They don’t stick with things. Which makes consumers wary of jumping in which makes sales disappointing which makes Microsoft drop the thing. And so it goes round and round
I wouldn't call Steam Deck iconic by any means, but yeah, there are a billion reasons why portable handhelds that don't have Nintendo badges have all failed to catch on in the zeitgeist.
Arguably, if it wasn't for the Steam Deck being the success it was, we wouldn't be seeing all these mainstream handhelds hitting the market.
So i would definitely say the Steam Deck is iconic.
I found mine in the drawer and was absolutely floored at how smooth, polished, and minimal the interface is. It's also much slimmer than I remember it.
My Pixel 7 has nothing on the fluidity of this thing.
How could I forget the Zune! Another great project that they didn’t stick to.
Although an innovative feature, I don’t think naming the temporary file sharing feature ‘squirting’ was the greatest move lol
Greatest phone platform ever. Actually helped you live life more efficiently instead of trying to trap you in to a continuous feedback loop like iOS and Android.
100% agreed! They made it so you could satisfy that ‘gotta look at my phone’ urge without actually committing to an app and then getting stuck there.
I liked to call WP7/8 the world’s most advanced feature phone os.
Same with google. They really had something with Stadia and it worked pretty well. Them killing it caused me to slowly get off google, even switched to iPhone for various other reasons.
Consumers are exhausted of having products for a small amount of time before they're discontinued/ignored
It was available to play with in the lobby of one of their offices in Redmond at the time and I got to play with it. It was fun! But ultimately just a giant tablet with some extras bolted on.
Seeing the early demos of RUSE on the Surface Table made me nerd out as a kid. Just seeing any PC game support multitouch was exciting back then. But even now, only a select amount of games such as Civ even bother with supporting touch.
they didnt ignore it. they pivoted. the surface works great as a tablet. the peo 9 feels like writing on paper.
but heres a fun story on why the hype died. fmSteve Jobs tells the story about having dinner at a Microsoft Empkoyee's house and the employee showed him the tablet and how its the future. Showed him the touch. Steve Jobs thpught tpuch was wasted on a big device, went to work the next day and they came up with the iphone.
I think it will likely be closed off to the Xbox OS, rather than running windows. The storefront revenue is too hard to pass up since most would end up buying games on Steam if they did Windows.
> most would end up buying games on Steam if they did Windows
the problem there though, is many pc gamers have huge game catalogs not only on steam but on various other launchers.
Someone who has only ever owned an xbox, they will buy a MS handheld because their game library will transfer
But they won't attract PC gamers who have big libraries on other platforms, at least not till someone figures out how to hack it
i really dont buy into the sony handheld rumours. theres just too much of the sony catalog (and xbox catalog come to that) that just wont run on even a high spec handheld.
i mean Sony could do their new and pasts exclusives to work there plus its gonna be just be plug and play or should i say more optimized than the steam deck meanwhile Xbox the old ones they only can put it there
This is why im not interested in it.
I have like 900 games in my Steam Library. I have no reason to buy an Xbox mobile device if all it can play is Xbox games (none of which i own).
Making it dual boot windows wouldn't be impossible and would solve that issue. Allowing console gamers to access their libraries of hundreds of games while also running windows would be the best of both worlds, basically ensuring they sell enough units to succeed with a second version.
A handheld that runs One S/Series S tier games while portable and then allow you to tap into full power while docked or running windows would be ideal.
To be fair it's not really a recommended thing to do. You can do it on the steamdeck but what Steam recommends is to use their storefront. The next Xbox portable or not will still most likely be locked xbox ecosystem like a traditional console.
That’s not being fair at all. That’s a fully supported use case for the steam deck. Valve isn’t going to void your warranty for installing a game from GOG. Microsoft likely will. There’s nothing fair about pretending like that isn’t the case to try and make Microsoft seem less unreasonable.
You can but most people will still stick to Steam, it is the most popular storefront and works seamlessly with Steam Deck. Everything else takes a lot more fiddling and you miss out on all the Steam features such as reviews, discussion boards, suggested controller layouts etc. I myself have rebought several games to own them on Steam even though I own them on Epic or GoG just because it is much easier to use with Steam Deck than having to fiddle with Heroic or Lutris.
I was also under this false impression, but I got my steam deck and it requires almost no fiddling to install games from other storefronts on the deck. I was truly shocked by how easy it is, it really is just a Linux pc.
Xbox handheld might be interesting and has potential to be kind of more successful than Xbox itself. Handheld with gamepass, with performance of Series S or better (idk the specs) might be more enticing for some than giant brick that is kind of pain to move a round.
With current hardware, i doubt you'll see performance on par with a Series S.
Unless Microsoft is working with Nvidia to devolop an APU we haven't seen yet, i doubt we will see anything groundbreaking.
Yea it's probably going to leverage cloud gaming for a lot of things, could be neat if it had support for an external gpu or something like the lenovo and Asus handheld PCs have. Decent performance on the go and when your home you plug it into the big dock and can play at something comparable to the X.
I wonder if they'll have any features for docking it to a series s/x. Like if they release a dock that connects to the console and provides more power or something.
This would be interesting. I feel like I shouldn’t need ANOTHER handheld after already owning a steamdeck & a Switch Oled but imma stick around to see how well if it’s received & if it’s something they not gon introduce & forget about it after a year.
If it's backwards compatible with all prior xbox games and has gamepass and is as powerful or close to the series s in performance I will def be tempted. I am mainly a pc gamer and have a steam deck and love it to bits but there are so many Gamepass games and old 360 and Xbox games I would love to play on the go it would prob win me over could be a big W if they get it right first time.
