Xbox’s Phil Spencer wants to expand Xbox into the handheld gaming market. In a recent interview with Polygon, he praised new PC gaming handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. He mentioned a desire to integrate these devices with the Xbox ecosystem better.
Phil Spencer’s plans for Xbox handheld gaming focus on delivering a smooth user experience. He wants to introduce features like cross-save functionality for seamless gameplay across devices. He said a good idea would be a user interface similar to the familiar Xbox console dashboard, with effortless controller connectivity. Additionally, he intends to prioritize the representation of the Game Pass subscription service, enabling players to stream games while on the move.
While Spencer hasn’t confirmed an official Xbox handheld, he hints at two possible ways to achieve seamless integration. One option is to create a dedicated Xbox handheld for the ultimate “Xbox on the go” experience. Alternatively, Microsoft could concentrate on enhancing the Xbox software on existing Windows-based handheld devices in the market.
Spencer wants the Xbox experience to be the same on all platforms. He says Xbox should be more than just a console; it should be available to players wherever they game. He’s focused on a smooth user experience and eliminating issues with playing on different devices. Spencer understands that not everyone may be interested in a dedicated Xbox handheld, so he emphasizes the value of giving consumers options. He aims to make sure that the Xbox app and its features are well-optimized for various handheld devices.
“From a game creator standpoint. I can then go build a single version of my game that spans more hardware and reaches more customers. And I would say for players, it reduces the friction. Like, if I want to go play my console games on the go with a handheld, I don’t want to only be able to buy one brand of handheld. Right? […] I want everything that we’re doing in the hardware space to be great. But if somebody chooses to go play today [somewhere else], I don’t want them to feel like a lesser Xbox [player].”
Phil Spencer
If you own Game Pass Ultimate, you can play Xbox Game Pass games on your mobile device. It comes with controls on the screen if you don’t have a controller to plug in. The USBs are the same on my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S21, so I can plug in a controller using my phone charger. It works exactly like a handheld and is great. I bring this up because Microsoft can always just market that more instead of making a new handheld. In other words, it could go either way.
Microsoft’s Spencer suggests that the Xbox team may introduce groundbreaking hardware advancements in the future. We’ll have to wait and see where that leads.
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