MSFT Handheld?
On the topic of a possible handheld console from Microsoft, a Slashdot user had a very good comment. (Particularly the last paragraph!)
I mean, both Nintendo and Sony have a handheld game platform, why not Microsoft?
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.
Amen.