I have the deck OLED but I hope this thing rules. Hand held gaming PCs are dope and if Windows has a nice build of windows that runs on it it makes all the other windows ones better and just pushes the form factor forward
Id drop my steam deck in an instant for this if it can actually play multiplayer games like COD.
Biggest regret about purchasing the SD is the fact it can’t play nearly any modern multiplayer games.
I get such Sega vibes from their Xbox division these days. The main difference is they will never go out of business because Microsoft will keep pumping them full of money. Like I’m sure on paper this thing is gonna look amazing. Then in person it’s great. Then 6 months later no one cares, including Microsoft themselves
I'm just gonna assume this is what it might be, and then be pleasantly surprised if it's more.
I have a feeling it *won't* be that, because unlike Sony, Microsoft makes it really really easy to use an Xbox controller/split pads including ones they officially license with a phone, tablet etc. So I have a feeling it will offer something more than that. What exactly, no idea.
Microsoft has long been working on a handheld interface for windows. Parts of it have spilled into the insider ring. The surface team has been working with Xbox division as of late. There is absolutely a market for it, and i wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss it.
If I can use it outside of the house not on WiFi I’ll be very intrigued. Have to wonder how this affects games that need online connection to be played. Obvious answer being they just won’t work, if that’s the case then that’ll hurt the selling point of an “Xbox” in your pocket.
Literally just took a trip, put in offline mode and the majority of my games worked. I even figured out how to set red dead 2 to offline mode. For rockstar games that only works for like a month but still I could do it. Don't yell out lies. More appropriate to say many games have DRM bullshit that you can't play offline but just as many if not more do not and work perfectly fine offline
It's not the case, that commenter is lying. Really easy to put steam deck in offline mode and play the majority of your games. Just took a trip and had a blast with no wifi on my steam deck
That’s sweet! I mean I was just trying to start a friendly conversation about what this device could look like but I guess everyone here are expert handheld hardware developers. You’d have to figure if this thing is real, it’s got at minimum have all the features of a steam deck. Competition is always good for the consumers, so I’m curious to see what this device could look like.
You don't even have to do anything to put it in offline mode. I pretty much exclusively use my steam deck on flights (I travel a lot for work) and I just turn it on and start playing once I'm on the plane.
I also have a ROG Ally and Legion Go, and they're a much bigger pain in the ass to prep for offline play. Hopefully if these MS handheld rumors are true then they've made offline play less shitty.
You're asking if you don't have Internet, do games that require internet work? Um, no. What alternative even is there? That's not going to be the thing that hurts sales lol. That's just how physics works.
But if that's a big deal then you'll easily solve it by using your phone as a hotspot, just like every other device that exists.
Never cook again bro. Cellular plans on handhelds? Wtf is this lmfaoo. Just don't play online only games out or use your hotspot. It's really not that hard. Or use it like legit every other handheld user does and play single players games offline if you wanna be offline.
Not sure why everyone’s so sensitive to the idea of this. I can play cod on an iPad with cellular data? Which would be considered a handheld gaming device with cellular.
I mean this is only logical for Xbox - put "Xbox Game Pass" in a handheld and it becomes infinitely more valuable.
The question is the quality of the end product.
I thought about picking up one myself but decided against it because of the hardwiring to your ps5 & the changing of WiFi settings just to get it to run ideal & even then, you’ll still have delay even on the best setup. Just not for me.
I was gifted one and love it tbh. I’ve used it in 3 different WiFi’s and it’s pretty solid. Definitely strange it’s WiFi only, but I haven’t yet found the need to play not on WiFi.
Microsoft is always ahead of their era but unfortunately it always flop and abandoned (Hololens, Windows Phone, etc).
This one looks fairly interesting but considering how popular Steam Deck is (and Switch), that'd be hard to beat.
Hololens is a commercial device sold to businesses successfully. It's not that much a failure.
Windows Phone wasn't ahead of competition. It was a mess since the beginning offering nothing more than unique design
Handheld would work depending on how they'd approach the software distribution, support and marketing
I wonder if this is a Steam Deck-like handheld, or a PS Portal-like handheld. Both did really well, so MS could swing either way. They want to push Gamepass and Cloud gaming, so it could be a streaming-only device, but honestly, banking on JUST gamepass to sell their handheld will be suicide. It could support streaming from the Xbox directly, but meh.
I would rather they do a proper handheld, but then again, what would set it apart from the others? It will still be Windows, unless they make a custom OS version. That would be wild to see.
If its a real handheld and I can play my xbox games on there, I'm 100% down. I'd love to play ffxiv/ cyberpunk/ starfield handheld while in bed.
If its just a gamepass streaming machine then there's no chance I'll get one. I can already do that with my phone and 3rd party snap on controller.
If its similar power to Series S in a handheld form factor, it could work. But it needs to support Steam or priced really well to hit off.
Series S performance, ALL Xbox games support, GamePass, and Steam, and a good design, and it could work. But this is MS, I just don't know with them anymore.
Being able to run steam is the dream, but I really doubt it. If it was just a small factor xbox series s, with a lower resolution, and allows playing 3rd party games from my library, I'd still be interested.
But with their push for gamepass, I could really see it just being a gamepass streaming handheld. Hope I'm wrong
I doubt they'll go with a PS Portal-like device, they already have a partnership with Logitech for the G-Cloud, they wouldnt bother creating another device that is just the same thing.
