➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

• 📱What: Some type of handheld device made by Logitech with help from Tencent Games

• 🎮 Hardware hopeful: Logitech’s gaming hardware background could be promising for the physical interface

• ☁️ Pie in the sky: If it’s built for cloud gaming, its capabilities may be very limited

• 🤔 Sounds familiar: A portable handheld; a cloud gaming device; what’s it going to do that a phone or Steam Deck doesn’t?

Logitech’s gaming sub-brand, Logitech G,  just announced plans to make a gaming device outside its usual purview. The brand has partnered with Tencent Games on a “cloud gaming handheld” that it plans to bring to market before the end of 2022.

The post detailing the new device is sparse on specifics, mostly drumming up excitement for the product, but notes that it “will support multiple cloud gaming services,” and highlighted work Logitech G and Tencent Games are doing with Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce NOW “so gamers can play AAA games when they are away from their console or PC.”

Logitech G has experience putting together solid gaming peripherals, so it’s safe to assume the physical interface of the device will have some Logitech DNA in it. That may be the best edge it has going against the serious competition it will face from Valve’s Steam Deck handheld and the Nintendo Switch OLED – two portable gaming systems that can do a bit of cloud gaming and also power games locally, not needing to rely on fast internet access.

Logistics questions for Logitech

How Logitech G and Tencent Games plan to contend with smartphones is a different matter. Just about any smartphone can also tap into the power of cloud gaming platforms, letting everything from an iPhone 13 Pro Max to a four-year-old Moto G get online and play AAA games on the go, especially when paired with something like the Backbone One or Razer Kishi. Not to mention 5G connectivity can provide access to those cloud gaming services from substantially more locations than Wi-Fi alone.

Then there’s the problem of ongoing global chip shortages. It’s getting better, but still no picnic for manufacturers (just ask anyone still waiting for a PS5 restock in August).

Grains of salt aside, it’s possible Logitech could surprise us. Valve shook things up with the capable-yet-affordable handheld gaming PC that is the $399 Steam Deck, and it should be possible to deliver a cheaper product since the hardware demands of streaming are much lower than local gaming.