Microsoft Gaming CEO: “I think we should have a handheld, too”

SteamOS is probably the biggest risk to the Windows monopoly right now, so that tracks.

I would never buy an Xbox handheld. Why would you want a handheld that is locked into Microsoft’s ecosystem even more than a Windows handheld? You’ll get maybe ten to fifteen years out of it, then it will become a brick that Microsoft has abandoned. You will never have fond memories of playing on the Xbox handheld that you can recreate with physical hardware. You’ll never get to show your kids what gaming was like on the thing, because the authentication servers were shut off years ago, and now it is a worthless paperweight.

“Hey boss we have the tech from Surface Division to form factor the new Xbox and portable the same. People could just buy one device.”

*Out the Windows boardroom guy meme*

I'm assuming it's gonna be a lame attempt to capitalize on the steam deck's success with hope that popular DRM game exclusives will drive sales.

Although I'm pretty sure the MSI Claw already proved that won't work. Even if it had been good in hardware, the addition of only a few select games didn't justify the cost or performance of windows on a handheld.

Unless they put some actual development and research behind it, which they won't, it'll probably last only a few years before they have to cancel due to sunk cost and lack of game sales.

They'd need to properly place DirectX with a clean NT kernel on some good hardware, and make a completely new (and usable) UI like Xbox without sacrificing battery power, which even the deck struggled to accomplish.

Considering how cruddy windows 11 has been, Xbox nuking teams left & right, and MSFT throwing all their budget at AI, I just don't see it happening.

I could only see this working if it came with 6 free months of GamePass, or if it was some kind of loss leader to sell games on their store.

Unless it's as easy to install games from the other stores, why would you otherwise pay to live in a tiny, walled garden?

Can we also have a Windows Phone next? You can call it an Xbox Phone if you like.

"Quick, fresh bubble, flood the market!"

Yeah. Not interested with anything that made by microsoft.

Do these other handhelds sell enough to justify all these different devices?

If they can't pull this off as an ARM device and recompile all the games to run on it, then don't bother.

There's nothing they can really bring to this that the Steam Deck hasn't already done better.

If Microsoft stuck with what it already does, it would be better. They already have cloud streaming technology which makes playing games on their ecosystem possible on any screen. Having a separate handheld console would complicate things. I just don't see the appeal.

If they make a device that doesn't suck, will people not just install Steam on it?

Why would anyone buy this? You can already do this streaming through the Deck or any of the other handhelds, if Game Pass is your thing.

"if only we had a way to like, take a desktop pc and make it, like, not tethered to a power outlet. and made the mouse and keyboard a part of the case. and added a screen and speakers too. too bad we have no idea how to do that." -Microsoft, as they shove the 10,000 laptops off of the desk. "guess we will have to do it ourselves."

(yeah yeah a laptop "isn't a handheld" but you get the stupidity all the same, surely. MS abandoned their platform just to make a different, more constrained platform, and charge people for multi-player. and they want to act like they couldn't do that 25 years ago for free. fuck off MS.)

Called it months ago, they'll develop a handheld version of Windows and have their own handheld!

If the controller feels as good as my Elite 2 then I'm sold

Real Xbox Kinect vibes...

Always in favour of healthy competition.

Xbox Remote Play already works on the Steam Deck and Android devices. Not sure on iOS, I haven't tried that, but I've personally run it on my Android tablet and Steam Deck.

Oh, I was wondering how it was going to happen. So many of these games look fantastic and like a good strong future ahead for Xbox. So I was wondering how they were going to screw this up.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Speaking on stage as part of an IGN Live interview, Spencer said directly that "I think we should have a handheld, too."

The comment stops just short of an official announcement that Microsoft is actively working on portable gaming hardware for the first time.

"The future for us in hardware is pretty awesome," Spencer continued during the IGN presentation.

Comments like these are a big change from internal Microsoft documents that leaked last September, which listed an Xbox portable as a "current gap in FY23" that is "not in scope for 1st party" (alongside potential products like a mobile controller, earbuds, and a media remote).

But Spencer was quick to call that leak "outdated" at the time, so it might not be the last word on Microsoft's portable gaming plans.

That feels like ancient history, though, in a world where everyone and their corporate subsidiary is looking to draft off the market success of the Steam Deck.

The original article contains 386 words, the summary contains 157 words. Saved 59%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

Phil Spencer holding a steamdeck and looking over at a switch: After all, why not? Why shouldn't I have a handheld system.

No they shouldn't

Microsoft playing Captain Obvious.

I hope they call it XBox Zune

I look forward to never buying one!

I would absolutely buy one of these and I've been wishing for something like this for years. I do most of my gaming on Xbox these days, and it would be great to be able to play in bed. I don't even care if it runs Windows or just an Xbox OS.

I do have a Steam Deck, but some games are too much effort to setup and troubleshoot. I want to hit one button and have a guarantee that the game will work, like the Switch.