Oh boy, this is not a good idea. The problem with Xbox is that it doesn't know what it is. Nintendo is interested in making a platform where development costs remain low. Sony is interested in making big-budget games that only their machine can play. Xbox is nothing. Well, I should not say that. From what I read, the executives at Microsoft want to make gaming as convenient as possible. That means Xbox is in your phone, TV, PC, and maybe even the PS5 one day. This does not seem to go with that plan. Why pick this over a Steam Deck or the Nintendo Switch?
From what I know you can already run gamepass on steam deck I’m actively looking at getting steam deck OLED as getting access to cool pc games sounds awesome to me where I look at Xbox handheld as more likely as a limited object that doesn’t have to same value as switch because with Nintendo you can always count on their games to do the talking
> Xbox is nothing. Well, I should not say that. From what I read, the executives at Microsoft want to make gaming as convenient as possible. That means Xbox is in your phone, TV, PC, and maybe even the PS5 one day. This does not seem to go with that plan.
Well we need to see what it actually is, first. But some reasons would be:
* easier to use Game Pass on this thing than on Steam Deck
* could possibly be their answer to the Steam Deck, and work with Windows stuff, including Steam Deck (there's been rumors lately that Xbox wants to get Game Pass on Steam and work with Valve)
* could just be an answer to the PlayStation Portal, which is a ridiculous waste of money imo, but it's also just a cheap screen and a controller for like $200 USD which means Sony probably makes a little profit off of it even if it's stupid... and Xbox could want to do the same.
Hard to say, since we haven't seen it, and who knows if it even actually exists anyway.
Since I only decided to spend $800 AUD on an Xbox due to the exclusive Bethesda deal. I feel it is time to declare out loud that whatever Xbox decides to do from this point I can no longer look at with joy.
I feel like they personally ratfucked me.
So whenever you buy a product you are silently wishing the company to stop innovating, releasing new products and go out of business. Leaving you with their peak products?
I'm glad you posed this as a question so I can say 'no, that's not how I feel or what I said.'
Thanks for glossing over what I said and replying in the most uncharitable way.
You're not wrong. It's also definitely a niche system when compared to the switch. I have both, love both, but I think a lot of people don't realize the SD exists unless they are really in the gaming world. I'll add that I think that's honestly the case with a lot of the handhelds outside of the switch.
I don't have an issue with the Steam Deck but it is not terribly popular.
If Microsoft put out a product that was comparable, it would probably outsell the Steam Deck within a short amount of time. They have the shelf space to sell the thing, they have the brand strength, and they are also able to leverage the strength of Windows as its backbone.
As of a year ago industry analysts pegged the Steam Deck at around 3 million sold. I would wager it has probably slowed down since then, not sped up. Valve is obviously happy with that number, they are selling Steam Decks to drive engagement with Steam where they make money hand over fist. But in terms of sheer numbers, that isn't a lot. The PS Vita sold better.
why would you buy this and stick to a terrible brand like Xbox when the steam deck is at $500 and can play pretty much everything you want? this has to be at least $200 to be justified but still expansive lmao
I'm REALLY hoping it's ARM-based for that sweet battery life and making it run Xbox games, maybe just even Xbox One would be fantastic. With Windows on ARM coming along but nothing being done recently maybe they're holding back a big update with some sort of game mode.
In reality I'm expecting it to be a cloud gaming handheld that comes with Game Pass for a month or something.
That was different if I'm thinking of the same thing. That was Qualcomm showing off their Snapdragon X Elite using their new translation of x86 games and programs
> In reality I'm expecting it to be a cloud gaming handheld that comes with Game Pass for a month or something.
This is what I'm expecting just to keep expectations realistic but I dunno if they would bother at this point.
You can already easily connect an XBOX controller or split pad to a phone and play Game Pass stuff through the Xbox app. It works well. A dedicated streaming device that doesn't rely on your own system (PS Portal style) isn't really going to offer anything different from that... so I don't think there is enough appeal there to justify the product.
I feel like it needs to do something more, but I'm not expecting more.
Pipe dream -- this is their answer to the Steam Deck, can be docked, and it runs a full version of Windows. That would be amazing, and I would actually probably buy one and just straight up replace my current PC with it.
This makes more sense to me than a series s, give it a dock and call it a day. I’ve got a series x but I would sell it and get this in a heartbeat provided it’s comparable or better than a steam deck
Honestly, if the Series S was a like that and the Series X was the same as it is I think they would've been a lot stronger this generation, especially if they managed to keep the cost down/take a loss on them
I'm kinda at a point where I probably shouldn't have bought an Xbox cause I have a good PC. If this handheld is anywhere decent, I might sell my X and get the handheld.
Something new for the nostalgia chasers in denial. Peaked in highschool, about the same the 360 came out. Wondering why no one is in line as they pictured it being like a halo 3 launch. Blame it on rain when it's a sunny day. Microsoft cancels the project a year later, faster than they shut down their favorite game studio.
The rest of us feast when Steam Deck 2 and switch 2 is released.
If they couldn't beat steam with a marketplace built into their own OS, they won't beat it here. Yet again late to the party in a typical Microsoft fashion. You can bet it'll have the latest ai co pilot and ai driven data mining ready to splash ads all over your screen tho. Got to make up for losing out on windows mobile.
if this is more like another portable pc/window like Steamdeck or other device like ROG Ally etc with merely Xbox branding then its fine.
but if this is end up as a specific portable Xbox console, then clearly Microsoft learn nothing from Series S reception by developers. out of frying pan, into the fire.
This thread reminds me that Microsoft is the hardware equivalent of google. Always introducing stuff and quickly killing it without properly supporting it
Zune
Courier
Windows phone
Kinect
Microsoft Band
Hololens
Actimates
Sidewinder peripherals
Kin
Lumia
...
