I don't know it might catch on!? Tie it in with windows 10 support and build it with the Xbox controller button placement. I could see it having a market.

Although it should be strictly a handheld.

They already have one, it's called the Surface.

Play Anywhere already exists though

Forbes should stop covering gaming

Japanese People would never accept any product that has the MS band name on it. And also, according to MS, they already have 3rd party games being made for the scorpio. The workload would be too great for 3rd party devs to handle an addtional platforms...

Better idea....they should buy a phone company and then......Oh wait.

why no one in this thread mentioned "surface pro4"

No, they shouldn't

Stay and support the Scorpio. That's all that needs to be done here. Folks make it seem like just because Nintendo has sold a few Switch consoles that others should just pack up and completely change direction. After e3 then we can judge going forward what the landscape will look like. Regardless I'm purchasing Scorpio anyway. But i will say if they can't turn it around at the presentation with quality games then things will be that much more difficult. Btw I'd take Scorpio over Switch on any day..

Nah i disagree if they wanted to do a portable handheld then shoud've done that last gen its too late plus they not ontop like last gen with xbox360

With no games?
Dumb idea.
Microsoft needs games not a copy/paste console.

NO , Let Nintendo enjoy that space

They did. It's called the Surface Pro 4. It's great. Oh, and you can watch Netflix and do other cool stuff on it too.

The only reason Switch is a success with it's weak hardware is because of Nintendo games. Zelda alone sold more then the console itself...

So no. Microsoft or any other shouldn't even try to go for the handheld market. Sony tried and failed misserably. Twice!

It would be cool though. I had always wanted an xbox portable, and the amount of third party games it will get would eclipse that of the switch.

Why would a company develop a portable console would "copy Nintendo"? What a stupid statement!

And yes, Microsoft (like Sony) should do a portable console. Just put a MiniPC with Win10 on a handheld with physical controls and the device is ready.

um, no they shouldn't

Like we need yet another handheld device out on the market. 3ds, 2ds, Switch, mobile phones, throw in a tablet and laptop. Now you want another device as well. Not to mention the dead Vita that was an amazing handheld but failed for so many reasons. Gtfoh we have more than enough already. I have the Amazing Pro already and soon Scorpio. Nothing else is needed period..

Sony's PSVita says this would be a bad idea for Microsoft. Microsoft can forget about the Japanese market, and should continue doing what they are doing.

Spencer said
"Well, let me say that the amount of times we’ve designed, roughly designed, an Xbox handheld, or a cheap Xbox kind of stick that you could plug in and stream from an Xbox in the home, or play low-powered games….we are always thinking and brainstorming on different scenarios of where the console could go. "

So I believe they are watching the huge success o Nintendo and thinking about it.

I wanted a handheld Xbox M in 2010, and I'm less sure now.

Edit: added link-
http://www.dualshockers.com...

How stupid. Switch has started selling below Wii U after a month on the market. They're also constantly flip flopping on the thing being a console or handheld.

Couple that with the way Sony has altered their message with PS Vita & it's clear to see remote play has overrun the dedicated device features.

This would work against the brand Microsoft is trying to develop with a Scorpio, which is the hardcore graphic intensive console gamers. To develop a handheld, something they have no expertise in (and Microsoft has a dreadful history in first entry devices) would only dilute the brand more. Terrible decision.

Ha ha it will flop like windows phone, Surface and Scorpio

Or concentrate on more compelling software. This should be priority #1.

no it shouldn't. that will fly in japan and thats about it. nintendo is expected to make portables and dominate the portable market, just ask ps vita and psp, and shield, and ngage and every other portable that tried to take on nintendo.

also people are going to be one in for a rude awakening at the end of the year and they see how crap switch runs games that run fantastic on scorpio and ps4 pro. Imagine COD performance on switch comparatively with a fraction of the capability.... if COD even makes it to switch.... or any other huge multiplatform games... and no the switch is not the only real competition for sony. its a brand new console thats shiny. its at its peak.... even at its launch it couldn't beat a 3 year old ps4... at launch. not one month, and launch is its best opportunity. its a slightly glorified mobile system.

just like the wii and just like the wii u, people will realize they can't play much on switch and it will end up being super popular with kids, tweens and teens and the rest of the gaming population will move on to play the big games that the switch won't ever get

I feel like if they wanted to get into the mobile gaming market, they would have done it during the days of the PSP

Surface?

Nintendo is good at the handheld thing.. Just let them do what they do.

I think it's too late for MS to get into the portable game market. Would've been a great idea 15 years ago, shortly after the launch of the original Xbox in my opinion.

There is already a solution for playing Xbox games on the go, its called a gaming laptop. An X1 isn't needed anymore if you are a PC gamer as 99% of MS games are already on it.

Is goto the dark side if I could play 3rd party games.

no thank you

I love the fact that people think making new handhelds is a good idea now. I love portables and cell phone games suck. I was concerned they were dying with all the doom and gloom around 3ds/Vita vs mobile.

So, now everyone should sink to switch's level?

Humanity has failed.

Right because everyone would love playing a portable for 30 minutes at the lowest power settings they could make...

I think that Microsoft is too firmly placed in the power game with scorpio and windows 10 to make such a drastic change. If anything, Sony could do it, since they technically have the bones in place with VITA and PS4 to eventually combine the two and produce something similar to the Switch. If the Switch proves long term successful, it is something Sony should consider, however, there is room for both ways in gaming.

They dove have an Xbox switch. It's called a surface or laptop with an Xbox controller hooked up to it....

That would fail harder than the Wii U.

I'd love to see Sony come out with a PS4P in about 1 yr and a half (Holiday 2018).

