Lenovo’s new Legion Go gaming device appears to have been inspired by Nintendo and Valve, with the silhouette and controls of the Steam Deck as well as the snappable, swappable controllers of the Nintendo Switch. After the Switch sparked the trend of handheld-console hybrid devices, and after all the buzz around the Steam Deck, a business is finally developing a more capable Switch clone.
According to the photos provided by WindowsReport, the Legion Go has two Joy-Con-like side panel controllers that can be detached from the main screen to function as free controllers, one for each hand. Though they function similarly to the Switch, these controllers are somewhat more “Pro” than Nintendo’s essentially flat look.
The main body features all of the face buttons that players have come to expect from a modern controller, as well as what appears to be a touchpad similar to Valve’s Steam Deck, albeit on only one side. The left and right joysticks are positioned differently than on a Steam Deck. Each controller’s back is circular, and it has two back buttons on both sides. Each not-Joy-Con has a larger, trigger-like top button as well as an extra set of shoulder buttons.
Though the photographs don’t show it, the disconnected controllers appear to be simply slottable into something resembling a Joy-Con grip to be used as a single controller. The photographs suggest that the main body of the gadget features a kickstand for playing the console on a tabletop. Two USB-C ports, a power button, a headphone jack, and two volume control buttons are visible in the photographs. Though it’s not visible from the photographs, it’s difficult to see the gadget lacking an HDMI connector for connecting to a larger screen.
The disposable Switch controllers are inherently sharable, which is one of the reasons Nintendo’s platform has stayed popular for nearly seven years. Part of the reason for that success was that the left Joy-Con employed directional face buttons instead of a D-pad, allowing the second player to play most games that required simplified controls.
Unfortunately, the Legion Go appears to employ a d-pad on the left, which limits the possibility to share a controller with pals for a brief gaming session.
Still, Lenovo may be positioning this as a best-of-both-worlds tablet for gamers who want to game on the go. It’s difficult to speculate on price without knowing the exact internal specifications, but it’ll be far more expensive than a Switch and significantly more expensive than the loss-leading Steam Deck.
Previous leaks of the Legion Go have revealed that it will have an 8-inch screen and be powered by an AMD Phoenix processor, most likely from the Ryzen 7040 series. It will be a Windows 11-based device, which means it should be able to run most games and perhaps function as an ill-fitting mobile PC for people who truly want one.
The Steam Deck uses the Linux-based SteamOS, making it a highly customizable device from its initial release. It’s unlikely that Lenovo will be able to provide the same level of customization and emulator compatibility as the Steam Deck, but we’ll have to wait and see what type of UI Lenovo has designed for this next device.
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