In this week's overkill digest, handheld makers are going all-in with new devices. Plus, I dive deep into why Sony's PS5 handheld dreams might be a beautiful pipe dream.
Good morning (or good evening, it's after 8 PM where I am from), and welcome to a new edition of the overkill digest newsletter.
Quick housekeeping: We're bringing the Discord back. If you want to geek out about handhelds with people who won't judge your collection (much), join our server. Fair warning: It might start slow, but that's how all the good communities begin, right?
I'm experimenting with a new format for this newsletter, and would like your feedback. It's very easy: at the end of this email (email only, sorry web people), you'll find a "More like this" and a "Less like this" button. Simply click the one you feel. (And if you have any suggestions, leave a comment.)
Oh, and last chance to make your voice heard in our Steam Deck Survey. I've been poring over the responses, can't wait to put on my Data Analyst hat. More on that soon.
Ok, let's get to it!
🗞️ This Week in Handhelds
🚀 Big Handheld Moves
- Samsung might make a foldable gaming handheld. Their foldable handheld patent looks like the love child of a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and a Nintendo Switch. Could be nothing, could be everything – we'll see if they actually do anything with it, patents don't always lead to finished products.
- MSI is trying it one more time with updated handhelds. They are releasing two new models, the Claw 7 AI+ (what a stupid name) and the Claw 8. The former features a newer Intel chip and one more Thunderbolt 4 port, the latter adds a bigger screen, a bigger battery, and more storage on top.
- Lenovo is cooking up a budget Legion Go S. A Zen 3+ CPU and RDNA 2 graphics for what's hopefully a sub $500 device. Also, probably no removable controller attachments. Gotta save money somehow.
- Sony might be plotting their handheld comeback. Third time's the charm? Sony wants this to play PS5 games, which might make this a pipe dream. More below.
🎮 Platform Updates
- The Steam Deck hit 17000 playable titles. Wild how far we've come since launch.
- Steam just hit 38,914,853 concurrent users for the first time. The
previous record was 38,367,277 on 22 September 2024. - Proton 9.0-4 is in needs of some beta testers. If you're feeling brave, jump in.
- Xbox's mobile game store dreams are on hold. Yep, you guessed it. It's because of Google.
💻 Hardware Corner
- A new Steam Controller has leaked. This might make a lot of people happy. Though from the renders, this controller doesn't look very ergonomic? (New VR controllers also leaked.)
- 8BitDo dropped a retro mechanical keyboard and mouse which are very obviously inspired by an old Xbox and... I find them damn ugly!
- Miyoo's new Flip handheld trailer is out, and I feel like Chris might want this one.
🎲 Gaming News
- Yet another Baldur's Gate 3 patch is on the way, bringing cross-play and 12 new classes. It's coming next year, and will be the time I'm heading back into the game.
- Palworld is getting a new island this month. (Is anyone still playing this?)
- No Man's Sky finally reached a "Very Positive" user rating after 8 years.
- The next Witcher game is now officially in production. Don't hold your breath, however. I'm not even sure this game is releasing in this decade.
- Tencent straight up copied Horizon Zero Dawn. Look for yourself, this is basically the same game with a different title.
📌 Quick Hits
- The Steam Autumn Sale is running, and as is tradition, Chris looked at the best sales under $10 for the Steam Deck.
- Chris also sat down to create our 2024 Gaming Gift Guide. If you are in need of ideas (either for yourself or your geeky loved ones), this is a good one!
- Retro Dodo interviewed the dev of the iOS emulator Delta.
- Multiple iOS emulators are in App Store review hell.
- Nintendo has a new enemy, this time they are targeting users of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit.
- Shuhei Yoshida retires after 31 years at PlayStation.
- The Ship of Harkinian people are porting Star Fox 64 natively to PC.
Dig the new format? Hate it? Hit those feedback buttons below and let me know what's working.
🔒 Premium Deep Dive: A PS5 in the palm of your hands is damn hard to pull off, but let me dream!
I love being right: back in early November, I predicted that 2025 will be the Year of Handhelds. And here comes Sony reportedly tinkering on a new, proper handheld console.