CES 2020: Mobile gaming gets more precision and power

Mobile gaming is an industry worth billions of dollars, but one new idea from a computing giant could dominate its competitors.

Gaming as a pastime is meant to do what it says on the box: pass time.

It does a great job of doing it, so much so that some become obsessed to the degree that they extend to wasting time rather than passing it. Tragically, some are so incapable of putting down the controller that in rare instances it can even kill them.

One problem with gaming is that getting the best experience often involves big gaming PCs or consoles designed to live in the house. While gaming laptops are everywhere, they often take up as much space as a console anyway, making them impractical for use on your commute for instance, where you’re most inclined to kill time.

That’s been changing in recent years as smartphones become more powerful and able to provide immersive gaming experiences on the go, and billions has been pouring in to the industry to accommodate them.

But the touch screen input of smartphones lacks the precision sometimes required, and the devices are best suited for arcade style games rather than more complicated triple-A games with deep and layered campaigns.

In an attempt to help solve this problem, brands are now focusing on ways to give gamers more control on their mobile.

One such solution comes from peripherals powerhouse Razer in the form of its Kishi and Jungle Cat portable controllers.

The Kishi is an updated version of the Jungle Cat and both were on display at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The controllers attached to either end of your smartphone, turning it in to something resembling a Nintendo Switch hybrid or the Japanese company’s smaller new Switch Lite handheld consoles.

They’ve been designed with an eye to the future, when 5G mobile networks are supposed to facilitate new cloud-based gaming platforms like Google Stadia on the go.

For now they provide better control over mobile games, as well as providing some consistency across platforms. Using the controllers feels similar to using the one for your PlayStation or Xbox, but is a lot more elegant than products that directly imitate the form factor such as Nvidia’s Shield Portable.

Unfortunately there was no sign of Razer’s rumoured Switch competitor this year, but for now the two controllers are a welcome addition that expands on the gaming abilities of the smartphone you already have.

ASUS has a similar device available though its Republic of Gamers sub-brand, but that’s only compatible with that company’s similarly branded phones.

The Razer controllers work with a variety of different models, across both iOS and Android.

But there are some games you simply can’t and wouldn’t want to play on a mobile phone.

Dell’s Alienware gaming brand has a solution for that too, but you can’t actually buy it yet.

Alongside the two Concept laptops the computer maker brought to CES, it also gave attendees a look at a new handheld gaming prototype called Concept UFO.

The similarities with the Nintendo Switch are obvious, but while the Switch, like most Nintendo consoles, is geared towards more casual gaming, Concept UFO would provide a full PC gaming experience.

The 8-inch display comes with a kickstand to support it should you want to play on a desktop, but also has detachable controllers on either side of the screen.

As a concept, details are sketchy at best, but Dell representatives told news.com.au the UFO on display was powered by Intel’s 10th gen processors, describing it as a shrunk down version of its premium XPS laptop range.

This also means it can run full Windows 10, giving gamers access to more games than any other platform, including classics from the past.

Of course this also means you can take advantage of the superior precision offered by mouse and keyboard controls.

That is, if the concept goes in to production, in which case we should hear more about its specs and price.

For now it’s a good looking concept, and given the interest it’s received so far, one it would be wise for Dell to invest in.

Originally published as CES 2020: Mobile gaming gets more precision and power