Too Late For Portable XBOX?

Last year, in Microsoft's legal battle against the Federal Trade Commission, it was revealed that they were planning a portable device. There has been so much more going on with the XBOX division since then, this finding had fallen off the radar until last week when Phil Spencer confirmed that Microsoft indeed is working on a portable device, but it is still a few years away. The response from the media and from gamers was very mixed. Some saying that it is too little, too late. Others are intrigued about the prospect of a portable XBOX, and some are excited about it. Let's start off with the notion of it being "too late" for Microsoft to release a portable console. I'm curious as to why someone would come to that conclusion. It is almost 2025 and we STILL have not even heard an official code-name for the Nintendo Switch successor yet. We honestly have no idea when we will hear anything because Nintendo is in no hurry to announce anything. Valve has stated that they plan to release a Steam Deck 2, but only when a "generation-leap" is possible, and affordable. That could be some time, but there is a caveat to that in regards to what the "possible" hook is in the Switch successor that I will discuss later. ASUS has not made any major statements on a possible ROG Ally 2, but it is believed that they are working on something. Lenovo has flat out stated that Legion Go 2 is coming, but no ETA on the device. So, all of these devices are in the future, and not necessarily the near future. Microsoft definitely has time in that regard. Secondly, it is clear that hybrid-gaming is the future of consoles. While the set-top box may never go away 100%, I think with devices such as the PS5 Pro, set-box boxes will transition into become more of a niche' device for enthusiasts that just want the hardcore, powerful, gaming-machine. Consoles may start to become basically gaming PCs in a box, but instead of it being a closed-system where whatever you have is what you have and you are stuck with it, you might be able to upgrade components on your own. This is just a theory though as there are several problems that could get in the way of doing that. Still, I don't think set-top boxes as we know them have much of a future. Hybrid-devices definitely have a future, and from that aspect Microsoft is certainly not "behind." Lastly, I think why several people are clinging onto this notion of it being "too late" for Microsoft to release a portable device is because of the elephant in the room. XBOX Game Pass Regardless on whatever opinion you may have, XBOX Game Pass on a dedicated XBOX portable device is going to cook like Chef Boyaredee, and if you are a hopeless-fanatic of any brand or piece of plastic that doesn't have an XBOX or Microsoft logo on it, that frightens you. If you are a NORMAL-person, XBOX Game Pass on a dedicated-device either doesn't interest you one way or another because you aren't into XBOX, it is interesting, or it is potentially exciting. With someone like me that really has little to no interest of Microsoft's 1st-party IP going forward (because they ruined them all,) BUT you still want to play your old XBOX games spanning the original XBOX all the way to the current XBOX Series family, and have the ability to take that with you on the go? I'd buy that. I miss not being able to play all my old XBOX titles, but I have no desire to buy an XBOX Series X or S just to gain access to them. A hybrid-device from Microsoft might be just what the doctor ordered. Now to be fair, this would also be just a niche' device. Obviously, you can play 1st-party XBOX titles on many other devices, but having a dedicated-device built from the ground up with Windows in mind would be more of an asset than a hindrance as it is with other PC hybrid-devices. So, this door is wide open for Microsoft right now. I think that one of the reasons why a portable device is still a few years away is because they want to be able to match or exceed whatever Lenovo, Valve, and ASUS are working on, and they want to find a way to incorporate Windows in an intuitive way that is not as cumbersome as it is on the other devices. It's not too late. It fact, it might just be right on schedule. However, that caveat that I spoke of earlier could change the plans of all the other companies. As I've stated in previous blogs, the "RUMORED" code-name for the Switch successor is "Oz." This would suggest that despite the modest hardware that may be in the device, Nintendo and nVidia may have come up with a way to make the visuals and performance "appear" to be top-end, thus giving you pseudo bleeding-edge performance at an affordable price. IF that is the case, that changes everything and it could once again be Nintendo pulling the okey-doke on the industry. As I always say about Nintendo, just when you think you've got all the answers, they change the questions. Microsoft knows this, and this is probably why they are bringing Call Of Duty to the Switch platform, and it could be why they are waiting. If my suspicions of what the Switch successor is are true, and it is a success in the marketplace, rather than go hard on horsepower, Microsoft may choose to do what Nintendo "ALLEGEDLY" is doing. To be honest, I think everyone is waiting on the first domino to fall with the

Switch successor.