CES 2025: My Favorite (and the Worst) Gaming Tech From This Years Show
CES isnt typically where we see the years biggest gaming announcements, with major upcoming games usually being saved for summer and winter, and new console announcements now often coming in the spring or fall. But after spending a week in Vegas, Im now leaving feeling like the gaming industry is about to go through a big shift. Some of it is for the better, with small creators getting a chance to change how we interact with our favorite games, while the rest of it reflects the tech industrys incessant need to stuff useless AI into our lives. With that in mind, here are my four favorite (and three least favorite) gaming announcements from CES 2025.Favorite: MCON Magsafe phone controller Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Theres no reason we shouldnt all be gaming on our phones moreand I dont mean Candy Crush. (Not that there's anything wrong with Candy Crush, of course.) These things have gotten powerful enough to run games released for the PS5, but thanks to their lack of physical controls, most developers are still making heavy compromises for their mobile titles.Thats where 20-year-old Josh King comes into play. The YouTuber made waves late last year when he released a video showcasing his prototype MCON controller, which uses MagSafe to give your phone a similar form factor to, say, a Nintendo DS. While other phone controllers usually require you to remove your case and can be annoying to take on and off your phone, using the MCON is supposed to be as simple as using a MagSafe power bank.Im in love with the result. It has a full suite of controls, the magnetic connection is strong, and using it is as easy as snapping it onto my device and flipping out the hidden controls. Plus, if you dont have an iPhone, it works with MagSafe adapters.King is currently working with peripheral company Ohsnap to finalize the design, but if youre sold already, there is a Kickstarter where you can pre-order your own MCON starting at $99. I cant wait to get mine and actually start treating my iPhone like the proper handheld it clearly has the chops to be.Least Favorite: Razer Project Ava AI esports coach Credit: Razer Razers Project Ava is one of two concepts the companys bringing to CES this year, and of the two, I hope its the one the company leaves behind.Have you ever heard of backseating? Its the phenomenon where a streamer gets stuck while playing a game and their viewers keep piping in via the chat function to tell them how to progress. Most streamers Ive seen explicitly ask their audience to avoid it, usually considering it more annoying than helpful.Ava, meanwhile, promises to bring a bespoke AI backseater to everyone with a computer.Essentially, the way it works is that Ava will watch you play and offer tips based on what it sees, loudly speaking over the in-game audio to do so. Razer insists its not cheating, since Ava cant access information not available to you, but I think that still misses the point.First, its unclear where Avas getting its tips, and second, it could end up being pretty distracting if it talks over your gameplay. But really, its the whole advice angle I have an issue with.If Im playing Dark Souls, the developers have usually worked out a more elegant way to cue me into when I should dodge than an AI yelling in my ear. If I rely on Ava, Im training myself to ignore those hints, robbing myself of some of the experience at the least and making myself worse at the game at the most.Even in multiplayer, part of the fun for me is figuring out the best builds and most optimal routes. If Ava is just telling me what I should do, then am I really playing or learning the game, or am I just pressing buttons while the robot makes all the real decisions?There is a place for guidesfar be it from me to gatekeep. But this sort of real-time interruption seems more likely to spoil my fun than enhance it.Favorite: Lenovo Legion Go S brings SteamOS outside the Steam Deck Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Valves Steam Deck is one of my favorite gaming purchases Ive made in a long time, making my game library portable with a lot more flexibility than the Nintendo Switch. A big part of that is the companys SteamOS operating system, which makes it convenient to change the handhelds settings and access your Steam games on the fly.Attempts to copy the Steam Deck without SteamOS, like the Asus ROG Ally or the Lenovo Legion Go, just havent done it for me, as they rely on Windows, which is a much clunkier experience when using a controller. These devices are technically more powerful, but the performance increase isnt worth it to me.Thats why Im so excited for the Lenovo Legion Go S. Announced during CES, this will be the first gaming handheld not from Valve to use SteamOS. Itll have Windows versions, too, but starting in May, youll be able to get it with the operating system I love so much. Even better, it does look to offer specs with a slight-to-moderate improvement on the Steam Deck, and its starting price of $500 is actually cheaper than the entry level Steam Deck OLED. Im excited to see more partnerships follow suit.Least Favorite: The PUBG Ally brings the dead internet theory to games Graphics card and now AI company Nvidia is about to fill your game lobbies with bots, but