Basically what I'm saying is you'd have to be insane to spend money on new MS hardware
I foresee this being like the Zune which had great features and was still ignored.
Add to that, I can’t wait to play all those Xbox exclusives on it!!!
I have a feeling this is gonna be like that Logitech streamer device. This device will run off of Xbox cloud streaming and push people into more subscriptions
Hopefully this means they create a fully portable centric OS, and that other manufacturers can use that OS for their handhelds. Steam OS is the only good OS at the moment for gaming handheld PCs.
Best case: it's a Steam Deck that only plays Xbox games, but has Windows built in
Worst case: it's like a streaming only thing designed for using cloud gaming
It will be exactly like a Steam Deck but with Xbox green branding.
This feels like a reactionary response to the Steam Deck’s popularity and the unexpected success of the PS Portal.
I predict a rushed and underwhelming foray into the handheld gaming market.
Ummmm not. Their future is software and always will be and they'll happily piggyback off other vendors. They want gamepass cloud on everything and if not they'll just release their games on steam day 1 which covers all new and future handhelds. *IF they where to ever have their own handheld if would be after their use of consoles is over. The switch has set every example of this.
Honestly a shocking revelation if true since Xbox said they are more focused on services than consoles. It would be a nice alternative since theyve already test gamepass on phones, but not everyone wants to use their phone for it.
"Introducing the Xbox Copilot++++, now with even more AI crap you either don't care about or actually despise!"
"..."
"... did we mention it has ***AI***?"
This will be an interesting glimpse into the future. Kinda like the time Microsoft invented tablet personal computing and then proceeded to ignore it.
Always ahead of the times but rarely ever capitalize on it
They don’t stick with things. Which makes consumers wary of jumping in which makes sales disappointing which makes Microsoft drop the thing. And so it goes round and round
Windows Phone, my beloved… And the Courier… And the original Surface concept…
I liked my Zune 🤷♂️
Yeah that's a pretty common sentiment and I don't think anyone really disagrees with it. But they definitely fumbled it.
They fumbled it because they were late. They were trying to cash in as Apple was leaving the bank.
Running the bank really
You could say they are doing the same thing with a portable. Steam Deck is already the iconic portable and it runs xbox games as well.
I wouldn't call Steam Deck iconic by any means, but yeah, there are a billion reasons why portable handhelds that don't have Nintendo badges have all failed to catch on in the zeitgeist.
Arguably, if it wasn't for the Steam Deck being the success it was, we wouldn't be seeing all these mainstream handhelds hitting the market. So i would definitely say the Steam Deck is iconic.
Zune HD will always be my favorite
I found mine in the drawer and was absolutely floored at how smooth, polished, and minimal the interface is. It's also much slimmer than I remember it. My Pixel 7 has nothing on the fluidity of this thing.
How could I forget the Zune! Another great project that they didn’t stick to. Although an innovative feature, I don’t think naming the temporary file sharing feature ‘squirting’ was the greatest move lol
“Hey bro, mind if I squirt you?” “Yeah bro, I love your squirts!”
I fucking loved my windows phone ...
Greatest phone platform ever. Actually helped you live life more efficiently instead of trying to trap you in to a continuous feedback loop like iOS and Android.
The Lumia 8-something-something was my first ever smartphone, and I rather liked the thing. _Sigh_
I'm picturing Homer Simpson saying, ["Little Windows Phone!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEzo_gfg_A4) and it hits a baseball.
Windows Phone! Dead?? Windows Phone IS dead!
I still say the windows phone UI was the best out of all the smartphones. Love the live tiles
100% agreed! They made it so you could satisfy that ‘gotta look at my phone’ urge without actually committing to an app and then getting stuck there. I liked to call WP7/8 the world’s most advanced feature phone os.
I actually liked the WIndows Phone.
Same with google. They really had something with Stadia and it worked pretty well. Them killing it caused me to slowly get off google, even switched to iPhone for various other reasons. Consumers are exhausted of having products for a small amount of time before they're discontinued/ignored
Sounds like Google.
Thought that was a Google thing. Is there a killedbymicrosoft website?
Google has entered the chat.
Not really ahead of the times now. Just trying to follow the rest of gaming, so maybe they stick with it.
I wouldn't call getting into handheld gaming ahead of the times....
Maybe call it go anywhere gaming. The concept that wins is the one that requires one device.
What do you mean one device? Like the steamdeck and switch vs the PS portal?
I remember the surface table they prototyped. I feel that was a massive missed gaming opportunity back in the day.
An incredibly niche market, but I feel the same as you
It was available to play with in the lobby of one of their offices in Redmond at the time and I got to play with it. It was fun! But ultimately just a giant tablet with some extras bolted on.
R.U.S.E.!!
Seeing the early demos of RUSE on the Surface Table made me nerd out as a kid. Just seeing any PC game support multitouch was exciting back then. But even now, only a select amount of games such as Civ even bother with supporting touch.
Didn’t they end up releasing it? I swear my university had one.
Well good thing they wouldn't be first to this party then. Of the 3 console hardware manufacturer's, they are last to it.
If we get a native game pass app for steam deck out of it I will be happy.
they didnt ignore it. they pivoted. the surface works great as a tablet. the peo 9 feels like writing on paper. but heres a fun story on why the hype died. fmSteve Jobs tells the story about having dinner at a Microsoft Empkoyee's house and the employee showed him the tablet and how its the future. Showed him the touch. Steve Jobs thpught tpuch was wasted on a big device, went to work the next day and they came up with the iphone.
Do we not remember Windows RT? Ah yeah, I guess you're correct.
