While we wait for Phil Spencer and company to tell us what exactly the news around the future of xbox and its business plan (it will be done next Thursday on the Xbox Podcast), it seems that this has not prevented new rumors pointing to possible new hardware from the company. But the question is, will it be the last?
A portable Xbox
The industry is very interested in a particular device. Since the launch of the Steam Deck, many manufacturers have joined the ultraportable bandwagon, and you only have to look at the products from ASUS, Lenovo and MSI to understand that it is a format that has momentum and for which there is demand. Obviously the origin of all this was born with the Switch, but Nintendo had ignored its competition so much that neither Microsoft nor Sony had seen the need to search for that niche.
But now that this format is increasingly popular, interest is coming, and although Sony has not presented anything similar, its playstation portal It's a small brushstroke around that idea, and rumors suggest that a new PS Vita could be in development. And Microsoft? Well, it seems that he is also interested.
According to Nick Baker (XboxEra) Jason Ronald, the person responsible for leading development of the Xbox Series X|S hardware, will not be in charge of Microsoft's next gaming device. His team got replaced by Surface team. pic.twitter.com/7UWOnI8Ezl
— Oliver Darko (@oliver_drk) February 11, 2024
According to the latest information shared on the podcast Xbox It was, it seems that Microsoft has given orders to shape a new portable format console, with the peculiarity that the team in charge of its development will not be that of the current consoles, but rather it will be the Surface team that gives the first strokes. of its design and architecture. This is especially interesting, since Surface has managed to gain a niche in the laptop market with a spectacular design and proposals that display high-end at all four corners. It will be interesting to see a gaming device under this label.
The Xbox change
The brand has yet to clarify all the doubts that exist around the brand, since it seems that its exclusive games could reach competing platforms. It is said that Pentiment and HiFi Rush will arrive on PS5 and Nintendo Switch, and we will see if other big releases of the caliber of Gears of War or the future Indiana Jones will follow the same path.
All this has raised a stream of suspicions about whether Microsoft will stop manufacturing consoles to focus on the distribution of games on other consoles and through the cloud, and the commotion has been such that the brand has had to organize the event on Thursday and clarify that they will continue to manufacture consoles.
The situation is certainly quite critical, since the reputation of the brand has been seriously affected and for now it continues to depend on a thread in the absence of knowing the official statement from its manager. We'll see what Thursday's statements leave us with and if they serve to satisfy Xbox users.
Vía: Inside Gaming, The Verge