MS games not suitable for handheld - Kim

By Tom Bramwell Published 15 May, 2008

Not great for "driving success" in that area.

Microsoft Game Studios corporate vp Shane Kim has said he is "very happy" the company hasn't made a handheld games console partly because the sorts of games Microsoft produces aren't suitable for that market.

"I'm very happy we didn't get into it, because launching a handheld platform is like launching another Xbox 360. You have to be fully committed, as an organisation, from a resource standpoint, to doing that," he told Eurogamer in an interview published today.

"Frankly we've got a lot on our plate with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. We don't have any experience in that space. Our content assets don't naturally lend themselves to driving success in that particular market. So we're happy to let Sony and Nintendo slog it out."

However, perhaps remembering how much of Uncle Bill's money is tied up in Zune and Windows Mobile, Kim went on to say that "mobile is probably the more important platform in the future", although clearly we shouldn't read much into that.

Indeed, for the moment Microsoft is happy to take advantage of Nintendo's DS success to extend the range of some of its own brands. Having done the same in the past with GBA releases based on Sabre Wulf and Banjo-Kazooie, the company has given its blessing to a DS Viva Pinata game due out later this year.

For more on Microsoft's plans and expectations for the rest of 2008, check out our Shane Kim interview elsewhere on the site.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MKorkia #1 4 years ago

    I wouldn't believe at all if somebody at Microsoft said they have no Xbox Portable on development. Xbox Portable if designed correctly would provide great platform for FPS's that Xbox family is already known for.

    Microsoft! Here's my wishlist for your future portable machine since you are reading this anyway!

    - two analog pads
    - 480P display
    - built in rumble
    - Xbox live integration

    Just get your portable out and stop misleading people! ;) I promise to queue on lauch! :)

  • Xerx3s #2 4 years ago

    Launching a handheld now would be suicide against the psp and ds. They are much better off with the XNA integration in the zune. Expand that and market it.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #3 4 years ago

    Their portfolio of games wasn't suitable for home consoles, either, until they kicked off the Xbox program. But he has a point, unless they're going to concentrate on it properly they're best not bothering.

    Although I think they've missed a trick with Zune. A reputation in the field of gaming is just about the one thing Microsoft have that Apple don't that could be "leveraged" (to use the appropriate corporate bollocks word) in a multimedia MP3 player thingy. Mind you that reads for Sony, too. Whatever happened to the high-capacity hard disk integrated PSP with longer battery life for music playing to compete with Ipod Touch?
    Edited by 1 at 15/05/08 @ 08:24

  • MKorkia #4 4 years ago

    Xerx3s is probably right.

    Best time to launch Xbox Portable would be when Xbox 360 is old enough technology to be implemented on portable machine (compare to PS2 PSP). Then portable could directly play Xbox live titles.

    Maybe 2010?

    Just (for comparison) makes me wonder what would be the "Big Thing" with PSP2, sixaxis-controls? ;-) Just imagine playing Lair PSP2! :D

    No matter, I still would buy PSP2 too, and I promise I will. :)

  • MKorkia #5 4 years ago

    Although I think they've missed a trick with Zune

    This playing with Zune, playing with iPod sounds too much Nokia N-Gage to me. :(

    One platform I promise not to buy is this Nokia's new N-Gage2 capable "Multimedia Computers". Paying 600 - 800 EUR for a device that plays GBA level games is wwwwaaaayyyy too much... :-s

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #6 4 years ago

    sixaxis-controls? ;-) Just imagine playing Lair PSP2!

    Tilt controls don't work very well on handhelds. If you tilt the whole device then you can't see the screen properly.

  • keyboardmonkey #7 4 years ago

    If MS could produce a handheld that linked to Live, integrated in some way into the 360 games (side quests or simple games a bit like the arcade games will do with Fable 2) , and allowed you to get achievements then i think MS would give some serious competition to Sony (i really can't see anyone ever over turning Nintendo's dominance in this market).

    To add to the wishlist:

    -Suitable memory format where you can store lots of games!
    -Ability to play MP3/videos/browse t'internet
    -The on off button to be no where near the edges where you hold the console

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #8 4 years ago

    Paying 600 - 800 EUR for a device that plays GBA level games is wwwwaaaayyyy too much...

    Actually, they're more like DS level of technology games, just with only one screen, which isn't a touchscreen. And you can get an N81, N82 or N95 for free on some contracts.

    The buttons are quite poor for games, though.

  • MKorkia #9 4 years ago

    Tilt controls don't work very well on handhelds. If you tilt the whole device then you can't see the screen properly.

    Tilt controls don't work on gamepads either.

    And my original comment about sixaxis on PSP2 was just sarcasm. :)

  • myk #10 4 years ago

    I think Microsoft would be better off creating a directX style API/set of standards for mobile devices rather than the hardware itself, focusing on integration with XBL and the 360.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #11 4 years ago

    When it comes to portable gaming devices, nothing beats a dedicated games console.

    Sure these jack-of-all-trades devices are exciting for marketeers in companies like Nokia who love to talk about electronic device convergence and the dream that one day everyone will carry one machine for mobile telecommunications, general computing, portable entertainment media and video games, but the reality is that the single device to rule them all will never happen. Or more correctly, it will happen but will do nothing very well.

    A portable games machine needs to be focussed on the games, providing controls that work well and are comfortable to use. This is not possible on a device that also requires a full numeric keypad for dialing phone numbers or a device that requires a qwerty keypad for typing emails.