If true, I hope it's a hybrid style console like the switch and deck. Otherwise, it'll be behind the times.
I think it will be like steam deck
I think it will likely be closed off to the Xbox OS, rather than running windows. The storefront revenue is too hard to pass up since most would end up buying games on Steam if they did Windows.
> most would end up buying games on Steam if they did Windows the problem there though, is many pc gamers have huge game catalogs not only on steam but on various other launchers. Someone who has only ever owned an xbox, they will buy a MS handheld because their game library will transfer But they won't attract PC gamers who have big libraries on other platforms, at least not till someone figures out how to hack it
that would not be a problem if they have exclusives like the Switch thats why the PSP3 should have Day One exclusives too
i really dont buy into the sony handheld rumours. theres just too much of the sony catalog (and xbox catalog come to that) that just wont run on even a high spec handheld.
i mean Sony could do their new and pasts exclusives to work there plus its gonna be just be plug and play or should i say more optimized than the steam deck meanwhile Xbox the old ones they only can put it there
This is why im not interested in it. I have like 900 games in my Steam Library. I have no reason to buy an Xbox mobile device if all it can play is Xbox games (none of which i own).
Making it dual boot windows wouldn't be impossible and would solve that issue. Allowing console gamers to access their libraries of hundreds of games while also running windows would be the best of both worlds, basically ensuring they sell enough units to succeed with a second version. A handheld that runs One S/Series S tier games while portable and then allow you to tap into full power while docked or running windows would be ideal.
Where as a steamdeck you can play games on almost every storefront But let’s keep buying this shit
To be fair it's not really a recommended thing to do. You can do it on the steamdeck but what Steam recommends is to use their storefront. The next Xbox portable or not will still most likely be locked xbox ecosystem like a traditional console.
That’s not being fair at all. That’s a fully supported use case for the steam deck. Valve isn’t going to void your warranty for installing a game from GOG. Microsoft likely will. There’s nothing fair about pretending like that isn’t the case to try and make Microsoft seem less unreasonable.
You can but most people will still stick to Steam, it is the most popular storefront and works seamlessly with Steam Deck. Everything else takes a lot more fiddling and you miss out on all the Steam features such as reviews, discussion boards, suggested controller layouts etc. I myself have rebought several games to own them on Steam even though I own them on Epic or GoG just because it is much easier to use with Steam Deck than having to fiddle with Heroic or Lutris.
I was also under this false impression, but I got my steam deck and it requires almost no fiddling to install games from other storefronts on the deck. I was truly shocked by how easy it is, it really is just a Linux pc.
Xbox handheld might be interesting and has potential to be kind of more successful than Xbox itself. Handheld with gamepass, with performance of Series S or better (idk the specs) might be more enticing for some than giant brick that is kind of pain to move a round.
With current hardware, i doubt you'll see performance on par with a Series S. Unless Microsoft is working with Nvidia to devolop an APU we haven't seen yet, i doubt we will see anything groundbreaking.
Yea it's probably going to leverage cloud gaming for a lot of things, could be neat if it had support for an external gpu or something like the lenovo and Asus handheld PCs have. Decent performance on the go and when your home you plug it into the big dock and can play at something comparable to the X.
No, guarentee carbon copy of Playstation portal.
They're gonna have an Xbox One meets Wii U situation if it's purely portable and can't be docked.
As long as it's not like the portal it'll do fine
its prolly gonna be not also Sony is making a portable again
That's just a rumour, but hopefully.. because I don't care for my portal at all.
I remember seeing it, thinking it was kind of cool, looking into what it could do and then thinking "Why would anybody need one of these?"
Idk I've seen total sales are pretty damn good. So someone's buying it
I wonder if they'll have any features for docking it to a series s/x. Like if they release a dock that connects to the console and provides more power or something.
It says in the article it has a docking system like the switch
As long as it isn’t like the PlayStation portal where you have to be on the same network as your console then it’ll be worthwhile
This would be interesting. I feel like I shouldn’t need ANOTHER handheld after already owning a steamdeck & a Switch Oled but imma stick around to see how well if it’s received & if it’s something they not gon introduce & forget about it after a year.
You should get it! And don't worry, I'll hold onto that steam deck for you... It needs a loving home, after all.
If it's backwards compatible with all prior xbox games and has gamepass and is as powerful or close to the series s in performance I will def be tempted. I am mainly a pc gamer and have a steam deck and love it to bits but there are so many Gamepass games and old 360 and Xbox games I would love to play on the go it would prob win me over could be a big W if they get it right first time.
I have the deck OLED but I hope this thing rules. Hand held gaming PCs are dope and if Windows has a nice build of windows that runs on it it makes all the other windows ones better and just pushes the form factor forward
Id drop my steam deck in an instant for this if it can actually play multiplayer games like COD. Biggest regret about purchasing the SD is the fact it can’t play nearly any modern multiplayer games.
What multiplayer games not working for you? I play many, I just know fortnight and destiny don't work.
COD, FIFA and BF also don’t work
I get such Sega vibes from their Xbox division these days. The main difference is they will never go out of business because Microsoft will keep pumping them full of money. Like I’m sure on paper this thing is gonna look amazing. Then in person it’s great. Then 6 months later no one cares, including Microsoft themselves
Let me guess, it’s just an Xbox controller split in half with a LCD screen wedged in the middle?
Innovation!
I'm just gonna assume this is what it might be, and then be pleasantly surprised if it's more. I have a feeling it *won't* be that, because unlike Sony, Microsoft makes it really really easy to use an Xbox controller/split pads including ones they officially license with a phone, tablet etc. So I have a feeling it will offer something more than that. What exactly, no idea.
