Xbox Author Discusses Microsoft Handheld

Dean Takahashi wrote an authoritative book on Microsoft's original console, called 'Opening the Xbox'. We're fortunate enough to be able to read a similar work on their next-gen console, a book entitled The Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Takahashi did an interview recently with Kyle Orland, of Videogame Media Watch. There he lays out the challenges of reporting on the industry, and getting publishers to understand the subject matter. Eurogamer reports that part of the book discusses a Microsoft handheld gaming system. From that article: "Takahashi claims the team was split in two following the launch of the Xbox 360, leaving the other half to work solely on reducing production costs for Microsoft's next-gen console. According to the writer, the portable is planned to be released halfway into Xbox 360's lifespan, a strategy to assuage the crippling costs of moving through hardware cycles. A Microsoft gaming handheld has been long-rumoured, the latest occurrence adding fuel to this particular fire being the release of a movie for the company's Origami project. A promotional video for the handheld PC showed Halo 2 running on its screen."

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tsk tsk tsk - don't they ever learn?

[MindPrison]

Biggest, fastest isn't always the best. Portable is an entirely different area than your basic console at home.

Picture this: Your're on the train, the train doesnt have a power-outlet and you've been playing your PSP for hours...naturally draining it's batteries to the last bit - in just 2-3 hours. Furthermore the PSP is bulky beyond belief, huge screen ...sure! Coolness factor - WOW! But it sucks batteries because of the spinning disc and the backlight.

Let's take a look at what the winners of portable gaming knows, they know stuff that the rest of them dont - saving on power, not on the entertainment! A Nintendo DS lasts for at least 10 hours (with 2 backlit screens!) and the older Nintendos lasted up to 40 hours - straight! Now that's more like it, always there - ready to play.

I remember my "superior" Atari-Lynx, can you belive it? 16-bit, 4096 colors and games that would beat the living sh*t out every competitor around at the time, but it FLOPPED! Why? It drained the batteries after 1.5 hours, people simply didnt use it.

Nintendo knows it (and thats why they're now launching the DS-lite, smaller - more portable - better lights...and still pretty cool 3D).

In short: Learn from experience (even if others) - make your handhelds simple, entertaining and last forever.

Re:Typical Microsoft

[Anonymous Coward]

WOOOOOSH

Re:Typical Microsoft

[AuMatar]

Hey, look up! There's a joke going over your head!

Potential iPod rival combined?

[Dark Paladin]

The issues with the PSP has mainly been in the UMD, leading to longer load times (depending upon the developer - "Popolocrois" is awful, while "Daxter" has no problems) and lower battery life.

If MS decides to make a handheld gaming device, the best bet might be to make it a great MP3/WMV player (the gamepad would be fine for navigation, maybe with a center button so they're not exactly ripping off the iPod Wheel, but same functionality), and use the HDD for storage. Let people download games either through their 360 (plug in, get games/movies/music, walk away - which would make it a useful media hub) or through their main computer.

They have a lot of potential here - I'd say the key is leveraging the Internet and their existing base to draw people into their Live service. Odds are, knowing Microsoft, they'll just add in tons of extra hardware and bloat and try to make it look like Windows rather than a handheld, but if the 360 interface is any indication, they at least have *some* idea how to do it.

Of course, this is just my opinion - I could be wrong.