Qualcomm and Razer built a working mobile gaming console, but you can’t buy it – it’s only for developers to prepare for future systems.
In the years since the Nintendo Switch reawakened the desire for a mobile gaming console, other devices have emerged to meet the demand of consumers. But the next one to come out – a joint project between Qualcomm and Razor – won’t even be sold to consumers. Instead, the Snapdragon G3x Handheld Developer Kit, as it’s called, is a working console meant for developers to experiment with making mobile games beyond smartphones. It’s a pre-platform of sorts, meant to get developers (and potentially, game studios) used to a new class of console before they arrive on the market. No, not pocket desktop consoles like the delayed Steam Deck – the Snapdragon G3X, as its title implies, runs the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1, the first of an entirely new line of Qualcomm chipsets dedicated to gaming (not coincidentally following the same naming convention as the just-announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1). In other words, the consoles Qualcomm is priming the gaming industry to cater to would be focused on mobile gaming. Presumably, these consoles would run the same apps you’d find in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, but with souped-up specs and dedicated analog thumbsticks and buttons that would leave touch controls behind and displays unobstructed. There have been plenty of false starts for mobile console gaming over the years, like the Nvidia Shield Portable system, and outside the Nintendo Switch, none have lasted long. This has partially been due to the ubiquity of smartphones, which have inadvertently lowered the bar: why spend a lot more money on something that plays the same games as the phone you already own? Why encumber yourself with another device that needs updating and charging? To Qualcomm, this seems like a natural progression of mobile gaming, and the company has a vested interest in seeing a transition to dedicated consoles – namely, so its new Snapdragon G3x chipsets can power them. That’s the reason the chipmaker seemed so blasé when asked during a background briefing if the Snapdragon G3x would come to market. If a manufacturer came along wanting to take their fully-realized concept and make consumer devices, Qualcomm may be interested in collaborating – but even if a different console debuted first, the chipmaker is happy to sell them the silicon they’ve already tested and implemented in a finished device.
