1. Demand
Just do a quick search for Xbox Handheld in your search engine of choice and see millions of articles along with thousands of images appear for a device that doesn't even exist. There is a demand for a portable Xbox experience. Forums speculate about it sparking e-arguments. Artists devote time to display how they envision an Xbox Handheld would look. People crave every drop of knowledge about this phantom device. Ultimately people are looking for ways to not only expand play, but extend it. There is a whole community of modders and hackers that live and breathe portability. People who worship the pioneering spirit of individuals like Mod God Ben Heckendorn aka Ben Heck. His site benheck.com dedicated to portability filled with potential Handheld buyers. The Holy Grail and most followed projects on the site are portable 360s and PS3s. People want to be able to take their favorite system with them. They are always asking to build, trade, and buy creations. There is a market for an Xbox portable and all Microsoft has to do is make it. Surface Integration, XBLA, and Crossplay are great additions to a handheld based on todays technology, but in my world I want more. If I were designing the Xbox Handheld it would follow the old school TurboGrafix system the TurboExpress. The device would just play any Xbox Infinity (or 360) games natively. Since my Xbox handheld would have the same control scheme as the home console it would be a unified ecosystem. Now I understand the market is tough. People claim the market cant support another handheld, or that the smartphone market would make a new handheld dead on arrival. I think the Vita could have broken this mold, but that is an article for another day. Technology grows exponentially every day. When the new game consoles arrive we have the possibility to change expectation of what we demand from our games. Cellular speeds are rivaling home Internet (which is very sad when you think about it) so the potential for multiplayer exists too. With a new Next Gen Focused handheld Microsoft can release the next big thing and if they actually have console games for the go theyd have my pre-order immediately. Im sure Microsoft is lurking watching the trends as Nintendo and Sony flounder in the handheld marketbut I sincerely hope they jump in.