21
Microsoft & ASUS Unveiled Xbox Handhelds
(press.asus.com)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2025
21 points (80.0% liked)
Games
39560 readers
1707 users here now
Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.
Rules
1. Submissions have to be related to games
Video games, tabletop, or otherwise. Posts not related to games will be deleted.
This community is focused on games, of all kinds. Any news item or discussion should be related to gaming in some way.
2. No bigotry or harassment, be civil
No bigotry, hardline stance. Try not to get too heated when entering into a discussion or debate.
We are here to talk and discuss about one of our passions, not fight or be exposed to hate. Posts or responses that are hateful will be deleted to keep the atmosphere good. If repeatedly violated, not only will the comment be deleted but a ban will be handed out as well. We judge each case individually.
3. No excessive self-promotion
Try to keep it to 10% self-promotion / 90% other stuff in your post history.
This is to prevent people from posting for the sole purpose of promoting their own website or social media account.
4. Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts
This community is mostly for discussion and news. Remember to search for the thing you're submitting before posting to see if it's already been posted.
We want to keep the quality of posts high. Therefore, memes, funny videos, low-effort posts and reposts are not allowed. We prohibit giveaways because we cannot be sure that the person holding the giveaway will actually do what they promise.
5. Mark Spoilers and NSFW
Make sure to mark your stuff or it may be removed.
No one wants to be spoiled. Therefore, always mark spoilers. Similarly mark NSFW, in case anyone is browsing in a public space or at work.
6. No linking to piracy
Don't share it here, there are other places to find it. Discussion of piracy is fine.
We don't want us moderators or the admins of lemmy.world to get in trouble for linking to piracy. Therefore, any link to piracy will be removed. Discussion of it is of course allowed.
Authorized Regular Threads
Related communities
PM a mod to add your own
Video games
Generic
- [email protected]: Our sister community, focused on PC and console gaming. Meme are allowed.
- [email protected]: For all your screenshots needs, to share your love for games graphics.
- [email protected]: A community to share your love for video games music
Help and suggestions
By platform
By type
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
By games
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
Language specific
- [email protected]: French
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
I think MS took the right path here by just partnering with ASUS (okay... ASUS sucks but...). ASUS is already making a handheld every year and they are very well received (until anyone needs to RMA something). But ASUS also has their entire laptop and monitor and component divisions.
My worry is more the GPD and Aya Neos of the world. They kind of dragged handheld form factor laptops kicking and screaming... and then Valve ate their lunch. Rightfully so because the GPDs and Ayas were always horrible to use and full of bloat (and maybe spyware) but it still sucks.
But this specifically? MS are doing the same thing Valve are. The idea will be that you buy a handheld and then install the OS/ecosystem you want on there. Valve want SteamOS (or just not Microsoft) on everything. MS wants Windows+Game Mode on everything. And, because this is post 2010s MS, Valve wins either way because Steam also runs on Windows whereas gamepass is locked to only Windows.
I DO think the implication of needing an xbox button (which can also be the steam button) and adaptive triggers to get "xbox certified" is gonna suck and be a way to deprecate older devices. But I doubt those will be hard requirements for a few years.
Because... we are due for the next console generation in 2-3 years, right? We just got the refresh SKU for PS5 and that will line up for the usual 6-8 year cycle. And this positions MS to push their requirements controller wise.
I don't dislike what I saw. Personally, I just think they are already too late to enter the market and be a big success. We just saw the numbers that Linux is killing it in almost all categories on the Legion compared to a windows OS, which is pretty bad news to have less than a month before showcasing this. It's not like the Xbox brand is doing that wonderful these days, either. I think it will sell but not do as good as expected, and they will move on or completely give up. From what I hear, Xbox in general, is barely holding on these days. I love what gamepass did, but that may be all that remains if they can't sell more hardware.
If I had to pick any 1 device that's either out now or soon to be out, I am definitely not picking this one. I will also be sad if they fail since we all know the competition is what keeps things from getting stagnant and also keep prices down.
The handheld form factor laptop gaming market is still in its (perpetual) infancy.
Yeah...
https://windowsforum.com/threads/lenovo-legion-go-s-how-steamos-outperforms-windows-in-portable-gaming.368233/ (apologies for blatant chatgpt bullshit but I needed data)
Battery life probably actually doesn't matter for the vast majority of users who would only be playing for an hour or two at a time, at most, between charges. And MS have acknowledged that with the focus on basically the same thing Valve sort of kind of does which is to have a gaming specific mode for the OS that disables a lot of background processes.
At which point we get to framerate and multiplayer gaming. The former basically being noise between the platforms and the latter still pretty much Windows only for Reasons.
I mean... this seems to be related to that. MS have already heavily hinted (outright said?) that the next XBOX is literally going to run (likely this version of) Windows and Gamepass and porting Halo to everything is already a sign. Like, think of this less as an "XBOX Handheld" and more as a "Windows gaming handheld"... which sounds worse to me but...
I mean... for the average user who does not have a visceral disdain for Windows at this point... why wouldn't you? This does gamepass AND Steam AND Fortnite. And most people don't realize that asus armory crate or whatever the fuck is worse than cancer.
Because ASUS was going to release this no matter what. The difference is they added another button (in a horrible location apparently) and let MS give them money to brand it as an XBOX. But the goal, at least from MS, is not to necessarily outsell and dominate the market. It is to make people think Windows is also for gaming (which it still very much is) and to further dilute the XBOX brand for whatever the hell is gonna happen in 2-4 years when the next console gen hits.