New images of Lenovo’s previously unseen (and as yet still unannounced)Legion Go handheld gaming PChave shown that it’s going to be a little bit unlike anything in the PC gaming handheld market so far.
The imagesobtained by WindowsReportshow off what essentially looks like a much chunkier version of the Nintendo Switch - with a central body that has a display and two control units that can attach to either side of it, or detach for wireless play.
There are obvious and immediate differences, too, of course. The Legion Go is clearly a great deal bigger and has a way thicker body to accommodate processing power that will far outstrip the Switch and also has a bunch more buttons on its back and sides for extra control options.
It’s a pretty fascinating setup, and I’m especially curious to learn whether there’s any form of motion tracking in those detachable controllers - after all, so few PC games would have support for this, since it’s such a rarity in the PC gaming world.
In a way, though, this is a useful demonstration of the approach Lenovo might be taking to its entry into the burgeoning world of PC gaming handhelds - it’s going to have to stand out in some way, and detachable controllers could be that mechanism.
After all, theSteam Deckis already the ubiquitous default in the market having been the first to truly popularise the form, while ASUS was very quick to follow it up with theROG Allyand present the first mainstream alternative.
Since the Legion Go is going to be a little slower to market (we still don’t know when it’ll actually be properly announced, let alone be made available to buy), it needs to find some points of differentiation.
Those controllers are the first and most obvious, but these images do show another that was mentioned when the existence of the Legion Go first leaked - it’s got a large 8-inch screen, the biggest of any device I’ve mentioned. It looks like it comes with impressively small bezels, too, making that display unit an impressive bit of engineering.
There’s also a trackpad under the joystick of that right-hand controller, suggesting that Lenovo is copying that feature from the Steam Deck. Like the ROG Ally, meanwhile, it’s going to be a Windows 11 machine, which opens up quite a lot of doors in terms of compatibility but closes a few others in terms of simplicity.
All of this underlines that the market for PC gaming handhelds is here to stay, and that Lenovo is cooking up something that cribs from the notes of all its competitors. That might just end up being its best path to a unique position in the market - trying to be the best of all worlds.
