Xbox is getting into the handheld market; despite this exciting news for Xbox fans, Spencer has also mentioned that this potential release is still years away. The news is still thrilling, but it just may be a bit too late for Xbox to even consider entering the market.
In order for Xbox's future handheld to even be remotely successful, it will need to be released during the right timeframe. Missing a particular window of opportunity will only hurt Microsoft. Likewise, because competition for portable gaming is getting tough, it will need specific hardware and push the limitations. An Xbox handheld device has a chance to shake the industry, but it also has a high chance of immense failure.
Xbox's Handheld Has Already Missed The Perfect Release Time
A Series X/S Companion Handheld Would've Been Perfect
Xbox's handheld missed the perfect window to enter the handheld market. The Switch has already been on the market for seven years, since 2017. As a result, it has already covered a lot of ground, but at the same time, it has provided competitors with an idea of what to do and what not to do when it comes to mobile gaming. The perfect time to release the Xbox handheld would have been around the time the Xbox Series X/S came out. This is because the Switch was a fairly old piece of hardware, and PlayStation was releasing the PS5.
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It might have been wise to release a handheld the year after the Xbox Series X/S came out, just because this would have been the first time Xbox offered a portable, and it might have enticed buyers enough to purchase one instead of the PS5, which had been somewhat difficult to purchase due to scalpers. Not to mention, publishers are slowly easing out of the exclusive era between PlayStation and Xbox – Death Stranding releasing on Xbox being the latest example – and Xbox has the upper hand because of its popular Game , which allows access to hundreds of great games for an affordable price.
Xbox's Handheld Will Have Some Tough Competition
Nintendo's Switch & Valve's Steam Deck Dominate The Market
The handheld competition is growing notably tougher. Currently, Xbox has to compete with the popular Switch, which is one of the best-selling consoles and handheld consoles to exist in the gaming market. Not to mention, Nintendo also plans to release another handheld console that is backward compatible with the Switch, unofficially known as the Switch 2. Nintendo has been exceptional in the handheld market, claiming a hold on it with its various popular handhelds for generations, including Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, DS, and 3DS.
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Xbox will also have to compete with mobile gaming, which has grown increasingly popular. There are mobile attachments such as the Backbone controller to attach to phones to make iPhone gaming easier. Not to mention, Apple's App Store now contains full console games such as the use Game on Steam Deck, though it can be a bit of a hassle to set up.
What Xbox Needs To Succeed
Functionality & Price
Since Xbox is already super late in the game, with its release still a few years away, it would need to be a top-notch electronic device that could compete with the Switch successor and the Steam Deck. A few basic requirements for Xbox to even be considered in the race include portable play and being able to cast to a TV somehow. Portable systems also benefit from being able to stream games without issue, and luckily, Xbox Cloud Gaming is already an industry leader; otherwise, frame rates drop, and access to the hundreds of games is limited to what the hardware can run.
Most importantly, cost is another important factor when considering what Xbox needs to succeed in the market. Though Xbox has tough competition that will certainly continue, perhaps it will surprise players and its competition with an unrivaled feature, though it has to beat whatever the Switch and Steam Deck have to offer. The market will undoubtedly be tough to break into, but should Xbox focus solely on developing a handheld, it might just become the best thing Microsoft has yet to produce.
- Brand
- Xbox
- Original Release Date
- November 10, 2020
- Hardware Versions
- Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Series S
- Original MSRP (USD)
- Series X priced at US$499 and the Series S priced at US$299
- Weight
- 9.8 lb
Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are two consoles Microsoft released in November 2020. Like most Xbox models, the Xbox Series X/S was the main competitor to the PlayStation 5. The consoles were the successors to Microsoft’s Xbox One line. While the PS5 and Xbox Series X are comparable interns of graphics, the Xbox Series S provides less powerful graphics around 1080p-1440p and does not contain a disc drive.
