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Jez Corden: Xbox is working on a Xbox handheld, multiple prototypes in the works

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
That is one of my concerns with an "xbox" handheld. It seems like it has to be a closed system and all of their competitors (outside of switch) is based on an open platform.

A pc handheld is not needed, since they already exist. An xbox handheld has a ton more universal appeal than a linux based platform that plays some games and has zero exclusives, or windows based ones that are not truely plug and play like a console.
Steam deck still has a long way to go to be a true console, but it does have it appeal. Same with windows PC machines. The casual gamers don't even know what a steam deck is and think the other ones are laptops with controllers.
The key to its success is backwards compatibility with a generation or 2 of xbox games, plus day and date new games which series S has proven to be possible without too much full, outside of GAF.
 
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Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
I only care about this because it means that a PlayStation handheld is happening too.
Right? :messenger_sad_relieved:
If Sony wants to. Couple things in their way though since they dont have a lower spec Series S version of their games. They also just put out the Portal. But its not like Sony doesnt know handhelds. Up to them.
 

reinking

Gold Member
I only care about this because it means that a PlayStation handheld is happening too.
Right? :messenger_sad_relieved:
We have PlayStation handheld at home.

PlayStation handheld at home....
ps-portal-remoteplayer-hero-1
 

Topher

Identifies as young
If Sony wants to. Couple things in their way though since they dont have a lower spec Series S version of their games. They also just put out the Portal. But its not like Sony doesnt know handhelds. Up to them.

I think the handheld capabilities these days would be able to handle downscaled versions of most XSX/PS5 games so I don't really see that as an issue. The existence of the Portal makes me think Sony haven't put much effort into a dedicated handheld so they very well me be a bit behind Microsoft if that is where a new battle is brewing.
 

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
I think the handheld capabilities these days would be able to handle downscaled versions of most XSX/PS5 games so I don't really see that as an issue. The existence of the Portal makes me think Sony haven't put much effort into a dedicated handheld so they very well me be a bit behind Microsoft if that is where a new battle is brewing.
They can handle downscaled versions. I just meant that would require all devs to resubmit new builds to PSN. MS has those already for every game. Its a huge shortcut.
 
I only care about this because it means that a PlayStation handheld is happening too.
Right? :messenger_sad_relieved:

Moore's Law is dead discussed a rumored PS handheld before this rumor even came about. Whether you believe him or not is really the key point there.

But assuming he is right, we'd be looking at probably a holiday 2025 launch or slightly later.

I think it would make sense to release PS5 Pro this year and PS5 Handheld next year. We'll really see how PSSR works and if they can run PS5 games at low resolution upscaled to 1080p, this handheld could be a real winner. We've yet to really see AI upscaling on a handheld. I think the claw can do xess but from what I understand the device is no bueno.

PSSR could give Sony a massive advantage if it works on a PS handheld, which you would assume it would at this point, especially if it isn't dependent on specific titles being built to support it.

PSSR is maybe the thing I'm most excited about Sony revealing with PS5 Pro.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
They can handle downscaled versions. I just meant that would require all devs to resubmit new builds to PSN. MS has those already for every game. Its a huge shortcut.

Ah....I follow. Yeah, I guess the main modifications at that point is adapting games to the handheld screen for text, menu items, etc. For some games on Steam Deck, that can be a bit cumbersome without some adjustments. But you are right, the graphical heavy lifting is probably largely done.
 
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Fess

Member
Is this needed when the games are on Steam?
Isn’t Steam Deck already occupying the spot Microsoft is aiming for here?
 
Is this needed when the games are on Steam?
Isn’t Steam Deck already occupying the spot Microsoft is aiming for here?

MS have gamepass, some games which are not on PC either. They have the budget and team to make a competitor as well as a unified system like the deck with their own UI/OS. Others are just windows in portable mode. Also on gamepass you have all the EA and Ubisoft and others included for "free". They can also make a deal with the Eidos store or just open up the system to all. Id buy it in a heartbeat. Steamdeck is only one in its space so the competition is non existant atm. If they just made another windows handhel with gamepass then they would be going against another 5 companies. I dont think Steam Deck should be alone, competition is good and will push the other to make it better. Right now SD can relax and not care about a new system in next 3 years as they said. If MS jumped in, they would probably rethink the release schedule of their future systems.

