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Several internal teams at Microsoft pitched the idea for a handheld "Xboy" multiple times.

Marvel14

Banned
The switch and its success suggest its still a market worth going after. A "switch" without portability from Nintendo when it launched would have sold like the wii u, unless it had the horsepower to compete with other home consoles.

I think they should have made the series s a handheld, obviously a bit less powerfull than the s but a hybrid like the switch. Would have sold like crazy.
Possibly but if MS software is a reliable metric, MS are not great at usability, simplicity and user pleasing interfaces. All three are needed for attractive portable hardware....
 

Umbral

Member
Classic Microsoft, always chasing, rarely leading or innovating.

Sony learned their lesson with the Vita, so I guess some within Microsoft thought they also needed to fail publicly.
 

Hugare

Member
This is actually do-able, with the right chipset, imagine a nvidia based system with DLSS employed, game running at 720p scaled to a 1080p oled. It wouldn't melt the machine, heck, the switch is doing this at a lower level and the hardware is what, 6 years old? Heck they even ported doom eternal on that machine.
GOW at a lower res on newer hardware - completely possible.
Tensor cores required for DLSS would also drain battery like crazy.

It's not about power, it's about battery life.

That's why we wont see a portable device with that much horsepower anytime soon
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Try downgrading God of War or Horizon into the Switch. The thing would melt in your hand.

Even if they bring better specs, the battery would last 10 minutes. The tech isnt there yet.

And that would be considering PS4 titles. The PS5 just launched, and a port to handeld devices would be just impossible for the next 10 years at least.

It works for Nintendo because they make games with stylized graphics that can run on a tablet hardware.

There's no way around it: Sony and Microsoft would have to develop exclusive games for the handheld, since they cant run console graphics.
And well, that didnt work out with Vita ...

The tech now is better than it was in 2017. Games like Witcher 3 and GTA 5 ( a PS3 AND 360 game ) could make the switch.

Take games like God of War and Horizon and put them to 720p/30fps, some other graphical downgrades like shadows, particle effects etc and it wont be so hard. In 2021-2022 it would be fine.

Im not saying back in 2017 but I believe the tech will be there in 2021/2022. The switch is pretty close, the next switch will be able to play games like Sekiro, Resident Evil 2 Remake etc on a downgraded level. The Next switch should be playing downgraded versions of current gen 3rd party games.

No point mentioing Vita because like I said if Sony just downgrades there games for handheld it wouldnt have to worry about developing separate games.
Just downgrade there stellar PS4/PS5 library for handheld and it would be a hit. And also dont do dedicated memery cards like the Vita. Use SD cards like the Switch.
Same with Xbox
 
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EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
I appreciate the PSP but when Nintendo is dominating the handheld industry like they are... M$ saw SONY struggled in that market.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
I can't imagine how sparse the exclusives would be if MS had to support two console platforms.

I think to me, in order for it to be successful, they would need to play Xbox 360, Xbox One, and some converted X/S stuff. But it's doable.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Tensor cores required for DLSS would also drain battery like crazy.

It's not about power, it's about battery life.

That's why we wont see a portable device with that much horsepower anytime soon

Even without DLSS though, switch has proven you can have ports. A new piece of hardware could also be backwards compatible with 360 and xbox one titles, in addition to cloud functionality. Then throw in some X/S ports and you might have a winner.
 

Moogle11

Banned
Try downgrading God of War or Horizon into the Switch. The thing would melt in your hand.

Even if they bring better specs, the battery would last 10 minutes. The tech isnt there yet.

And that would be considering PS4 titles. The PS5 just launched, and a port to handeld devices would be just impossible for the next 10 years at least.

It works for Nintendo because they make games with stylized graphics that can run on a tablet hardware.

There's no way around it: Sony and Microsoft would have to develop exclusive games for the handheld, since they cant run console graphics.
And well, that didnt work out with Vita ...

Yep. And even ignoring the power limitation, battery life limitations etc. I just think not all that man people want to play those type of games on a small screen. I thought I did until I got a Vita and played Uncharted, Killzone etc. I realized a big draw of those games is being immersive, graphical, showcases on a big screen. It just wasn't the same as those games lost a ton. Vita mostly got used for JRPGs and indie games for me.

I just don't think Sony and MS make enough of the types of games that work best on portable and most of their exclusives are things most people would rather play on their big HDTVs. Nintendo with their library of gameplay focused titles with more simplistic/cartoon artstyles is a better fit for handhelds IMO. I'm not playing those games for the graphics, or getting immersed in a cinematic games, so I don't mind playing them on a small screen. If anything, I prefer them there as I struggle to motivate myself to play Nintendo games on my TV as I'd rather be playing more of a graphical show case game. Thus I tend to play more Nintendo stuff on handhelds when I'm away or have sports I'm half paying attention to in the background on the TV.

Nintendo games always have a lot of appeal for kids and parents wanting kid friendly games for their kids and portability is huge with that market to as they can keep the kids occupied in the car, without tying up a TV at home etc.

I think all that kind of stuff is why Nintendo handhelds have always been so dominant. It just fits the strengths of their games and their market demographics. Sony and MS cultivated basis that want to play games with AAA level graphics, realistic art styles etc. While some are good with playing those on a small screen, I think most just want to play on their big screens.

Mobile remote play is there for people who want to play those games on the go and if I were Sony and MS I'd just keep focusing on improving that experience, maybe sell some first part controller clips for popular phone models etc.
 

DESTROYA

Member
Try downgrading God of War or Horizon into the Switch. The thing would melt in your hand.

Even if they bring better specs, the battery would last 10 minutes. The tech isnt there yet.

