Lenovo Legion leads the way with PC gaming innovation
GAMING started with the geeks, who tinkered with their PCs to play games like “Doom” and “Alone In The Dark” back in the 1990s, and have never stopped playing.
Eventually, as subsequent generations caught on to newer games, gaming evolved from being a niche attraction to becoming a mainstream form of entertainment, much like streaming platforms YouTube, Netflix, and Disney+ Hotstar, or the social media craze.
Today, it is not surprising to see every member of a family being passionate about electronic games, with some investing in the latest gaming consoles.
Many gamers, however, choose to play their games on their desktop personal computer (PC) due to its versatility in switching from gaming into a powerful productivity and learning device with virtually no fuss.
Gaming PCs are the daily tools for graphic artists and web designers - which means creating and editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations are a breeze with all the graphical processing power available.
But there is a rising trend among gamers to favour gaming laptops, as Lenovo’s Asia-Pacific gaming lead Ian Tan pointed out.
Capabilities beyond gaming
Tan noted that gaming laptops will become more mainstream as people looking for their first laptop are more likely to choose a high-powered machine in the new norm.
Said Tan: “Gaming laptops are more powerful than the average laptop as they are fitted with the highest-end CPUs (central processing units) and GPUs (graphics processing units).”
Gaming laptops usually contain a powerful GPU that can generate 3D graphics quickly for high-end games, run creator apps like Adobe Photoshop and handle streaming content effectively.
“Today a gaming laptop, especially the Lenovo Legion range, is as powerful as desktop PCs that can be bulkier and take up a lot of space.”
The pandemic has also caused many to work or learn from home.
In the work-from-home age, the user’s computer has to be able to do everything efficiently, from web browsing and document creation to heavier jobs, such as running virtual classrooms, correcting colour on a Photoshop image, or editing your videos to share with relatives during the lockdown.
A gaming laptop handles everything with ease, thus allowing users to enjoy a good work-life balance.
But Tan pointed out that gaming should be for fun and relaxation: “We need to have priorities in our lives and gaming allows us to relax and connect with people with similar passions.”
This work-life balance philosophy also defined the reason behind Lenovo’s Legion product design, which adheres to the motto “Stylish outside. Savage Inside".
The Legion motto means that a Legion laptop will always strike the balance of being an aesthetic statement and a powerful performer in any environment – be it in the office or in a gaming tournament.
Future attractions
Tan foresees that gaming will continue to grow in different ways.
Cross-platform gaming means that players will be able to play with each other regardless of what devices they are using.
Today, PC gamers already play competitively with their console gamer counterparts on many titles, and this will continue to become more commonplace.
Another development that is spreading around the gaming world is game subscriptions on platforms, such as the Xbox Game Pass.
With Game Pass, subscribers pay a monthly fee and they can download a few hundred games for unlimited play so long as they remain subscribed.
With cloud gaming, the games are processed in the cloud and streamed to different types of devices like the PC, tablet, TV or phone.
The advantage of cloud gaming is that one can play blockbuster games without needing a powerful gaming device.
Opening up opportunities
As new exciting directions take shape in gaming, new opportunities will emerge and give rise to more jobs to drive the business, from game creation to sales, marketing and operations.
Indirectly, game creation also fuels a lot of monetised content on YouTube and Twitch, as influencers use games in their content to engage with their viewers.
Similarly these give rise to shoutcasters, who drive commentaries for gaming tournaments and provide running commentaries and excitement as teams battle out in the arena.
As a way to give back to the community, Lenovo Legion has set up The Legion Academy in the Philippines and Thailand, as well as “The Epprentice” programme in Australia, giving local talents the opportunity to develop careers as content creators or shoutcasters.
These initiatives give people with the raw potential the opportunity to work with Legion and industry partners through short-term stints and internships, broadening their career choices.
Tan shared that in Malaysia, Lenovo has partnered with ESI (Esports Integrated) and SEA Gamer Mall in late October, to run a local tournament called Legion Gaming Week, which holds regular matches between gaming influencers, pro-gamers, and the gaming community.
“It was an inclusive event that saw gaming veterans, the YouTube gaming community and everyday e-gaming enthusiasts come together. Over 34,000 viewers watched the event and we can’t wait to organise more of such events in the future,” said Tan.
Legion innovations
Lenovo Legion PCs are primarily focused on optimising power to achieve seamless performance when running games.
For that, a Legion laptop uses artificial intelligence (AI) to sense when a user starts a task that demands high power consumption and resources.
Then the AI will tune the power requirements of the CPU and GPU that suit the needs of the game, to produce the maximum frame rates and graphical quality for the best available outcomes.
Lenovo’s Legion AI can recognise the top 16 games that people play worldwide and is able to tune its power requirements to suit the game’s needs for the maximum frame rates and high graphical quality.
The latest Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is also fitted with a new 16:10, 16-inch display panel that sports great colour accuracy for creative production.
What is 16:10? It is a display that is taller than the typical 16:9 laptop display, and this increases the workspace for those working on documents and spreadsheets, so they see more and scroll less.
In gaming the heightened screen offers a larger perspective and a fuller view. This ratio has since excited many gamers and is touted as the future laptop designs.
“We were the first gaming PC brand to put this display monitor into our gaming laptops and this is also changing the way that customers buy their laptops,” added Tan.
For those looking for a mainstream laptop, they can consider the Lenovo Legion 5, the most popular among the Legion range.
Both the Legion 7 and Legion 5 Pro come with Windows 10 Home. Get a free upgrade to Windows 11 (when available, see below)*.
Play the latest games with graphics that rival reality. Play with players on console. Play with the peripherals that you love. When it comes to playing your way, Windows 11 makes it happen.
There’s also the affordable entry-level gaming laptop, the Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3, which offers great bang for the buck.
For more information, visit www.lenovo.com/my/en/legion. Alternatively, visit its official stores on Lazada and Shopee.
*The Windows 11 upgrade will be delivered to qualifying devices late 2021 into 2022. Timing will vary by device. Certain features require specific hardware (see aka.ms/windows11-spec).
