Alienware Reveals Concept UFO, A Switch-Like Mobile Device For PC Gaming

The future is now: Alienware has revealed their newest gaming innovation called Concept UFO. It looks a lot like the Nintendo Switch and is playable both as a handheld and as a home console — except it also runs Windows 10 and plays up-to-date PC titles. Unveiled today at CES 2020, the platform’s playable games include Mortal Kombat 11, World War Z, and Rocket League.

It’s a bit larger than the Switch with an 8-inch screen, compared to the Switch’s 6.2 inches. And that’s pretty much all there is to say about the console’s specifications for now — although going by the playable games shown during the unveiling, we can say that it definitely packs in some quality hardware. Of course, the fact that this is Alienware means that it’ll probably be accompanied by a hefty price tag as well.

First reported by PocketGamer, the news outlet points out that a potential weak spot could be its battery life, considering it will be expected to run PC titles, and not your run of the mill Mahjong game either. Still, even though it is already a playable system — something not many companies can say for their own concepts when they’re first announced — there is still a very real possibility it might not even make it to the market at all.

The reason for a relatively early unveiling is simple: the company wants visibility. “We want the world to see that even though we may or may not productize something. We have tons of stuff in the works in the background,” said Ray Watkins, Dell consumer product reviews manager, in an interview with Tom’s Guide. Still, the console has its drawbacks: the gameplay is not as smooth as it is on a PC (and who would really expect it to be?), some may consider it a tad too big to be comfortably held, and of course the price tag is expected to drive fear into the hearts of men, women and children alike.

All in all, Dell is attempting something similar to what was tried back in the day, both with Razer’s Edge Pro and the Nvidia Shield, but the big difference is that the Concept UFO is supposed to be a handheld PC, while the others were based off tablet specifications. If the console sees the light of day at some point, it is fair to expect that it will make some pretty significant waves in the industry — but we don’t know how soon, and we certainly don’t know if we’ll be able to afford it.

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