They say imitation is the best form of flattery, so this week Nintendo must be feeling particularly flattered.
With the phenomenal success of the Switch, other companies are now looking to take a chunk of handheld console action. On Saturday, Tencent (the company that distributes the Switch in China) published a new patent for a PC video games console that is, somewhat blatantly, designed in a very similar way to a Switch Lite.
Then, on Wednesday, Qualcomm, a company better known for its mobile and wireless networking chips, went one further, with reports telling of a console that will feature detachable gamepads and dock to connect it to an external TV or monitor.
In terms of games, it looks like the Tencent product will be geared towards Windows-based technology, allowing you to potentially play your main PC games while on the train (though doubtless without quite the graphical power of your main system). Simultaneously, the Qualcomm offering will be based around Android, offering compatibility with mobile apps.
It should be noted that both of these designs are at very early stages, and neither may come to real fruition, but there’s a chance we are looking at the first nods towards a new wave of gaming giants.
After all, back in 1992, if anyone had said Sony or Microsoft would be the main console platforms, they’d have raised more than a few eyebrows…
