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Archived: Hand Held 360???

Analysts: Xbox Handheld System Only a Matter of Time
by GamePro Staff | 05/30/2006 A portable gaming system from Microsoft is an inevitability, according to analysts from The Diffusion Group. But is it really coming in 2007 or early 2008?

Is Microsoft in the perfect position to launch a portable Xbox? One analyst group is convinced
Is a handheld version of the Xbox 360 a given? Analysts from The Diffusion Group certainly think so.

TDG has issued a report, entitled On the Future of Portable Game Consoles: Analysis & Forecasts, describing Microsoft as "ripe" for entering the handheld market, a hyper-competitive arena under the iron-clad rule of Nintendo (and to a much lesser extent, Sony). The report posits that Microsoft has carefully watched Sony's and Nintendo's strategies with the PSP and the Nintendo DS, waiting patiently for an opportune time to enter the handheld market. The analysis predicts that Microsoft will release its own portable gaming and media player sometime in late 2007 or early 2008.

For the next few years ahead, the report forecasts two main strategies for Microsoft: 1) subcontracting its Xbox OS to any outside company who wants to make a portable system, or 2) making a Microsoft-branded gaming handheld to compete with the Nintendo and Sony products. TDG's analysis suggests that a Microsoft-developed handheld system would enjoy unique advantages over competiting systems, given the popularity of the Xbox and Xbox 360 brands. Though it's impossible to confirm such claims, the report gets one fact right: the Xbox's established brand name is a huge advantage that portable flops like Gizmondo and Zodiac never had.

But does that necessarily mean that Microsoft is working to enter a ferociously competitive market? Until Microsoft opens up, it's impossible to know for sure

San Jose Mercury reporter Dean Takahashi sounds off on reports that Microsoft is developing a portable Xbox for release in 2007 or early 2008. His verdict? The analysis is "consistent" with his findings.

Takahashi weighs in on the recent analysis of a portable Xbox 360
Earlier today, a report by The Diffusion Group made waves on the internet because it made a bold claim: that Microsoft would release a handheld Xbox system in late 2007 or early 2008.

We decided to go straight to the source for a confirmation. We spoke with Dean Takahashi, reporter for the San Jose Mercury and the author of The Xbox 360 Uncloaked.

Takahashi's take on the TDG report? "It makes sense, and it's consistent with what I've heard." While agreeing that the scenario seems logical, Takahashi stopped short of saying that he had heard these specific dates from his own sources, noting that a 2006 launch for that hypothetical handheld Xbox was never really in the cards anyway. Takahashi also reminded us that Microsoft took three years to design the Xbox 360, meaning that a portable system would likely take a similar amount of R&D time.

In other words, it's almost certain that a portable Xbox system -- if that really is what Microsoft is working on -- would be unlikely to arrive on store shelves before 2007.

Takahashi recently broke the story that Microsoft is secretly working on a portable gaming machine -- a report that Microsoft brushed off as speculative. Takahashi's account of the portable Xbox is detailed in his latest book, Opening the Xbox.

i'll buy one

I would buy one to.

There is a picture floating around somewhere of a portable xbox, not for sure if it's legit but...I would also buy it.