A PlayStation 4 Portable. In a a yr and a half the tech will have moved forward considerably and a 6in tablet with comparable power to a vanilla PS4 could be feasible for an electronics expert like Sony. Even if it has a tiny bit less ram and is perhaps 80 or 90% as powerful as a PS4 it would still be terrific. As long as it could play every single PS4 game natively, that would be amazing. I'd say it would need a 1080p screen minimum (should be higher) and if AAAs like Battlefield or Horizon have to render lower than their native PS4 resolution in order to run on the PS4P then so be it. Heck it could even have a 1080p or higher resolution screen but include an upscaler for those demanding AAAs and let them run at 720 then upscale it. Less demanding games would run native 1080p ect.

I think by Holiday 2018 or spring 2018 a PS4P could be realistic for an extremely technically adept company with a long history in hardware, electronics, and even handhelds like Sony.

I honestly think that arguably the biggest limitation of the Switch is that it can't run multiplatform AAAs (for the most part). Red Dead R2, GTAV, Watchdogs 2, Mass Effect Andromeda, Deus Ex MKD, FFXV, even Fallout 4. These games would be amazing to play on the go.

That would have been neat if MS could pull it off. Given that PC gaming pretty much uses Nvidia, the XBox handheld could be passed off as a handheld PC gaming machine. Given how Nintendo is trying to hang on against those mobile devices, it wouldn't be a good idea to make a XBox handheld.

That's horrible button placement on the image.

I'm a Xbox fan and I wouldn't pull the trigger on a portable... So NO

microsoft needs to pack its shi* up and leave the console world to sony
because microsoft does not give a shi* about us gamers who bought there system.

all they care about is loading up a junk load of apps and getting paid by company's to do this.

If I wanted anybody to do this it would be Sony. That way I could play a lot of Japanese 3rd party games on the go. But then the games would look like PS3 games again and I'd be paying full price for them... If we're going by the switch model.

Just no!

How about... (Drum Roll Please...) Nintendo should copy Sony and MS and make a decent console for a (ten year) change.

Uhm no. Nintendo's got the portable / handheld market dominated.

Let's wait until after the honeymoon period before making rash decisions because the same time next year we can all be saying what a flop the Switch turned out to be.

Nothing to see here, just another piece of trash Forbes article.

This cant be too hard for MS to do either. They could simply make a smaller Surface tablet that also plays Xbox games. They already have the supply chain in place for Surface and Xbox, and they could just create a joy con style controller dock thingy and it would print money. Win-Win

or buy nintendo

No

Hmm this opinion seems a little out of touch with the marketplace imo, usually I can enjoy at least the cogency of a forbes article but just disagree completely here

The switch is available with really strong first parties and it will become the defacto system for indies. More people think someone wants to play Red dead Redemption on a small portable screen than people actually do imo.....Nintendo already has the kinds of games that lends itself to this sort of system covered, and there brand is hot while microsofts currently isn't. Don't see a point

The Switch has Zelda. The Switch will have a new Mario game. Nintendo has real franchises. What would an Xbox "Switch" have? There is your answer. Besides, copying others isn't the way to go. Innovate yourself. Scorpio is good, they just need to bring games.

N4g and their stupid articles smh. Copying Nintendo won't help them, they need to invest in first party studios and ip's. A Microsoft handheldwould just be a powerful handheld with no games just like it's big brother and besides Microsoft doesn't have nintendo's 1st party line up.

As for the switch not hardware not being graphically capable, when has that stopped companies from making great games? When has the most powerful console ever one a genelation? The ps4 being the 1st and new exception

I forget who interviewed one of the people at Xbox but they did talk about how they had a idea to build a portable system that played your library of games on the go downgrading the graphics down to the point that it worked, which is fine if you really think about it, and just pick up where you left off when you got home.

So anything is possible, but lets just wait and see what happens, who knows what else Xbox might have planned down the road.

They just need a well supported handheld. No gimmicks just a handheld gaming system.

Lol MS doesn't have that kinda exclusive clout you got to have game you know the things that make a Handheld or system worth having 😑🤔✨✨✨✨🤝 ;Now that we have a understanding go play a game boy etc

MS dont need another problem just saying 🤷‍♂️ Money can do a lot of things but it can't win a console war

switch is nothing but a over priced tablet, take your tablet hook to you tv with hdmi, buy a android controller and save yourself some money

no

HAHAHAHA no just make better games for Scorpio.

Oh no, please not. They should just concentrate on the markets they are already in.
Handheld market is not very healthy except for Nintendos handhelds. And even 3DS is not that "great" like DS was.
Smartphones have a big marketshare in this sector. I don't think 2 handhelds can have a healthy marketshare there.

🤢🤢🤢

The way the news suggests is unfeasible. It is impossible to put the PS4/XBO hardware into a portable device and have the same games, all at a good price. I think it is perfectly possible to create a less powerful hardware but similar to the current console and running the same OS. So you could have in that handheld those indie games that are great in travels.

Remember that microsoft already has such hardware, OS and games in Windows Phone. So why not?

At least one person who admit in public that the switch is a good idea:)

yes and a billion times yes. Screen needs to be bigger, needs to have at least 4G and Halo, Halo and more Halo please.. This and I've got a PS4 Pro and a Switch.

I hope PS also looks at the vita again and realizes what it should have been. The removable better controllers make it far better than a vita and that at a basic level, the controllers make it feel like a console when taken off and hooked to the controller holder, not a tacky bunch of side buttons add on's.

Anyone remember the touted Steam Boy.... *sigh* bloody rumours

Yeah why not they copy everything else in the end 🐑