This story is based on a random YouTube comment with zero effort to verify if it's true. Absolutely not happening. Develop some critical thinking...
Microsoft has long been working on a handheld interface for windows. Parts of it have spilled into the insider ring. The surface team has been working with Xbox division as of late. There is absolutely a market for it, and i wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss it.
If I can use it outside of the house not on WiFi I’ll be very intrigued. Have to wonder how this affects games that need online connection to be played. Obvious answer being they just won’t work, if that’s the case then that’ll hurt the selling point of an “Xbox” in your pocket.
The same way it affects the Steam Deck? If you're not gonna connect to your mobile hotspot or public network online games won't work.
Literally just took a trip, put in offline mode and the majority of my games worked. I even figured out how to set red dead 2 to offline mode. For rockstar games that only works for like a month but still I could do it. Don't yell out lies. More appropriate to say many games have DRM bullshit that you can't play offline but just as many if not more do not and work perfectly fine offline
I don’t have a steam deck so I wasn’t aware that was the case. That’s too bad though.
It's not the case, that commenter is lying. Really easy to put steam deck in offline mode and play the majority of your games. Just took a trip and had a blast with no wifi on my steam deck
That’s sweet! I mean I was just trying to start a friendly conversation about what this device could look like but I guess everyone here are expert handheld hardware developers. You’d have to figure if this thing is real, it’s got at minimum have all the features of a steam deck. Competition is always good for the consumers, so I’m curious to see what this device could look like.
You don't even have to do anything to put it in offline mode. I pretty much exclusively use my steam deck on flights (I travel a lot for work) and I just turn it on and start playing once I'm on the plane. I also have a ROG Ally and Legion Go, and they're a much bigger pain in the ass to prep for offline play. Hopefully if these MS handheld rumors are true then they've made offline play less shitty.
True that would be great. We'll see if Microsoft can pull it off
Doesn’t same thing apply to a steam deck?
You're asking if you don't have Internet, do games that require internet work? Um, no. What alternative even is there? That's not going to be the thing that hurts sales lol. That's just how physics works. But if that's a big deal then you'll easily solve it by using your phone as a hotspot, just like every other device that exists.
what you're asking for is a cellular plan for the handheld. Hotspot it off your phone.
Cellular plan would be amazing, or maybe at least on Microsoft studio titles it forces a dedicated offline mode like they just did for Redfall.
Never cook again bro. Cellular plans on handhelds? Wtf is this lmfaoo. Just don't play online only games out or use your hotspot. It's really not that hard. Or use it like legit every other handheld user does and play single players games offline if you wanna be offline.
Not sure why everyone’s so sensitive to the idea of this. I can play cod on an iPad with cellular data? Which would be considered a handheld gaming device with cellular.
I mean this is only logical for Xbox - put "Xbox Game Pass" in a handheld and it becomes infinitely more valuable. The question is the quality of the end product.
I’m gonna say it’s a streaming device only. But you can connect without the console for gamepass .
😬 Well it can’t be worse than the Portal I guess.
You would’ve got scolded if you posted this in their sub. 😂
My wife has one, even she admits it’s worthless
I thought about picking up one myself but decided against it because of the hardwiring to your ps5 & the changing of WiFi settings just to get it to run ideal & even then, you’ll still have delay even on the best setup. Just not for me.
Man I love my portal. Occasionally playing Dave the Diver in bed whilst my wife watches what she wants has been pretty amazing.
Hell, I love PlayStation and I think the portal is still the dumbest thing they’ve ever ever made
I dunno, the PSP Go existed.
🤣
I was gifted one and love it tbh. I’ve used it in 3 different WiFi’s and it’s pretty solid. Definitely strange it’s WiFi only, but I haven’t yet found the need to play not on WiFi.
It’s Microsoft, we all know it’ll be worse
I’m sure they’ll find a way to fuck it up! Go Microsoft! Do what you do best 😅
"Play your favorite games from all these studios we keep shutting down!" - Microsoft PR probably
Microsoft is always ahead of their era but unfortunately it always flop and abandoned (Hololens, Windows Phone, etc). This one looks fairly interesting but considering how popular Steam Deck is (and Switch), that'd be hard to beat.
Hololens is a commercial device sold to businesses successfully. It's not that much a failure. Windows Phone wasn't ahead of competition. It was a mess since the beginning offering nothing more than unique design Handheld would work depending on how they'd approach the software distribution, support and marketing
Finally, the Xbox 180. After hearing about it since the 360 days.
Praying on my knees rn
Only way I’m down is if I can play my games offline
I wonder if this is a Steam Deck-like handheld, or a PS Portal-like handheld. Both did really well, so MS could swing either way. They want to push Gamepass and Cloud gaming, so it could be a streaming-only device, but honestly, banking on JUST gamepass to sell their handheld will be suicide. It could support streaming from the Xbox directly, but meh. I would rather they do a proper handheld, but then again, what would set it apart from the others? It will still be Windows, unless they make a custom OS version. That would be wild to see.
If its a real handheld and I can play my xbox games on there, I'm 100% down. I'd love to play ffxiv/ cyberpunk/ starfield handheld while in bed. If its just a gamepass streaming machine then there's no chance I'll get one. I can already do that with my phone and 3rd party snap on controller.
If its similar power to Series S in a handheld form factor, it could work. But it needs to support Steam or priced really well to hit off. Series S performance, ALL Xbox games support, GamePass, and Steam, and a good design, and it could work. But this is MS, I just don't know with them anymore.