like, in a futuristic way. Announced during CES, Nvidia is working with PUBG developer Krafton to bring co-playable characters to the famous battle royale title.Essentially, the experience teams you up with a bot, but you can give it commands to tell it to find armor or weapons for you or coordinate with you in a fight.I could actually see this being really cool in a single-player game, being the next evolution of the type of gameplay seen in titles like Star Wars: Republic Commando. But in multiplayer, it just raises too many questions.Is the bot going to be more aware of the map than humans? How good should it be at shooting, before it starts to feel either like a cheater or a liability? And perhaps most importantly, will it feel satisfying to win if an AI guided you to victory? Or will it be the gaming equivalent of a rich person hiring an experienced hunter to take them on a curated expedition and do all the work except pulling the trigger?Theres a lot of tough balancing acts to figure out here, but even assuming everything plays out as desired, Im still not sure what the point is. Part of the fun of playing a shooter online is knowing that when I take down the enemy, Ive ruined some 11-year-olds day. If half the people Im going to be shooting at are robots, why not just play a single-player game instead?Favorite: The Razer Project Arielle has sold me on heated and cooling gaming chairs Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Razers Project Arielle is the companys second concept device for CES, and the one Im definitely more excited about. Essentially, it takes the Razers existing Fujin Pro gaming chair and straps some heaters and a bladeless fan onto it, with surprisingly effective results.What I initially thought was going to be a gimmick turned out to be a nice little oasis on the CES show floor, either warming me up after an hour in the freezing media room or blowing cold air on my back and neck after I spent some time wandering around the sweaty show floor.Sure, you could get a similar experience with a space heater or a fan, but having the climate control integrated directly into your chair allows it immediate access to your back and neck, and I found it felt more effective and comfortable than my desk fan at home.Las Vegas is a nightmare when it comes to consistent temperature, and after a week here, Im just about ready to stage a heist on this thing and take it home. Im hoping Razer gives this the same treatment it gave its haptic gaming cushion concept from last year and actually brings it to market.Least Favorite: Nvidia RTX Neural Faces is an AI yassification filter The culture war spares no one, especially when it comes to gaming. If youve looked up The Last of Us Part II or Horizon Zero Dawn on social media, no doubt youve seen photoshops of their female leads that attempt to make them look like they just walked out of a Sephora, despite them spending their games deep in the heart of the apocalypse. Critics have started to call these edits yassification, and it seems like Nvidias taking a side here: its new RTX Neural Faces feature might as well be an AI yassification filter.The idea is to help game NPCs cross the uncanny valley by using AI to help with more natural lighting, skin, and hair, especially when players are looking at that NPC from an unusual angle. The result just kind of looks like its trampling over the artists carefully made decisions with whatever Nvidia thinks natural means.In an example video posted by Nvidia, an NPC with Neural Faces applied seems to have totally different bone structure, a fresh layer of foundation, some new mascara, neater brows, and bigger but much deader eyes. Cool if youre into that, I guess, but its clearly not the look the modelers or lighting artists were going for, and it definitely wouldnt be appropriate for plenty of gamings most famous characters...unless youre curious what a Solid Snake makeup tutorial would look like?Favorite: Acer Nitro Blaze 11 Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt If the Lenovo Legion Go S stands out from other gaming handhelds because of its software, then the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 is the opposite. Frankly, its the biggest gaming handheld Ive ever used, and while that means its not necessarily the most convenient, theres a certain maximal joy to be taken from carrying it around.With so much room, its packing some pretty impressive specs, but what really takes the cake is its 11-inch, 2560 by 1600 display. It gets bright, it comes with a sturdy kickstand, and it can display up to 120 frames per second. Its also surprisingly lightweight at 2.3 pounds. Thats a pound heavier than the Steam Deck, but compared to a laptop, its still reasonable.Granted, if you get tired of holding it to play it, the Nitro Blaze 11 does have one trick. Like the Nintendo Switch and the original Lenovo Legion Go, its got detachable controllers. But unlike those devices, its screen is big enough to make kickstand mode feel worth it to me (I usually just hold the competition).To be honest, at this point in my life, Im not likely to opt for the Nitro Blaze 11. Im older, Im busier, and convenience trumps performance for me. But a younger, more explicitly gamer-y version of me would have been all over this.
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