I don't expect much from it, and it's not surprising since Microsoft won't even put the effort into making their own handheld rather than just partnering and making a modified existing one.
Plus, I use Linux because I don't want to use Windows.
this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2025
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Microsoft sucks and I don't want their shit. They'll probably cram AI into it or otherwise shit it up.
Microsoft has tried and failed a few times with mobile devices. I doubt this will be any different.
This is their pattern. Way Kate to the market with some half baked ideas that has all these aspirations but never does everything right. Plus required Microsoft account, Cortana/copilot/gimmick of the week forced in there.
- windows phone
- surface
- hololens (didn't even make it to market)
- mixed reality
... Many more
I think i speak for most gamers when i say i have a steam game library, but would not touch the Microsoft PC game store with a 10ft pole.
I am an xbox user, i have a vast digital(and physical) xbox library that can almost drink alcohol. This is the library and store i want on an Xbox handheld. Xbox not pursuing compatibility with that library is what will kill the brand IMO.
Xbox Play Anywhere was a nice program that gave people some double purchases on the MS game store for no extra cost... But it was too sparse to make the barebones MS game store seem worthwhile compared to steam.
If people bother to buy this generic PC handheld with an Xbox sticker on it, they might be slightly more inclined to buy games on the MS same store, but im certain the majority will just use Steam and Gamepass.
They can already do this on all other PC handhelds though, so why would anyone buy this one?!?
From the presentations on Sunday it seems like they are heavily reinvesting in the idea of play anywhere. I think all the games they announced had it.
Im very glad they are... But this effort just negates their last push for backwards compatibility on the xbox console.
I am sure they see the value in merging that library into their PC library. Tbh they will probably choose the lazy route and stick to streaming xbox-only games to PC because it requires no extra planning. Even the streaming process is a convoluted mess though with only certain games/publishers giving their games permission to stream. I am never allowed to stream every game i want for arbitrary reasons, and i dont like that when i have already bought the game.
Xbox wants to move away from local processing anyhow because it funnels users into their beloved subscription model.
Xbox anything is DOA at this point.
Hardware, yes. Software? idk. Game Pass is pretty awesome value atm
Game pass is obviously the first stage of classic enshittification. They're trying to be good to users to get them into the ecosystem. Abuse comes later. Don't let them change games into a subscription service where you have to keep paying forever. Think longer term.
sure, I totally agree. but it's not "DOA" as per the patent comment I replied to
I can’t say I’m excited at all about somebody else’s curated rotating library I pay a premium for. I could easily just go to the library and check out the game there for free.
They might have the dustbin of Microsoft innovations in their sights actually.
Didn't they just announce last week that the entire project is on pause?
I mean they just announced the Xbox Ally today at a presentation, so it certainly doesn't seem like it
Made by ASUS. It's just an xbox branded ASUS Ally, a product that already existed (maybe updated to 2025)
Microsoft designed handheld is on pause (and probably cancelled because AMD is not going to provide Series S level performance anytime soon and ARM+Nvidia is no go after whole W11 ARM fiasco). They’re pivoting to what Valve is doing with specialised gaming OS for OEMs.
Valve, is it time to launch the HL3 bomb?
No thanks lmao
Isn't this a bit like saying that NASA has Mars in its sights, not New Jersey? Sure there are more people in NJ, but arriving in NJ isn't really an accomplishment. Likewise, being able to beat a piece of hardware that was out of date when it was first announced over a year ago (switch 2) obviously isn't their goal. Additionally, Valve already has superior hardware and distribution, so they are clearly the competitor to beat.
Nintendo aren't in the console war anymore and have't been since the gamecube. Nintendo consoles sell on the strength of Nintendo's first party titles, of which they have many. Nobody else can use their IPs, so that's their USP and as a result they don't need to compete with anyone on graphical capability or processing power. It's its own market.
Nintendo made a very smart business move that is extremely anti-consumer:
They removed themselves from competing with Sony and Microsoft.
People don't think "Should I buy Xbox, Nintendo, or PlayStation?" They think "Should I buy Xbox or PlayStation, in addition to Nintendo?"
Great business move, because consumers are buying Nintendo up more than before. Extremely bad for consumers because now we are seeing how Sony acts when they have only one real competitor: keeping console exclusives, raising prices, and enforcing PS Accounts for offlline singleplayer games.
If Microsoft drops Xbox hardware, PlayStation will have zero competition and gain a monopoly on the console hardware market. Then they can raise the prices to be whatever they want. What are you gonna do, buy an Xbox that doesn't exist?
Yep. Nintendo is unfortunately extremely smart. Nobody can say they don't make good games, it's all the other things about them that are problematic.
That makes absolutely no sense. Nintendo does enough shit that you don't need to invent some.
Console wars have never been about doing the exact same shit. Game boy Vs Game Gear? N64 Vs Playstation Vs Saturn? Even SNES and Megadrive/Genesis had very different designs, and that's enough to be noticeable in the games if you are familiar enough with them.
They sell video game systems and games, they're competitors. So is Valve. So was freaking Ouya.
The fact they're doing thing differently enough that they're not completely interchangeable is the competition.
They aren't really direct competitors, though.
They avoided direct competition by previously being cheap enough that people could afford a Nintendo console and a Playstation or Xbox, and their video games have been so good that buying a Nintendo device was always a no-brainer.
They focused on selling games, not consoles.
They're not competing for the same slice of the pie, though. Microsoft isn't trying to take Nintendo's customers because Nintendo's customers want very specific things that Microsoft isn't really offering. For example, Nintendo caters extensively to parents who want a safe space for their kids to play online. The Switch doesn't even SUPPORT voice chat without the aid of a separate smartphone. Xbox Live is notoriously the opposite of that, because they focus on teens and young adults, who Sony are also targeting. Basically Nintendo sells to a very specific market, and the other platforms sell to "everybody else".
By contrast, in the 90s Sega was SPECIFICALLY trying to steal customers from Nintendo.