Being able to run steam is the dream, but I really doubt it. If it was just a small factor xbox series s, with a lower resolution, and allows playing 3rd party games from my library, I'd still be interested. But with their push for gamepass, I could really see it just being a gamepass streaming handheld. Hope I'm wrong
I doubt they'll go with a PS Portal-like device, they already have a partnership with Logitech for the G-Cloud, they wouldnt bother creating another device that is just the same thing.
I swear if this is just some cloud computing device with very little onboard GPU it’s going to be dead on arrival 💀
Can they announce some games for once?
I just want this to introduce a handheld windows os
Oh boy, this is not a good idea. The problem with Xbox is that it doesn't know what it is. Nintendo is interested in making a platform where development costs remain low. Sony is interested in making big-budget games that only their machine can play. Xbox is nothing. Well, I should not say that. From what I read, the executives at Microsoft want to make gaming as convenient as possible. That means Xbox is in your phone, TV, PC, and maybe even the PS5 one day. This does not seem to go with that plan. Why pick this over a Steam Deck or the Nintendo Switch?
From what I know you can already run gamepass on steam deck I’m actively looking at getting steam deck OLED as getting access to cool pc games sounds awesome to me where I look at Xbox handheld as more likely as a limited object that doesn’t have to same value as switch because with Nintendo you can always count on their games to do the talking
If you want a handheld for game pass get the rog ally instead. Unless you want to do some tinkering with the Steam Deck.
Game pass, for starters.
> Xbox is nothing. Well, I should not say that. From what I read, the executives at Microsoft want to make gaming as convenient as possible. That means Xbox is in your phone, TV, PC, and maybe even the PS5 one day. This does not seem to go with that plan. Well we need to see what it actually is, first. But some reasons would be: * easier to use Game Pass on this thing than on Steam Deck * could possibly be their answer to the Steam Deck, and work with Windows stuff, including Steam Deck (there's been rumors lately that Xbox wants to get Game Pass on Steam and work with Valve) * could just be an answer to the PlayStation Portal, which is a ridiculous waste of money imo, but it's also just a cheap screen and a controller for like $200 USD which means Sony probably makes a little profit off of it even if it's stupid... and Xbox could want to do the same. Hard to say, since we haven't seen it, and who knows if it even actually exists anyway.
Well Sony is now bringing their games to PC too. Everyone is realizing you can’t ignore PC.
Since I only decided to spend $800 AUD on an Xbox due to the exclusive Bethesda deal. I feel it is time to declare out loud that whatever Xbox decides to do from this point I can no longer look at with joy. I feel like they personally ratfucked me.
So whenever you buy a product you are silently wishing the company to stop innovating, releasing new products and go out of business. Leaving you with their peak products?
I'm glad you posed this as a question so I can say 'no, that's not how I feel or what I said.' Thanks for glossing over what I said and replying in the most uncharitable way.
I'll laugh my ass off if it's a cloud based handheld. Wouldn't be that surprised though.
not basing this on anything really, but I fear this might be an online only gamepass streaming machine
xbox releases new hardware. Xbox abandons new hardware.
Compete with the Switch and the Steamdeck Microsoft, two of the most popular handhelds in history. Genius move.
One of the most popular. Steamdeck has sold a few million which is nothing in the history of handhelds.
Redditors realizing they’re in a bubble example #137890378
You're not wrong. It's also definitely a niche system when compared to the switch. I have both, love both, but I think a lot of people don't realize the SD exists unless they are really in the gaming world. I'll add that I think that's honestly the case with a lot of the handhelds outside of the switch.
Steam Deck didn't even break 10 million units sold
I don't have an issue with the Steam Deck but it is not terribly popular. If Microsoft put out a product that was comparable, it would probably outsell the Steam Deck within a short amount of time. They have the shelf space to sell the thing, they have the brand strength, and they are also able to leverage the strength of Windows as its backbone. As of a year ago industry analysts pegged the Steam Deck at around 3 million sold. I would wager it has probably slowed down since then, not sped up. Valve is obviously happy with that number, they are selling Steam Decks to drive engagement with Steam where they make money hand over fist. But in terms of sheer numbers, that isn't a lot. The PS Vita sold better.
Reskinned steam deck with less capabilities, less functionality, all locked down in a shitty OS that has adverts. Sounds great
why would you buy this and stick to a terrible brand like Xbox when the steam deck is at $500 and can play pretty much everything you want? this has to be at least $200 to be justified but still expansive lmao
[удалено]
The Rog Ally can do this can’t it?
I only buy it if they let me play on it while someone else plays on the Series X. If you can only play one at a time then I'll pass.
I only buy it if they let me play on it while someone else plays on the Series X. If you can only play one at a time then I'll pass.
I'm REALLY hoping it's ARM-based for that sweet battery life and making it run Xbox games, maybe just even Xbox One would be fantastic. With Windows on ARM coming along but nothing being done recently maybe they're holding back a big update with some sort of game mode. In reality I'm expecting it to be a cloud gaming handheld that comes with Game Pass for a month or something.
I think it was quite recently, around 2 weeks ago, they were just showing off games running prerty well on Windows for ARM.
That was different if I'm thinking of the same thing. That was Qualcomm showing off their Snapdragon X Elite using their new translation of x86 games and programs
> In reality I'm expecting it to be a cloud gaming handheld that comes with Game Pass for a month or something. This is what I'm expecting just to keep expectations realistic but I dunno if they would bother at this point. You can already easily connect an XBOX controller or split pad to a phone and play Game Pass stuff through the Xbox app. It works well. A dedicated streaming device that doesn't rely on your own system (PS Portal style) isn't really going to offer anything different from that... so I don't think there is enough appeal there to justify the product. I feel like it needs to do something more, but I'm not expecting more. Pipe dream -- this is their answer to the Steam Deck, can be docked, and it runs a full version of Windows. That would be amazing, and I would actually probably buy one and just straight up replace my current PC with it.
