News Qualcomm Is Taking Another Shot at Gaming Chips for Android Handhelds

[Admin]

Qualcomm's Snapdragon G3x Gen 2, G2 Gen 1, and G1 Gen 1 are meant to power devices that stream games from PCs and consoles – and play Android games.

Qualcomm Is Taking Another Shot at Gaming Chips for Android Handhelds : Read more

 

[colossusrage]

Ayn and Ayaneo are releasing Snapdragon Gen 2 handhelds for about $300 to $450 depending on the RAM and storage space you prefer. These handhelds can play GameCube, PS2, and Switch games and I'm sure if the emulators were any good, XBOX, some Xbox 360 and PS3. I would imagine that a 'game' centric chip would need to be a bit more affordable than what they put in phones, since anyone paying more than $400 for an ARM based chip is basically overlooking offerings from the Steam Deck which is far more powerful.

 

[cknobman]

The devices and capabilities are not the issue that have held, and will continue to hold, these back.
The game ecosystem and entire philosophy is what will keep these from being successful.
When 95%+ of all games on Android are stupid microtransaction whaling games why on earth would people want to buy dedicated handhelds?
Steam deck is successful because you can download and play actual real games not just microtransaction scheme games.
Emulation? Sure but if I already have a Steam deck or any other type of device to emulate on there is no reason to buy a dedicated Android handheld.

Until consumers have a GOOD REASON to buy a dedicated Android handheld they will continue to fail.

 

[colossusrage]

The devices and capabilities are not the issue that have held, and will continue to hold, these back.
The game ecosystem and entire philosophy is what will keep these from being successful.
When 95%+ of all games on Android are stupid microtransaction whaling games why on earth would people want to buy dedicated handhelds?
Steam deck is successful because you can download and play actual real games not just microtransaction scheme games.
Emulation? Sure but if I already have a Steam deck or any other type of device to emulate on there is no reason to buy a dedicated Android handheld.

Until consumers have a GOOD REASON to buy a dedicated Android handheld they will continue to fail.

I don't know how much you follow retro handheld gaming, but in that world, although the Steam Deck exists, it is not ideal because of its size and battery. I also wouldn't call these devices unsuccessful, the really good ones are selling out all the time. The emulation crowd doesn't really play Android games much because as you said, they're mostly terrible cash grabs. The emulation scene is huge and a device like this gives us a bridge to be able to emulate everything up to a PS2 and GameCube, with some Switch games to come. The Steam Deck fills the need for everything that requires more power, like PS3 and XBOX 360. However, the Steam Deck is barely a game on the go device, it's more of a game on your couch or in bed device, because of weight, size, and battery life.