Microsoft to Enter Handheld Market? 177
eldavojohn wrote to mention that, via Joystiq, he read an article over at BusinessWeek that indicates Microsoft may be working on a portable media device. The article states that, if they are, they're not just going after the iPod. The plan would include a way to leverage a powerful part of the Microsoft empire: games. From the article: "Microsoft would probably use the Xbox brand to market the gadget. 'I think the brand is an opportunity,' Moore says. True, perhaps, but also risky. If the new device comes with the Xbox brand, most consumers will view it as a game player, like Sony's PlayStation Portable. That might limit its appeal, since the portable gaming market is much smaller than the one for digital media." A funny comment, considering the success of the DS.
It may be successful, but (Score:5, Insightful)
This could work (Score:3, Insightful)
They would use the same business model for the 360 (buy a card at Best Buy, enter the code and download games). They could offer demos of each (same as the 360) and have all of the same competitive high score/leaderboard functions.
The only way Microsoft would successfully enter the handheld market would be NOT to clone the PSP (which is a POS anyway).
Do Less (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Go for it (Score:5, Insightful)
By the way, the '???' there was caused by my playing a spot of Mario Kart DS
In other words, the flagship game for the DS is a port of a console game you probably own on four other platforms already?
Re:Now this I could live with (Score:4, Insightful)
Living room domination. It has little to do with winning the console market and more to do with getting into living rooms. Mind-share now, markets later.
Risky at best (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course, they could just say "Look how much of a success Sony has had in just over a year of entering the market!" Well, depending on whose numbers you trust, Sony's PSP could be a good example of a true challenger to the king of the handheld world. By some accounts Sony owns roughly 25% of the market. I think that 25% is only compared to the market it shares with the Nintendo DS, because I don't think the PSP owns 25% of the global handheld market when you consider all the people who still have the older Gameboy Advances, SPs, etc., which numbers in the tens of millions.
Also, there is still the Japanese market. As the last two Microsoft console launches there have shown, reception by the Japanese was lackluster at best. I think for a true challenger to Sony and Nintendo, a Microsoft handheld would really have to succeed in Japan. Sure, many people will say "But Europe and the Americas are Microsoft's main market," but I think this is a limited view. Microsoft does see Japan as a market it must penetrate successfully, which is why they began courting more Japanese companies to create games that cater more to the Japanese people.
Also, Japan is a significant market for games. Over there, the Nintendo DS sold 4 million units in 2005, twice that of the PSP for the same year. If you look at the sales charts for the past several months, every week was basically 6 - 7 DS games in the top 10 sales chart. On the other hand, it was incredibly rare to see a PSP game crack the top 10 of the chart.
And that is also something that Microsoft should learn from. The PSP sells well in the States and Europe probably because it is seen as cooler, more stylish, and it has more capabilities than the admittedly plain-jane DS. However, in my very humble opinion, its game selection is more limited than the DS's. Microsoft could really make an impact if they deliver with a steady stream of good, quality games and not rely on whatever other features their handheld would have (i.e. Sony's UMDs being more popular than the actual games).
Microsoft should also learn that having the most powerful parts does not make a system inherently better than another. At its core, the PSP is more powerful than the DS (dual MIPS 300 MHz processors (locked at 200 Mhz max), more powerful graphics engine), but the DS, at least in Japan, has sold more. Why? Even with a relatively weaker system, the games being developed for it are fun and appealing to more than just the 18-35 demographic. That's why games like the Brain Training games have been so successful and continue to stay on the charts.
Microsoft can make this work, but they might have to shift some of their views.
About time (Score:2, Insightful)
Microsoft both has a Mobile version of Windows AND partnerships with mobile platform makers. To make a mobile Xbox platform simply means taking some existing PocketPC device and making it more gaming centric. They even ported DirectX to the mobile platform so there is at least a 3d graphics library to leverage.
Whether or not it will compete well against the dominant Nintendo remains to be seen. The PSP has been struggling to gain acceptance, but then again, Sony struggled to gain dominance over Nintendo's game consoles and succeeded. Microsoft may have learned how Sony failed with the PSP and NOT make those same mistakes.
Both Sony and MS has to realize though that the kinds of games that makes their console platforms popular (sports and multiplayer 3rd person shooters) don't make a handheld system popular. People that like Nintendo Gameboys like puzzle games, RPGs and platformers, as well as novelty games that feature touch screen or card readers, not sports or 3rd person shooters. To compete well against Nintendo means to recognize the types of games that make the Gameboys popular and catering to that audience, rather then simply porting successful game console titles to handheld versions.
It would be interesting to see what MS could come up with. Hopefully they might recognize the idea that by bringing gaming into their existing Pocket PC market, while maintaining PDA like functionality, they could both revamp the PDA industry (make boring PDA's entertaining) and offer something more then a simple time waster (bring functionality to handheld game platforms).
Re:Their last portable... (Score:1, Insightful)
In my opinion the reason the iPod is and remains on top has nothing to do with hardware. It's a trendy thing to have, everyone has heard of it and wants one. Most of the people that got one for Christmas don't even know how to use it. There are better products on market. It's not the hardware, it's the name recognition.
I bought an archos player for $250 that plays xvid movies, mp3s, games, displays photos, can link up to other USB devices, records wav files from line in or built in microphone and has RCA out capability (comes complete with cables). The ipod has hardly any of these features and retails for almost double the price. People buy ipods cuz they are hipsters.
Re:Their last portable... (Score:3, Insightful)
And I bet that archos is really easy to use, right? And it ties in tightly with a really slick music, photo and video jukebox/store? And it automatically keeps in synch with your computer? And it's really small and light? Right?
Re:Go for it (Score:3, Insightful)
Neither is GTA, neither is SOCOM, neither are any of the PSP games the OP had broadly suggested were "pointless ports."
But that was a good try. Go reward yourself with some UMD movies.
I was making a joke, hence the wink. I do think I'll play a little MLB 06 though...