There's no excuse for Microsoft not making an 'Xboy' to rival Nintendo Switch

I finally broke downward and bought a Nintendo Switch. I had been eyeing the handheld gaming system for some fourth dimension. The abiding stream of new game announcements, including surprises like DOOM, was too much to resist. Could information technology really be that fun?

A week subsequently, and I now consider myself a part of the Switch cult, an evangelist of the giant, clunky device that I at present experience is as important as my smartphone.

So why hasn't Microsoft e'er fabricated a handheld gaming console? It should. It'south not too late, and the company is leaving money on the tabular array if it doesn't.

All the right pieces

The handheld gaming market is a choosy ane, especially with the ascent of smartphone gaming and Android. In fact, that is where a lot of mobile gaming is these days, so it seems crazy to sell a $300 device that – for many – duplicates that functionality.

Nintendo sold 15 million Switches in 2022 and it expects to sell some other 20 million this year. Those sales put it in the range of the Sony PlayStation 4.

While the Switch is touted as both a handheld and panel, information technology uses a standard USB Type-C video and audio connector found on most smartphones and laptops. It's not magic.

Microsoft, for all its shying away from consumer hardware, is in deep with gaming. Investments in Xbox, cloud gaming, and Mixer reveal gaming as the one pure consumer play that has a lot of traction.

How difficult would it be for Microsoft to brand a handheld gaming device? Let'southward check the boxes that information technology already has:

Hardware engineering group (Surface).
Gaming IP including original Halo series, Gears of State of war, and Forza.
Cloud abilities with Azure.
Windows x and Microsoft Store for distribution.
Universal Windows Platform (UWP) for games and apps.
Retail partners and distribution channels.
Gaming controller know-how.
Mixer game streaming.
Xbox brand.

Microsoft is in a unique position compared to fifty-fifty Nintendo, where the company controls everything from gaming content, 20 years of content, distribution, deject computing, and even the ability to brand custom silicon for hardware (run into Xbox One Ten).

Toss in Mixer with a forepart-facing camera into a handheld while playing Fortnite, and information technology seems like a no-brainer.

Leverage nostalgia

Nosotros're at unique crossroads in technology. For the offset time, we tin reminisce about the "expert ol' days." Nokia knows this with its contempo retro phones, and Nintendo does likewise with mini versions of its old consoles.

Heck, I recently found my original Gameboy Advance SP, and a flood of playing SIMS on it for hours came rushing back.

Microsoft though doesn't appear to know the value of nostalgia. The idea of a handheld Xbox gaming device that ran original Xbox, Xbox 360, and even Xbox I titles would exist huge. The ability to take Chief Chief on the train, or practise a quick Forza run (with friends) seems like an obvious sell to those yearning to replay older games.

I take that back — Microsoft does know this, which is why its Xbox One astern compatibility program is so successful. The idea of taking that engineering science and putting information technology on a handheld with the bonus of Xbox Alive syncing and Wi-Fi connectivity seems similar an obvious win.

Leverage indies from Steam

Besides getting crazy games like DOOM and even Wolfenstein Two (June 2022), the Switch piqued my interest because of the sheer corporeality of smaller indie games. These aren't games made for the Switch, but titles that are already establish and sold on Steam.

Over again, Microsoft knows how talented this group is with its successful ID@Xbox plan, where smaller and independent game makers tin can play with the big boys.

Merely being able to play Super Daryl Palatial or Retro Urban center Rampage DX adjacent to the latest Zelda title while waiting at the DMV? Priceless.

Plus, with prices ranging from $iv to $20, these games are a lot easier to invest in than Kirby Star Allies, which fetches a stupid $threescore.

Microsoft Shop for apps

Possibly the one area where Microsoft could even improve upon the Switch is apps and its Store. It already has the infrastructure built. Why not let me run Netflix, Hulu, my Movies & Goggle box collection, Microsoft Edge, and heck, fifty-fifty Skype, on a mobile gaming device engineered by the Surface team?

If Microsoft wants users to have reward of the Microsoft Store, putting it in the hands of mobile gamers is amend than not giving that pick.

The bottom line on Microsoft and mobile gaming

Microsoft could make a killer, portable gaming console. Just the company lacks the will.

That'due south not conjecture, as ex-Microsoft lead Robbie Bach said precisely that in 2022 when asked about the rumored "Xboy" project. "We only couldn't focus," said Bach, "we but did not have the bandwidth."

Letting users play Halo on the go or taking advantage of UWP apps from the Store seems obvious. The visitor could even create a fantastic dock with external GPU acceleration to push those games to the limit for the TV.

Nintendo is proving this market is viable – even with pretty janky hardware and against a lot of initial negative press.

Even without that technology, Bethesda got DOOM to run at 30 frames per second (FPS) at just 720p on the Switch. That is hardly amazing but read the reviews. No i is complaining because the feel is terrific.

If Microsoft was smart, it would take advantage of its xx years in gaming by going beyond astern compatibility and creating a portable brand. Mix in your ID@Xbox connections, some Surface-level of applied science, quality Xbox Live, and a growing market of 30- and 40-yr-olds with money to spend, and this could be a hitting. A huge one.

Only only if Microsoft finds the will to make that happen.

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