Having a (comparatively) small gadget that may play principally any huge recreation on it’s a cool thought, and that’s what I really like about Valve’s Steam Deck. But the Deck generally is a bit cumbersome, and its battery simply doesn’t final typically. Plus it doesn’t work simply with Xbox Game Pass. So the concept of a brand new, smaller handheld devoted to streaming Game Pass and Xbox titles sounds nice! However, at $300, it appears too costly in a world the place the Steam Deck and Switch OLED exist at across the similar value level.
Announced right this moment by Microsoft and Logitech, the brand new G Cloud handheld gaming console is a small Android-powered gadget constructed round streaming video video games. 10 years in the past this may have appeared like a bizarre thought. But right this moment, you may stream virtually each recreation throughout most platforms with sufficient tinkering. The thought behind this new G Cloud gadget is to chop out the tinkering and modding and supply gamers with a easy, quick, and light-weight method to stream all the nice video games on Game Pass.
First, the positives. The new Android gadget claims to have an prolonged battery life, in all probability due to the actual fact it is just streaming video games and never operating them natively. It boasts a stable 1080p 7-inch touchscreen, built-in controls, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a button and stick structure just like an Xbox controller. I additionally actually just like the look of the gadget. It’s a bit smaller than Steam Deck, which must be good for people who’ve smaller arms.
But right here’s the issue: The value. Currently, you may pre-order the G Cloud at $300 which is fairly excessive contemplating that is principally a flowery Android cellphone with built-in controls, a much bigger battery, and no capacity to make cellphone calls. It does have assist for the Google Play Store, so presumably, cellular video games and apps will work on it. And being primarily based on Android, it’ll principally be moddable from day one. But nonetheless, $300 for that appears excessive.
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And that’s only for now. Once it’s out on October 17, the worth shoots as much as $350, aka the identical value as a brand new Switch OLED and solely $50 lower than a 64GB Steam Deck. Now, it’s true that the Switch can’t stream the complete Game Pass library, however with some tinkering the Steam Deck truly can, whereas additionally enjoying (most) of your Steam video games.
When I first noticed the G Cloud on Twitter I used to be . A small gadget devoted to Android apps and Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming could possibly be good to have. But just for like…$200. At the present value, I’d suggest of us purchase a brand new cellphone, an exterior controller for his or her present cellphone, or a Steam Deck as a substitute.
