technology to become Switchified. I dreamed this would happen back in 2017.

Valve Steam board It’s the latest handheld arrival so far this year, and its popularity stands out on many fronts: as a gaming PC, it shows how the software has started to be easy and with the phone, flying between screens in a predictable manner. However, as another vehicle for streaming gaming services, it shows that gaming technology is beginning to open up other avenues.

The Nintendo Switch remains an old, but powerful, console. Mobile gaming feels like it’s starting to accelerate, thanks to cloud streaming apps and the best gaming control cases, as well as developments from mobile chip manufacturers. such as Qualcomm and new game boards such as Razer Edge. Likewise, Logitech G Cloud mobile, which is coming, another flavor of mobile: a kind of Android mobile app, but made to rely on game streaming.

And I didn’t say my favorite quirky indie wristbandsthe Analog book a Playdate Panicwhich helped me rediscover tons of old games and a lot of new indie stuff, too.

Can we count VR headsets as handhelds? No, not really, although future things like the Pimax Portal show the potential for handhelds and VR to dovetail in ways you never imagined.

Here’s why it’s so important.

Steam Deck: PCs can now be handheld

Valve’s Steam Deck did. A fully Steam-compatible gaming system seemed like an impossible dream before it was released, but the device actually plays tons of great PC games, and it’s proven to be one of the biggest game players of this year.

Valve is working to show how other manufacturers can give it a go: of course, similar companies Dell and Razer has, of course, through the first prototype tests. The Steam Deck is still alive, and now there is no reason to update them.

The simple sleep/wake functions of the Steam Deck and its TV console make it feel as modular as the Switch, even if its drivers are not open. It’s the simplicity of Steam Deck’s OS that shows promise. It runs different games or programs, and can stream games, giving it what we hope to have in the Nintendo Switch one day. The Switch’s old hardware limited what it could do, but the Steam Deck advances those ideas five years in advance. Of course, we have seen this with phones in our pockets as powerful as laptops, but gaming handsets can do more in becoming full machines that connecting to a cross-platform world.

I know where Valve is going next: in VR. Valve has been working on VR for years, and is expected to create its own “Deckard” VR headset in the near future. Could a new Steam Deck be in order? It seems more likely.

Stream Engines: Games can be anywhere

In a way, Logitech’s G Cloud handheld and the Razer Edge tablet have a lot in common. CNET doesn’t like the G Cloud, but the idea of ​​it — an Android tablet with controls and the ability to stream games — sounds like a classic version of what you can do with the phone or tablet and game controller. The Razer Edge feels like an extension of the same idea, building a modular board with drivers based on a higher Qualcomm processor that can run better games, but streaming games as well.

These two things remind me of the promises returned by the Nvidia Shield, a board that went ahead of its time and started playing with game streaming in 2014.

Streaming games have come of age, both in the cloud and on land from consoles to handhelds. You may be able to do this with your phone or tablet. But amid the rise of serious game-fixing cases such as The spinal cord a Razer Kishi and with these types of unique devices, it seems that phone options can be expanded.

Analogue Pocket and Panic Playdate: The rise of the new indies

Analogue’s ultimate retro handheld, the Pocket, and Panic’s crazy crank-enabled Playdate are completely different pieces. However, they both point to a similar aspect to the game. The Pocket plays early game consoles, Game Boy Advance and Sega Game Gear consoles (with an adapter), and can run hardware virtual cores to reproduce other game platforms. Panic Playdate has its own schedule of handheld indie games via Wi-Fi once a week. However, both can sideload indie games designed to run specifically on these systems.

Game portals like itch.io have become my most visited sites, while I check to see what experimental games people have for Pocket or Playdate. Indie game designers create amazing creations for all kinds of classes: you don’t need a Playdate or Pocket for them. But these systems are like vehicles that are ready to bring indie works to life, and both feel that they exist entirely outside the world of big game studios and hardware manufacturers. Perhaps there is room for more experimentation like this.

Could VR and AR bring out more?

Coming soon, the Pimax Portal is a visual indicator of how the technology will come together. Pimax, a manufacturer of VR headsets, is working on an Android game console similar to Switch that can be plugged into a VR headset, becoming a portable and independent VR system at the same time. It’s a return to the “VR goggles” concepts of early mobile devices like the Samsung Gear VR and Google’s Daydream, but in a better and more advanced form. I haven’t tried Portal yet, but I really like it. It’s an idea I can see other companies trying, especially if it’s better than those limited edition cell phones.

Many future VR headsets and AR glasses will start to connect with phones and small puck-like devices: the Magic Leap 2 is made in this way, and the wave of glasses is planned Qualcomm’s AR works with smartphones. Valve’s exclusive VR headset, Deckard, will be compatible with upcoming Steam Decks.

Apple may have similar plans in mind for its VR headset to work with its smartphones and iPads. As headsets get smaller, glasses get bigger, and rely on passthrough cameras and more AR, handheld devices like gaming systems seem like a real fit. .

Nintendo got the right idea by moving those Switch controllers and making it look like they’re moving less to the consoles…

Where will this lead in 2023

We are past due for a fact New Nintendo Switch, and Steam Deck seems slated for a sequel (though probably not in 2023). We see a new wave of unique VR headsets coming, and new phones and tablets are constantly being offered. The success of the Steam Deck, in turn, opens the door to ways to connect PC and console gaming. The Steam Deck was re-launched in mid-2021, which means competitors have had plenty of time to prepare. But I’m also excited to see where truly decoupled indie gaming hardware is headed: The Pocket and Playdate show the variety of ways that handhelds can survive outside the app store doors tradition. Cloud-based gaming opens up new avenues across hardware. This is the time for the knowledge and flexibility of mobile devices in its game plans, because all the parts are there. Sure, the mobile gaming system you’ll use in 2023 will be your phone, but you’d expect dedicated gamers to push the boundaries.