Microsoft Working on Gaming-Focused 'Xbox Surface' 7-Inch Tablet

[VenusianSky]

Too much fragmenting in their line. Windows RT, Windows 8, now another Windows tablet that's just a game machine? Makes no sense.

What is new about this?

Microsoft Windows has always been a dynamic system. Over the years Windows (NT OS) has run on x86, x64, Itanium, PowerPC, DEC Alpha, MIPS and now ARM. Also, Microsoft has released multiple editions of Windows since Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. Windows NT Workstation, Windows Server, Windows Embedded, Windows RT, Windows Storage Server.

The strategy seems to have worked out pretty well for them.

 

[driceman]

Anything to do with Xbox is worth reading. Microsoft has a gold mine and imo the best console on the market.

Edit: lol ***** I forgot whenever the words "best console" and "Xbox" are in the same sentence PS3 owners go into an instant rage xD

Not a rage, just disagreeing here

I think initially the 360 was the way to go- similar graphics power and at a much lower price. Nowadays, I'd pick the PS3 every time. Now that Blu Ray has caught on (except at Apple, apparently ) and their online service is pretty darn good (and free), I just think it works better with modern technology. And then there's the Wii with its SD graphics and no third party support...

Of course, this could all change in the next year or so, so it's a moot point.

 

[frayne182]

Not a rage, just disagreeing here

I think initially the 360 was the way to go- similar graphics power and at a much lower price. Nowadays, I'd pick the PS3 every time. Now that Blu Ray has caught on (except at Apple, apparently ) and their online service is pretty darn good (and free), I just think it works better with modern technology. And then there's the Wii with its SD graphics and no third party support...

Of course, this could all change in the next year or so, so it's a moot point.

Xbox Live is leaps and bounds better then the free PS3 service.

No offense, but try both.

Developers complain all the time about how complicated it is on the PS3. Hell they can't even get the DLC working for Skyrim.

The graphics are almost always on par because they develop for the 360 and port to the PS3.

PS3 exclusives look sexy though. GT and Uncharted.

But majority look the same if not worse because of the port.

As for Xbox Live it supports exclusive content, party chat, service is always up, match making is better, Voice chat is more the norm because headsets come with the system... PS3 has to many people using cheap headsets that make them sound like they are underwater or something. Yeah you pay for Xbox Live, but its a service worth paying for. and you can almost always find a year subscription for $29.99 somewhere. Pennies a day.

I have both so not trying to sound like an Xbox lover here. I respect your opinion and we all have things we will choose over the others.

 

[edenwaith]

microsoftrumors.com?

Return of the Pippin, perhaps?

 

[Old Muley]

XBox sales have been dropping badly, and most people are nowadays interested in more casual gameplay.

You've not met my 14-year-old son and his friends apparently. They are anything but "casual" when it comes to their gaming...

 

[SockRolid]

I think that you are basing all of this on an assumption that Microsoft is shooting from the hip and their long term plans are not carefully thought-out. ...

I'd argue that nothing Microsoft has done in mobile has been well thought-out. Just off the top of my head:

1. The futility of trying to convince the world, for 10 years, to buy Microsoft Tablet PCs.
2. Killing off Windows Mobile 6.5 with absolutely no app or data migration path to Windows Phone 7.
3. The failure of Zune.
4. The failure of KIN.
5. Choosing one manufacturer (Nokia) as their prime hardware partner at the expense of all other Windows Phone device makers.
6. The non-upgradability of 1-year-old Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets to Windows Phone 8.
7. The inability to decide between ARM or Intel for Surface.
8. The inability to port Office to a mobile OS without a "desktop."

The only thing that Microsoft is carefully doing is anchoring themselves, permanently, to legacy desktops and laptops. Anchoring themselves to their past. Their Windows glory days. The '90s.

... That said, I don't quite understand the reason for the Gaming Tablet either, but in my recent experience, I find it hard to believe that it is not a carefully thought out piece of the yet to be seen bigger picture. ...

I find it hard to believe that the Gaming Tablet is not simply another Microsoft knee-jerk reaction to competitors' successes in mobile. Ballmer is so used to crushing young, vulnerable competitors with FUD that he either 1) still thinks FUD works, or 2) simply doesn't know what else to do other than to spew FUD. Even now, against deeply entrenched, dominant, aggressive players like Apple.

A year from now, I'll be adding #9 to the above list:

9. The failure of the stillborn Gaming Tablet.

 

[Richdmoore]

I like my xbox, but I don't know if I will make the move to a tablet version. I can't justify it when I already have an iPhone and iPad.

I wonder if this will be more of a gameboy type device, rather than a full console replacement. Also, how crippled will it be for running other metro apps?

I can see this as an enhancement to the surface windows OS, but to make it a separate line is probably a mistake, in my view.

 

[dashiel]

I fail to understand your reasoning. Why are slow upgrade cycles a negative? If anything, real life data points us in the opposite direction: stability is what creates the economy, without it, the gaming industry would be radically different. We're talking about massive investments into a particular technology here. How are those to be sustained within the "app-conomy"?

It’s pure speculation, but my reasoning is based on game developers propensity to push the boundaries. Whether it’s Chris Roberts way back in the early 90’s inserting a flyer in to Wing Commander boxes urging people to buy CD-ROM drives or it’s Naughty Dog claiming to have maxed out the PS3 with Uncharted 2, game developers will always want to do more.

Game consoles have set a precedent of 5-7 years in between upgrades, cost millions of dollars and usually have limited compatibility with the previous generation requiring retraining.

