Handhelds have had a long and illustrious history in the gaming world. While several consoles technically preceded it, Nintendo's Game Boy broke new ground for portable gaming, offering almost NES-level experiences on the go. Nintendo continued to establish itself in the handheld device industry with subsequent releases of the Game Boy, and the company set a new standard for the entire industry with the launch of the Nintendo DS in 2006. But while PlayStation tried to compete with Nintendo in portable space, Xbox remained clear. But things are about to change.
After over a year of speculation and rumors, Phil Spencer confirmed in a recent interview with Bloomberg that Xbox is indeed in the process of developing a portable device. To be sure, Spencer also said that it would be a few more years before fans would see it on the market. But when the Xbox handheld console eventually appears, there's one obvious feature that's sure to set it apart from the competition.
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The Xbox handheld may have some stiff competition
The handheld market is probably more active than it has ever been before. Nintendo Switch is now in its seventh year of life and, together with the Lite and OLED models, has sold over 140 million units. While its hardware is objectively inferior to even the latest generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles, the Switch's portable nature, high level of brand recognition, and family-friendly tilt have kept it at the top of the gaming world for at least a decade. .
In 2022, Valve thought it would try its hand at creating a portable console. In the two years since its release, the Steam Deck has been widely praised as one of the best portable devices ever made, being able to play some of the most demanding modern games with very few restrictions.
The handheld market may look a little different by the time the Xbox device hits store shelves, but it may not be by much. The successor to the Nintendo Switch is expected to be revealed next year, and Valve has already confirmed that a second generation Steam Deck is in development. So the Xbox portable's competition might not be all that different than it would be if it launched now.
Additionally, a recent report from Bloomberg suggests that PlayStation is also in the early stages of developing a new portable console. If this is true, then the Xbox handheld console will have some stiff competition when it launches.
Xbox Game Pass could be the Xbox handheld's secret weapon
Last year, Xbox tried to market the concept that Xbox isn't just the console, but anything that can run the Xbox app. Xbox Game Pass has been at the forefront of this recent marketing push, with ads often showing players enjoying their subscription via Xbox, PC, mobile, and a variety of other devices via cloud streaming.
When the Xbox handheld is officially revealed, it's extremely likely that Xbox Game Pass will be a major selling point for it, and for good reason. Putting Xbox Game Pass at the center of the next handheld would be a huge benefit in both the short and long term.
In the short term, Xbox handheld gamers will be able to access a vast library of hundreds of games, all at no additional cost. And with the Xbox Game Pass library offering a wide range of gaming experiences, players will be able to immediately test the power of the portable console, with countless AAA and Indie games ready and waiting from day one.
In the long term, Xbox Game Pass would ensure portable gamers have an ever-evolving library of games to keep coming back to. Additionally, while the PlayStation handheld could bring its library of PS Plus titles with it, Game Pass would still have the advantage, as PS Plus hasn't added first-party games to the service since day one. And this advantage will only become more clear-cut with time, as Xbox's first-party offerings now include Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and Activision-Blizzard.