Whatever it is, I do hope handhelds keep a healthy yearly cycle and not a new version every two years. SD Oled is so good that it makes me feel sorry for anyone that bought the regular a month before.
 
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Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
Whatever it is, I do hope handhelds keep a healthy yearly cycle and not a new version every two years.
A yearly release cycle is not healthy, 2-3 years (more like 3 years and something) is better as the hardware is not advancing fast enough (and actually it has been slowing down for a while). Let alone the fact that producing and selling HW frequently is not a great use of R&D resources unless you have Apple like fans that will pay obscene margins over and over for small product increments and like being overcharged for storage and RAM options.

These are battery powered handhelds with a restricted power envelope and they are already big enough with active cooling. Aside from the OLED side-grade, Valve is following a console like model where they will not release a successor until they have a large enough performance and features gap.
 
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whyman

Member
It´s great with alternatives but both Sony and MS are too late to the party.

Steam Deck/Shield TV Pro (controller games) and/or Mac M1 (keyboard and mouse games) + Geforce Now (+ Game Pass PC if you want it) is my go to these days.
PS5, Series X and gaming PC collecting dust.
 

Fess

Member
MS have gamepass, some games which are not on PC either. They have the budget and team to make a competitor as well as a unified system like the deck with their own UI/OS. Others are just windows in portable mode. Also on gamepass you have all the EA and Ubisoft and others included for "free". They can also make a deal with the Eidos store or just open up the system to all. Id buy it in a heartbeat. Steamdeck is only one in its space so the competition is non existant atm. If they just made another windows handhel with gamepass then they would be going against another 5 companies. I dont think Steam Deck should be alone, competition is good and will push the other to make it better. Right now SD can relax and not care about a new system in next 3 years as they said. If MS jumped in, they would probably rethink the release schedule of their future systems.

Whatever it is, I do hope handhelds keep a healthy yearly cycle and not a new version every two years. SD Oled is so good that it makes me feel sorry for anyone that bought the regular a month before.
Okay good point about Gamepass, I never bothered doing the dual boot thing to get that to work when I had the sub. I struggle to see it get a big market though if it’s just a Xbox since that’s such a small platform now. Iirc PC Gamepass is growing more than Xbox Gamepass too.

For both a new Xbox and a future handheld I think it would be wise to just go with Windows and make a good UI/launcher it can boot into.
Can’t be that difficult to get it right. Just go with a 360 Blades UI, would get me interested. And they could mask out Windows completely through a tailored boot process to make it look like a Xbox even if Windows is running underneath. And leave the door open for more stores and modding and won’t be as locked out from exclusivity.

Backwards compatibility is the biggest hurdle, they already have that working on Series consoles. Would need to unleash the BC team to make legacy Xbox emulators for Windows.
 

Orbital2060

Member
On a related note, xbox and nintendo will both have handhelds in the market. And depending on how the hardware compatibilites work out, the switch 2 might be a candidate for a lot of the games that XGS, Bethesda, and ABK publish. Depending on how close to the series S the switch 2 ends up being. Because they are already working on the series S versions by default. Blizzard has already made a Diablo 3 app for the switch. Why not have Diablo 4 and everything else on there as well?
 

StereoVsn

Gold Member
No.

30-20% revenue loss and control being in another company's hands says so.
This didn’t work out for their console. Their Surface division sales have been falling as well.

Whether MS can produce a successful handheld is a big question. Publishing games on 3rd party platforms can be quite profitable on the other hand vs blowing $billions on R&D.

We shall see what happens though, either way it’s going to be interesting.
 

Tams

Member
This didn’t work out for their console. Their Surface division sales have been falling as well.

Whether MS can produce a successful handheld is a big question. Publishing games on 3rd party platforms can be quite profitable on the other hand vs blowing $billions on R&D.

