The Nintendo Switch UP comes with a detachable backpack that works as the TV Dock

Quite a glorious cross between the Nintendo Switch and the Switch Lite, this concept by Olivier Raymond is a monolithic handheld console with the exemption of one detachable part that allows you to beam the Switch’s game to a TV as well as charge it. Titled the Switch UP, the console is primarily handheld, but still retains a crucial feature found in the Switch… being able to game on a larger screen.

The Switch UP doesn’t come with detachable joy-cons, making it a little like the Switch Lite that released last month. However, the Switch UP sits halfway between the Switch and the Lite, giving you the ability to play your favorite Nintendo titles on the move, or on your TV! The backpack, called the Clever Dock, fits into a negative space in the controller, integrating with it seamlessly. It works as an extra battery-pack for the console, while also comes with HDMI and USB ports, allowing you to plug it to your television or even a projector.

The Switch UP concept packs an IPS LCD Multi-touch display with a resolution of 1080p, along with an Nvidia quad-core Cortex-A72 CPU, and Nvidia Turing 10nm high-performance GPU. “RAM has been bumped to 6GB too, ensuring faster load times, better graphics, and overall greater performance”, says Olivier. “The console now comes with 64GB of onboard storage, which means more room for games on the go. There is also an SD card slot for extra storage.”

Designer: Olivier Raymond

Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox will prioritize high frame rates and fast loading

Microsoft has slowly been dropping more hints about its plans for its next-gen Xbox, codenamed Project Scarlett. Now, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has revealed even more about what's in store for the console, which Microsoft says will be four times as p...

Xbox Cloud’s controllers attach to your phone for a handheld Xbox-gameplay experience!

Thanks to a couple of patents we’ve found online, it’s pretty certain that Microsoft isn’t just taking on Google’s Stadia with its own cloud-based gaming service, but is also going gung-ho into the hardware side of things too, with detachable controllers you can clip to your phone for the most portable Xbox experience ever imagined!

Based on patented designs, these conceptual Xbox Cloud controllers give us an idea of what the real thing would feel like. Two controller-halves clip onto either side of the phone, turning it into a handheld gaming console, complete with everything you need to play Xbox’s signature titles. The controllers come in a variety of colors, just like the original Xbox ones, and feature all the keys, buttons, and joysticks, including BOTH the left and right triggers on the top!

Designed for immersive landscape gaming, the controllers come with two flippers that hold your phone gently but securely from the sides, while memory-foam pads make sure they don’t press any buttons. These side flippers are ideal for phones with no bezel, because this makes sure the controllers don’t overlap the screen from the left or right. Both halves of the controllers connect to your phone via Wi-Fi to deliver a seamless gaming experience that’s absolutely lag-free. They even come with their own speaker units that deliver gameplay audio in stereo… but if you’re the kind to rely on headsets, fear not! The Xbox Cloud controllers have their own headphone jack too, with support for wireless headsets and earphones as well! Delivering enough charge for a nice long gaming session, the Xbox Cloud controllers have their own independent batteries (accessible and switchable from the panels below) and charge by docking into a special cloud-controller charger too. What a great time to be alive!

Designer/Visualizer: Sarang Sheth

Patent File via Microsoft Technology Licencing, LLC.

If Google Stadia is meant for everywhere gaming, shouldn’t the controller be portable?

Touted as the Netflix for gaming, Google Stadia promises the ability to play A-list games on any device. Imagine being able to play console-level games on your smartphone, Assassin’s Creed on potentially a $400 device. The promise of Stadia is to take hardware constraints away from gaming, allowing you to play the best games over the air, as everything renders out on Google’s servers, with just the graphics reaching your device like a livestream video would. Google’s Stadia is made for everywhere gaming. On your phone, laptop, tablet, desktop, even your TV… so shouldn’t the controller be accommodating of that?

Designer Devin Sidell’s re-envisioned the Stadia controller as a NES-style bar-shaped controller that’s easy to slide into pockets and backpacks. Its slim profile feels almost like a remote, and comes with all the functionality you need. Devin hasn’t taken away from the Stadia controller’s abilities, but rather just streamlined the form to make it more portable. In your hand, the Stadia Bar Controller concept feels a lot like a single Joy Con from a Nintendo Switch (albeit slightly thicker). It has all the buttons, including all four trigger shoulder-buttons (with their numbers written upside down, so when you tilt the controller over, you can read them), and a tear-drop shaped D-Pad and XYAB buttons, giving the Stadia a unique visual appeal. Stadia’s USP isn’t comfortable gaming, but rather gaming unchained… and the bar-controller’s portable-over-organic form factor plays perfectly into that ethos!

Designer: Devin Sidell




Designer: Benny Lee