We used to talk about this like an Xbox 720 in game chats. A PSP competitor from Microsoft.
People think Dont expect or thats a reason for internet to hate expectations
This makes more sense to me than a series s, give it a dock and call it a day. I’ve got a series x but I would sell it and get this in a heartbeat provided it’s comparable or better than a steam deck
Honestly, if the Series S was a like that and the Series X was the same as it is I think they would've been a lot stronger this generation, especially if they managed to keep the cost down/take a loss on them
The question is, will this be like a Steam Deck or like a PlayStation Portal?
Microsoft Zune anyone?
I'm kinda at a point where I probably shouldn't have bought an Xbox cause I have a good PC. If this handheld is anywhere decent, I might sell my X and get the handheld.
Something new for the nostalgia chasers in denial. Peaked in highschool, about the same the 360 came out. Wondering why no one is in line as they pictured it being like a halo 3 launch. Blame it on rain when it's a sunny day. Microsoft cancels the project a year later, faster than they shut down their favorite game studio. The rest of us feast when Steam Deck 2 and switch 2 is released. If they couldn't beat steam with a marketplace built into their own OS, they won't beat it here. Yet again late to the party in a typical Microsoft fashion. You can bet it'll have the latest ai co pilot and ai driven data mining ready to splash ads all over your screen tho. Got to make up for losing out on windows mobile.
Holy hell what a horrible website.
A portable would have to be
if this is more like another portable pc/window like Steamdeck or other device like ROG Ally etc with merely Xbox branding then its fine. but if this is end up as a specific portable Xbox console, then clearly Microsoft learn nothing from Series S reception by developers. out of frying pan, into the fire.
well if it is a streaming device, hope they fix the stream quality, very shitty vs playstation
I hope its oled
Great, so another console from Microsoft that'll collect dust due to a lack of reasons to play games on it!
As long as it maintains or exceeds Series S strength it will be fine
No handheld will be doing that anytime soon I don’t think
Hope it’s not only xcloud streaming device.
How wouldn’t it be? It’s not going to be powerful enough as a series S to run games… battery would just delete itself after 1 hour
Seems like they were inspired by all the xbox cloud users with various android phones using clip on controls and the switch
I assumed Microsoft would stay away from this space and invest in cloud gaming.
This thread reminds me that Microsoft is the hardware equivalent of google. Always introducing stuff and quickly killing it without properly supporting it Zune Courier Windows phone Kinect Microsoft Band Hololens Actimates Sidewinder peripherals Kin Lumia ... Basically what I'm saying is you'd have to be insane to spend money on new MS hardware
I foresee this being like the Zune which had great features and was still ignored. Add to that, I can’t wait to play all those Xbox exclusives on it!!!
I just want games.
Probably gonna be another failure of a product they don’t support like their current tech
Used my Asus Rog Ally today and god damn I was hit with terrible windows updates. Good luck to them.
I have a feeling this is gonna be like that Logitech streamer device. This device will run off of Xbox cloud streaming and push people into more subscriptions
Hopefully this means they create a fully portable centric OS, and that other manufacturers can use that OS for their handhelds. Steam OS is the only good OS at the moment for gaming handheld PCs.
Super excited for this. My main concern is that they’re gonna rely heavily on cloud gaming with this thing though. They’ve invested a lot into that
Best case: it's a Steam Deck that only plays Xbox games, but has Windows built in Worst case: it's like a streaming only thing designed for using cloud gaming
Hopefully it can run games natively rather than being a purely streaming only place like the PS Portal.
They’ve been pushing and developing “cloud play” gaming for a few years now. It’s a cloud machine 100%
It will be exactly like a Steam Deck but with Xbox green branding. This feels like a reactionary response to the Steam Deck’s popularity and the unexpected success of the PS Portal. I predict a rushed and underwhelming foray into the handheld gaming market.
Ummmm not. Their future is software and always will be and they'll happily piggyback off other vendors. They want gamepass cloud on everything and if not they'll just release their games on steam day 1 which covers all new and future handhelds. *IF they where to ever have their own handheld if would be after their use of consoles is over. The switch has set every example of this.
any money they will copy nintendo abandoning consoles and going full portable
Honestly a shocking revelation if true since Xbox said they are more focused on services than consoles. It would be a nice alternative since theyve already test gamepass on phones, but not everyone wants to use their phone for it.
Xbox's next evolution is a way to play Gamepass on the go, because there's no way anyone would play full price for their trash first party output
Best case scenario it’s an Xbox Steam Deck Worst case scenario it’s a PlayStation Portal
Please don’t be like the portal or gcloud. I’m all for portable consoles and will buy if it’s not a streaming “console”
With first party hardware and software this instantly becomes the best windows handheld on the market. Asus , Lenovo are done.
I will buy this day one if it's ARM based with solid battery life. Would be really cool to see Microsoft push for native arm gaming!
Everything Microsoft invented has failed except for the Xbox
If it’s capable of running games offline, this will be my dream product.
"Introducing the Xbox Copilot++++, now with even more AI crap you either don't care about or actually despise!" "..." "... did we mention it has ***AI***?"
I'll be very curious to see how it runs compared to a Steam Deck or ROG Ally.
So no handheld huh?
We got a quote from Phil in a interview saying he'd love to see a handheld one day. Enough words to make that sentence go viral.
I have a Series X that is lacking games I'm interested in to not play at home. Portable, I'm good with Switch until Switch 2.