An Xbox handheld gaming console isn't a new tease from the Chief Executive Office of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer. In an Xbox podcast in February, Spencer hinted at the possibility of an Xbox handheld while reaffirming that new Xbox consoles will be coming.
During an interview with IGN at the Xbox Showcase over the weekend, Spencer addressed the ongoing rumors that Microsoft is working on a handheld console of some kind.
"The future for us in hardware is pretty awesome. The work that the team is doing around different form factors, different ways to play, I'm incredibly excited about," Spencer said.
In other interviews, Spencer has mentioned that he wants a compact Xbox mode on a handheld gaming PC. "I want it to feel like the dash of my Xbox when I turn on the television," he said.
The sticky wicket is actually Windows. Somehow, Xbox running Windows in a gaming platform needs to hide the Windows from the user.
It is possible to make a semi-mobile Xbox as Tom's Guide's Anthony Spadafora managed to combine an xScreen and a portable power station to create a kind of Xbox laptop experience on a camping trip last year.
Tom's Guide computing expert Tony Polanco has said that an Xbox handheld might be a way for Xbox to survive and thrive. "Maybe an Xbox handheld wouldn’t give the brand an easy victory over its competitors, but it would get people talking about Xbox."
It's not a definitive statement, but Spencer keeps mentioning the idea, so the hints are there, and it's feeling more and more like a real possibility.
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