We shall see what happens though, either way it’s going to be interesting.

Again, they are not going to had over profits like that, especially when they a) already have competing platforms and b) can afford to improve/make their own.

Valve are just another company.
 

gothmog

Gold Member
It´s great with alternatives but both Sony and MS are too late to the party.

Steam Deck/Shield TV Pro (controller games) and/or Mac M1 (keyboard and mouse games) + Geforce Now (+ Game Pass PC if you want it) is my go to these days.
PS5, Series X and gaming PC collecting dust.
MS is in a tough spot trying to be a console and OS brand at the same time, but I don't think Sony would have a hard time selling a higher end version of the Portal.

Everything you listed works but that stack is nowhere near mainstream.
 

StereoVsn

Gold Member
If it's 2025 surely be shown next year. Too soon for hardware
There was rumor that it might come late this year or early next one. Again, talking about the handheld.

We are going to see ASUS, Lenovo, MSI and others release handhelds with new AMD and Intel chipsets late this year or early next year.

Hell, we will probably see some Qualcomm based as well. And Nvidia is rumored to be working on something as well. And Switch 2 is coming next year.

MS has to be very careful not to miss their window.
 

Darsxx82

Member
Just caught up to the show and while the show itself was good in terms of games, what they've shown doesn't signify any kind of long-term commitment to hardware.
?? Bond said in the that they are in full development of the new XBOX and that they have a team in charge of ensuring the preservation of the BC catalog...... The illogical thing would be that today they announced the arrival of new hardware in 2+ years while you announce new models of the current console...
 

Astray

Member
You mean aside from Sarah Bond reiterating that they've started work on the next generation Xbox console?
Talk is cheap and time is short.

It's only a year and a half until 2026 (the supposed timing for Xbox next gen). The PC handhelds market is also becoming increasingly crowded as time goes by, they need to establish a foothold and give fans a reason to wait for them.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Talk is cheap and time is short.

It's only a year and a half until 2026 (the supposed timing for Xbox next gen). The PC handhelds market is also becoming increasingly crowded as time goes by, they need to establish a foothold and give fans a reason to wait for them.

With so many missed ‘predictions’, I would have thought that today would have taught you not to put dogmatic faith into ‘insiders’.

Alas.

Valve is waiting patiently for specs to catch up before making a Deck 2. I suppose you think they also need to quickly announce something before they get crowded out? 🤣
 
A pc handheld is not needed, since they already exist. An xbox handheld has a ton more universal appeal than a linux based platform that plays some games and has zero exclusives, or windows based ones that are not truely plug and play like a console.
Steam deck still has a long way to go to be a true console, but it does have it appeal. Same with windows PC machines. The casual gamers don't even know what a steam deck is and think the other ones are laptops with controllers.
The key to its success is backwards compatibility with a generation or 2 of xbox games, plus day and date new games which series S has proven to be possible without too much full, outside of GAF.
Yes, I'd also bet on them rather releasing a traditional, closed ecosystem handheld that invites companies like Valve to develop a dedicated Steam client for it (as another storefront option) than a cheap feeling copycat machine to the likes of the Deck and Ally. The install base of it should still be big enough to give Valve and Epic an incentive to invest in developing said clients.
 

Astray

Member
With so many missed ‘predictions’, I would have thought that today would have taught you not to put dogmatic faith into ‘insiders’.

Alas.

Valve is waiting patiently for specs to catch up before making a Deck 2. I suppose you think they also need to quickly announce something before they get crowded out? 🤣
The insiders were accurate all along when it comes to the software porting initiative.

I don't specifically care about a handheld given that I have been on the record about it being a giant trainwreck in the making.

What I wanted out of the showcase was to understand what Microsoft Gaming's plans were for its offerings at large, and so far the answer seems to be that they are investing far more into being 3P than protecting and expanding their 1P marketshare.
 

MMaRsu

Member
That would be an extremely dumb idea. I'm all for competition but in this space, the Steam Deck is king.

Noone is interested in an Xbox handheld except for the most hardcore Xbox fans.
 
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