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Microsoft & ASUS Unveiled Xbox Handhelds (press.asus.com)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by Pro@programming.dev to c/games@lemmy.world
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[-] Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

You’re clearly not understanding Microsoft’s strategy. They are no longer interested in the hardware market that had been losing them money since forever. In fact Microsoft has been wanting to kill Xbox since like the second year it existed, so this is how they more or less managed to do it while making money instead of just losing all market share. Xbox is now a software platform, and the next Xbox in all likelihood will simply be a prebuilt PC running the Xbox app that they developed for this handheld. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise to be honest.

There’s not many Xbox (console) only games either. And none come to mind that are from this generation. All of them are also on PC.

I think this will play out well for them. What would you prefer, the locked down platform that also sells their games on PC (PlayStation) or the more open platform that lets you play anything anywhere?

[-] slaacaa@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I understand their strategy, I just don’t like it as a console player. I also don’t think it is a very good one from business perspective. For me it seems like they failed in the console (hardware) market, so they pivoted to the cross-platform software focus.

I know like/dislike is subjective, so I understand if others have different opinion. And business-wise, these strategic decisions will show their true impact over many years, so there would be no point in comparing current numbers, let’s see if what they plan pays off in the future.

I have a PS5 and a Series S, so I’m not partial to either of them, just to consoles as a hardware platform. I don’t like this Windows-ification of Xbox, as I moved from PC gaming to consoles around 2 decades ago, and I like my choice. I also switched to iPhone from Android, and happy to have lost all the headaches that came from the more open platform.

Again, these are personal preferences. Maybe I’m the “old” man (gen Y) screaming angrily at the clouds, or maybe the Microsoft MBAs are wrong. Manufacturers are going back on large touchscreens in cars, which was also celebrated as the FUTURE^TM^ years ago, yet it’s just cost saving that sacrifices the safety of the driver.

[-] Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I think tech is far along now that there’s a space for something that is “best of both worlds”. Something that Valve has been trying for a while yet was only successful with the Steam Deck because tech just wasn’t there yet.

Think about it like this: instead of making a whole Xbox based build, devs simply make the PC version of their game and within that PC version they make a series of graphical presets that are the Xbox version, and another one that is the handheld version. This would lower costs for them while Microsoft focuses on building a windows OS that is gaming focused and suspends all the crap that hogs performance. For you the Xbox would work pretty much the same as it always has except you can now also play Steam, GOG or Epic store games if you want (with the risk of jank). The downside of this is that the next Xbox will 100% not be subsidized if it uses this model, so be ready to pay $700 for it.

Microsoft’s track record is not great at this type of “fork” but I think for them as a company this path makes more sense than selling subsidized hardware that doesn’t move software because it doesn’t sell well. They can now sell software everywhere and if you want a more optimized experience you can buy their box.

this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2025
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