And that would be considering PS4 titles. The PS5 just launched, and a port to handeld devices would be just impossible for the next 10 years at least.

It works for Nintendo because they make games with stylized graphics that can run on a tablet hardware.

There's no way around it: Sony and Microsoft would have to develop exclusive games for the handheld, since they cant run console graphics.
And well, that didnt work out with Vita ...
The AYA NEO says high !




It is possible and this thing averages about 2 hours of battery life.
Then there is the GPD Win 3 and the OneNetbook One GX Pro.....
Anything else you want to be wrong on.
 

Mexen

Member
Half missed opportunity for the xUs to compete against the Wii U
Would have led to the xFlick Vs Switch wars.
 

MagnesG

Banned
Tensor cores required for DLSS would also drain battery like crazy.

It's not about power, it's about battery life.

That's why we wont see a portable device with that much horsepower anytime soon
New revision, full 720p on handheld. DLSS in dock.
 

Hugare

Member
The AYA NEO says high !




It is possible and this thing averages about 2 hours of battery life.
Then there is the GPD Win 3 and the OneNetbook One GX Pro.....
Anything else you want to be wrong on.

Quoting myself

"Even if they bring better specs, the battery would last 10 minutes. The tech isnt there yet."

2h of battery life is terrible. Not to mention the $700 price.

No one of the Big 3 would launch a handheld at this price and battery life.

It would die the moment it hits the shelves

Again, technology is not there yet.
 

DESTROYA

Member
Quoting myself

"Even if they bring better specs, the battery would last 10 minutes. The tech isnt there yet."

2h of battery life is terrible. Not to mention the $700 price.

No one of the Big 3 would launch a handheld at this price and battery life.

It would die the moment it hits the shelves

Again, technology is not there yet.
Your sort of wrong the tech is there its just expensive.
The battery life is 2 hours of gaming and you can stretch that to 6+ if you use a low TDP for regular PC stuff. Yes it’s a full W10 PC.
I wasn’t disputing that the none of the big 3 would launch hardware at this price point more to the fact that tech is there and it won’t melt in your hands and last longer than 10 minutes.
This in fact can play the HZD and the video proves it. Your wrong man.
 

Hugare

Member
Your sort of wrong the tech is there its just expensive.
The battery life is 2 hours of gaming and you can stretch that to 6+ if you use a low TDP for regular PC stuff. Yes it’s a full W10 PC.
I wasn’t disputing that the none of the big 3 would launch hardware at this price point more to the fact that tech is there and it won’t melt in your hands and last longer than 10 minutes.
This in fact can play the HZD and the video proves it. Your wrong man.
*sigh*, I meant the tech is not there for big distribution at a low cost. You're focusing on semantics to try to prove your point.

"You can stretch that to 6+ if you use a low TDP for regular PC stuff". Ok, but we are talking about a gaming handheld here , like the Switch, Vita and etc., not a portable PC

You still dont get my point, which is: of course the technology exists, but not for a good price to be sold to the general public.

If I'm so wrong, wake me up when we see a handheld from Sony/Nintendo/MS with those specs
 

MagnesG

Banned
Your sort of wrong the tech is there its just expensive.
The battery life is 2 hours of gaming and you can stretch that to 6+ if you use a low TDP for regular PC stuff. Yes it’s a full W10 PC.
I wasn’t disputing that the none of the big 3 would launch hardware at this price point more to the fact that tech is there and it won’t melt in your hands and last longer than 10 minutes.
This in fact can play the HZD and the video proves it. Your wrong man.
The technology is still not ready for the mass market acceptance. Too expensive.
 

DESTROYA

Member
The technology is still not ready for the mass market acceptance. Too expensive.
Oh its ready its just what are people willing to pay for it.
Just look at cellphones do most people buy a $2000 phone , no but they still do.
*sigh*, I meant the tech is not there for big distribution at a low cost. You're focusing on semantics to try to prove your point.

"You can stretch that to 6+ if you use a low TDP for regular PC stuff". Ok, but we are talking about a gaming handheld here , like the Switch, Vita and etc., not a portable PC

You still dont get my point, which is: of course the technology exists, but not for a good price to be sold to the general public.

If I'm so wrong, wake me up when we see a handheld from Sony/Nintendo/MS with those specs
Never said any of the big 3 would be interested in making one just saying that the tech is there.
You know Nintendo never use cutting edge hardware, MS maybe they have thought about it in the past but that ship has sailed if they ever do make a dedicated Handheld it will be a streaming gamepass machine.
SONY is not interested in making another handheld but with the VITA they fid go all out just screwed up in other areas.
 
I personally think Nintendo would be foolish to not offer a higher tier of Nintendo online at double the price to allow Xcloud streaming once it fully rolls out, but I digress on that.

Barring that I have no doubt tablets will fill that niche with Xcloud. A small amazon tablet is $50, and more than good enough screen quality for wifi cloud gaming. Pair that up with a beefed up Switch in a few years to cover last gen quality locally, and Nintendo games, and that's pretty much all you need.
 

UltimaKilo

Gold Member
Honestly, they just need to convince Nintendo to let them put XCloud and Gamepass on Switch. Pay Nintendo whatever they want. They would make so much money...
 
had all since 2nd gen (including surface book and surface pro x) and never had more problems than with any other Windows machine...

point being that surface line is quite successful for ms and it is mainly portable devices and there is no sign of ms dropping it




I have actually preordered this on Kickstarter, really curious on how this will perform
If i were you i get your money back it bad it can barely run current gen games and the thing is priced like 700 bucks plus wtf.
 
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