Handheld consoles are lifesavers for people who want to play video games despite not being able to stay at home to use their PCs or consoles. There are already several brands to choose from, and it looks like Xbox might be entering the market soon.
Xbox Handheld Potentially in Development
Ever since the Nintendo Switch was released, the popularity of handheld consoles has been reignited, which was then followed by products like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and even the home console-dependent PlayStation Portal.
The video game platform giant Xbox is the only missing company among the options, but Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has been hinting at its existence, or at least the development, of an Xbox handheld.
Spender expressed that he wants to be able to "boot into the Xbox app in a full screen, but in a compact mode," adding that he also wants it to feel like the dash of his Xbox when he turns on the television on the mentioned devices, as reported by The Verge.
The Microsoft executive even said how he liked his ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and Steam Deck, which hints at how the Xbox handheld may function. If it were similar to the mentioned handhelds, then it would work independently from a console.
This will arguably make it superior to the PlayStation Portal, which requires a PS5 for it to work since it can only be used for remote play. With an Xbox handheld, players will finally be able to bring Xbox exclusives on the go.
With the handheld being under Microsoft, the device would likely be running on Windows, which would effectively make it a handheld gaming PC just like the Steam Deck, the ROG Ally, and the Lenovo Legion Go.
Other than exclusives, the potential Xbox handheld can become the favored option if it can handle AAA games better. While the other handhelds can already do that, there are still limitations considering the specs of the gaming platforms.
Xbox Chance to Rise the Ranks
In the console market, Xbox continues to lag behind PlayStation as its sales continue to shrink over time. In the latest sales report, Microsoft revealed that the sales for the console are down 30%, and it has already declined by 30% before that.
Even with the disappointing numbers, Microsoft is thriving in the video game department, seeing as it had more games in the PlayStation Store's top 25 most-played titles than Sony, as reported by Forbes, especially with the recent ports that were released.
With a new gaming platform, Xbox might just reel in new players and drive up sales for its gaming hardware department, especially with the video games that were announced during the Xbox Showcase 2024.
With the likely possibility of it running on Windows, it might even be able to run PC games. The Xbox handheld will have the advantage over other PC handhelds since it could offer Xbox exclusives as well. It will do much better if it is released with better gaming performance than the other brands.
