MS: Glad we haven't made a handheld

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 15th May 2008
Comments (8) Stumble
According to Shane Kim any plans for a Xbox 360 handheld are best left to modders like Ben Heck.

According to Shane Kim any plans for a Xbox 360 handheld are best left to modders like Ben Heck.

Microsoft Games Studios boss Shane Kim has said he is very happy that the company hasn't tried to launch a handheld games console, mainly because the games made by Microsoft Games Studios just wouldn't work well in the handheld market.

"I'm very happy we didn't get into it, because launching a handheld platform is like launching another Xbox 360. You have to be fully committed, as an organisation, from a resource standpoint, to doing that," Shane said in interview with Eurogamer today.

"Frankly we've got a lot on our plate with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. We don't have any experience in that space. Our content assets don't naturally lend themselves to driving success in that particular market. So, we're happy to let Sony and Nintendo slog it out."

At the same time though Shane did say that "mobile is probably the more important platform in the future" - most likely because he remembered how important Windows Mobile and the Zune are to the company. That's even without mentioning the important of Windows XP as an OS for UMPCs like the EEE PC 900.

Instead of trying to compete with the hugely successful Nintendo DS Lite, Microsoft has chosen to work with Nintendo by working on several DS and GBA games, such as DS Viva Pinata.

So, are you happy that Microsoft hasn't tried to release a portable gaming platform, or is competition always a good thing? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Newsletter

Register for the bit-tech newsletter to receive the latest news and reviews in your inbox.



Quote sotu1 15th May 2008, 11:58
oooh...microsoft working with nintendo? i'm probably mistaken but is that a first?
Quote cjoyce1980 15th May 2008, 13:01
Quote:
Originally Posted by sotu1
oooh...microsoft working with nintendo? i'm probably mistaken but is that a first?

hopefully the 360 will see goldeneye soon then
Quote <A88> 15th May 2008, 13:08
Hmmm, I'm not sure. One the one hand, I'm quite content with the XNA-approach they've taken to portable gaming in the my Zune's now got some pretty nice games on it to keep me occupied, and hopefully it'll just be a matter of time before we get something like Sonic or another platformer to distill the arcade-dominance. That said, it seems a little strange that they'd pursue 2 separate business models for their gaming division, and I can only assume that they'll eventually bring out a dedicated handheld to compete with the PSPs and DSLites, whilst still allowing for XNA-developed games to operate on all platforms.
Quote pendragon 15th May 2008, 18:26
seems like a smart move for Microsoft.. trying to compete with Nintendo in the handheld market is a daunting task.. as the Ngage and PSP have shown. I bet they do much better making games than they would making hardware.
Quote Dreaming 15th May 2008, 23:51
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjoyce1980
hopefully the 360 will see goldeneye soon then

Rare who made goldeneye was bought by Microsoft several moons ago. I think they would have to go back to the original James Bond licensers in order to make a 360 game though.
Quote dogdude16 16th May 2008, 01:55
I just think sony needs to release a psp 2.
Quote johnmustrule 16th May 2008, 02:11
MS has over 100 billion dollars in the bank, they got enough resources to release a new console and hand held simultaneously for free!
Quote <A88> 16th May 2008, 09:40
Yeah, that'll keep the shareholders happy
Log in

You are not logged in, please login with your forum account below. If you don't already have an account please register to start contributing.



Affordable hosting at TSOhost

BFG 8800GT and 9600GT OCX
Stats: 0.143 seconds