    As for the specifications of the perfect portable gaming device, I believe we already have them in the DS.

    I have a PSP and love it to bits, but lately I have been playing more and more DS games on the daily commute. In actual fact, the last 2 weeks I have been carrying the GBA Micro and playing through summon night 1 and 2 which are fantastic. Most people don't need anywhere near the power of the PSP for mobile gaming let alone anything more powerful.

    A portable xbox would be a ridiculous device that would require a car battery to keep it going more for than 30 minutes on the go. And the games that are released for the xbox are not generally amenable to 10 minute sessions on the train home from work.

    I think MS know that any device they produce for portable gaming would fail miserably. Especially in a market that is dominated by Nintendo.

  • Xerx3s #12 4 years ago

    "I think Microsoft would be better off creating a directX style API/set of standards for mobile devices rather than the hardware itself, focusing on integration with XBL and the 360."

    Like I said, they are off much better continuing the XNA platform for the zune player but more importantly, for the windows mobile platform. Combined they already have a pretty large installbase.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #13 4 years ago

    more importantly, for the windows mobile platform

    If they try to make a viable format for games on Windows Mobile devices, it's probably going to be every bit as bad as the equivalent service on Symbian (i.e. N-Gage). Or, perhaps just as bad, Games For Windows Live.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #14 4 years ago

    A portable games machine needs to be focussed on the games, providing controls that work well and are comfortable to use. This is not possible on a device that also requires a full numeric keypad for dialing phone numbers or a device that requires a qwerty keypad for typing emails.

    Put a d-pad at the top and four buttons arranged in a diamond pattern on the bottom of an iphone, then turn it on its side and play high-res widescreen games, with optional full-display multi-touch support, that can turn into a numeric keypad or full qwerty keyboard as necessary.

    Piece of piss, now hand me my British Design Award.

  • samaran #15 4 years ago

    don't worry shane kim, that PSP isn't so hot for "driving success" either!

    i mean, whatever happened to that gran turismo!

  • DFawkes #16 4 years ago

    Why not develop games for DS? I know that on home consoles they're competitors, but MS have made GBA games before. Don't waste money developing a new console, just make DS games, like Viva Piniata. I saw a Halo mod for Goldeneye DS, and it look brilliant, plus the control system was excellent. Sure, it was the only good thing about it, but it was the closest to mouse and keyboard you'll get on a portable.

  • Xerx3s #17 4 years ago

    "Put a d-pad at the top and four buttons arranged in a diamond pattern on the bottom of an iphone, then turn it on its side and play high-res widescreen games, with optional full-display multi-touch support, that can turn into a numeric keypad or full qwerty keyboard as necessary."

    Well that and the fact that most smartphones/pda's are touchscreen and have a hidden keyboard.

    "Why not develop games for DS? "

    Because they already do that? MS releases games every once in a while on the DS.

  • des #18 4 years ago

    Well according to Dean Takahashi(author of The Xbox 360 Uncloaked) they are working on it.

    Releasing a handheld before next Xbox makes sense,because it will help to compensate losses inflicted by next Xbox console(psp and ds)-they don't need to sell it with loss, less money for R&D(next xbox).

    My wishlist:
    1.Make system dx(10.xx) compatible,similar architecture to next Xbox(less memory,lower cpu,gpu clocks,less shader units,etc).
    2. High X360 connectivity,full for "720".
    3.Full live integration(gamertag,achievements,...),playing X360 arcade games,no need to rebuy games.
    4.No dvd,blu-ray,umd.Big hard drive,games are downloaded through Live and(maybe) released on some kind of flash media.
    5.16/9 touchscreen(stylus for rts,etc),dual analog controls.
    6.Some kind of win xp compatibility(for pc games).

  • woodnotes #19 4 years ago

    Interestingly, Sony's games aren't suitable for handheld either.

  • WinterSnowblind #20 4 years ago

    I'm glad they aren't really bothering with it, I don't think it would perform particularly well, and I doubt it would interest me, for the same reason the PSP has never interested me. The majority of the games on the system are simply stripped down versions of games you can play on the PS2. At least with the GBA and DS, a lot of classic games we hadn't played for a few years were ported, but with the PSP I always felt I may as well just buy the PS2 version of the games.

  • Tiny_Tim #21 4 years ago

    Microsoft! Here's my wishlist for your future portable machine since you are reading this anyway!

    - two analog pads
    - 480P display
    - built in rumble
    - Xbox live integration

    I heard that they're working on something very similar to this, but they just need to get the stablisers right to stop the fan carrying the player into the air. Legal issues with pylon cables or something.

  • Landmaster #22 4 years ago

    RARE

  • chaosinthesnow #23 4 years ago

    I love the way he says MS are happy to let Nintendo and Sony "slog it out" for the handheld market. He puts a subtle negative connotation on his statement to make it sound like they're wasting their time fighting with each other or something. In reality "slog it out" translates into each of them making boatloads of cash from DS and PSP sales.

  • movellon #24 4 years ago

    I wouldn't buy it for 2 years anyway, only way to ensure that it's not as "reliable" as the 360.

  • Ryze #25 4 years ago

    They should make a controller grip for the Zune, and make every XBLA and XNA game compatible.

    Would send sales skyrocketing if one could download XBLA titles for the Zune via XP, Vista or 360.