Tablets on the other hand are annual and have great backwards compatibility. They combine some of the benefits of a console (set specs) with some of the benefits of pc gaming (keeping better pace with technology) and unlike consoles the tablet makers have created an ecosystem where upgrading every 18-24 months is the norm.

Tablets will undoubtedly be blown out of the water when the 8th generation systems ship, but they will have less ground to make up than they did with 7th generation systems and will be moving at a much faster rate. I suspect there won’t be a 9th generation of game consoles as tablets will be so far ahead it simply won’t makes sense.

I don’t see the lack of stability as hampering game designers any more than the lack of stability in the PC market has.

 

[Meandmunch]

Xbox U?

That is exactly my first thought. Poor Nintendo, always being everyone to the punch (motion control, tablet control) but ultimately losing the fight be they grossly under power their hardware.

But I tell you what the proposition that in future xbox incarnations Microsoft could empower any tablet running windows 8 to suddenly become a 2nd or third controller is quit intriguing.

 

[frayne182]

That is exactly my first thought. Poor Nintendo, always being everyone to the punch (motion control, tablet control) but ultimately losing the fight be they grossly under power their hardware.

The Wii has more sales then both the PS3 and Xbox lol.

Nintendo knows what they are doing.

 

[craftytony]

It seems to me, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be much more advantageous for Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft to sell their games through the app store? And then working with Apple/Android to create a hardware controller our phones could attach/fit in?

For example, I would buy a ton of the old 8 bit NES games if available for IOS. I'm sure Nintendo could make a killing off of Punch Out, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc.

It seems to me these companies could especially profit off of their older games that are no longer selling.

thoughts?

 

[frayne182]

It seems to me, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be much more advantageous for Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft to sell their games through the app store? And then working with Apple/Android to create a hardware controller our phones could attach/fit in?

For example, I would buy a ton of the old 8 bit NES games if available for IOS. I'm sure Nintendo could make a killing off of Punch Out, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc.

It seems to me these companies could especially profit off of their older games that are no longer selling.

thoughts?

Interesting thought... But Nintendo already does this with their own Store.

Microsoft already does this with their own store

Sony does this with their own store.


So I doubt they would do it for phones.... Especially Nintendo. Might be able to see Microsoft or Sony someday.

But Nintendo already has a very successful portable market with the DS

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Huge mistake to trifurcate the Surface. It will only confuse and turn off consumers even more. Instead MS should leverage the Xbox brand into the regular Surface tablet -- not the RT, the one w/ the Intel chip.

But bigger issue is weight. The RT is too heavy. Now put real guts in the box, and you get something you don't want to hold for too long.

 

[Meandmunch]

The Wii has more sales then both the PS3 and Xbox lol.

Nintendo knows what they are doing.

I am well aware of the sales numbers but the Wii is a distant memory while Xbox and PS3 sales have steadily increased because they built longevity into their hardware and have massive communities of online gamers.

 

[charlituna]

Too much fragmenting in their line. Windows RT, Windows 8, now another Windows tablet that's just a game machine? Makes no sense.

Actually a 7 inch tablet for gaming could actually work.

 

[rhuber]

I'd argue that nothing Microsoft has done in mobile has been well thought-out. Just off the top of my head:

1. The futility of trying to convince the world, for 10 years, to buy Microsoft Tablet PCs.
2. Killing off Windows Mobile 6.5 with absolutely no app or data migration path to Windows Phone 7.
3. The failure of Zune.
4. The failure of KIN.
5. Choosing one manufacturer (Nokia) as their prime hardware partner at the expense of all other Windows Phone device makers.
6. The non-upgradability of 1-year-old Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets to Windows Phone 8.
7. The inability to decide between ARM or Intel for Surface.
8. The inability to port Office to a mobile OS without a "desktop."

The only thing that Microsoft is carefully doing is anchoring themselves, permanently, to legacy desktops and laptops. Anchoring themselves to their past. Their Windows glory days. The '90s.



I find it hard to believe that the Gaming Tablet is not simply another Microsoft knee-jerk reaction to competitors' successes in mobile. Ballmer is so used to crushing young, vulnerable competitors with FUD that he either 1) still thinks FUD works, or 2) simply doesn't know what else to do other than to spew FUD. Even now, against deeply entrenched, dominant, aggressive players like Apple.

A year from now, I'll be adding #9 to the above list:

9. The failure of the stillborn Gaming Tablet.

Okie-doke. Guess time will tell then.

 

[charlituna]

Probably be the "Surface" for their Microsoft Smart"Glass" technology for xbox. Everything makes sense now.

You smile but that is likely exactly what they are thinking

 

[Renzatic]

Smartglass is available for anything that can run it. I know I have access to it on Windows 8, and I'm sure the RT does as well.

The Xbox Surface will likely be a portable gaming machine on its own, with access to Smartglass for displaying games on a big screen.

 

[charlituna]

For example, I would buy a ton of the old 8 bit NES games if available for IOS. I'm sure Nintendo could make a killing off of Punch Out, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc.

So would I. Probably a lot of folks would, but Nintendo isn't really biting on that one

 

[apolloa]

Interesting I guess? But if the games for it are exclusive to the device, how is it going to compare with the Android and iOD devices? I mean people already proclaimed the death knell of the PSVita and the 3DS due to tablets? So another gaming devices with another exclusive platform?

Not so sure this will be a winner. The Nexus 7 is already a pretty capable gaming device, can be used with the PS3 controller out the box, and if they refresh it next year with the Tegra 4... and that's not mentioning the Apple A6 SOC..

No, not convinced by this one MS.

 

[linkgx1]

So would I. Probably a lot of folks would, but Nintendo isn't really biting on that one

Nintendo is similar to Apple. In the hardware AND software business. They're in it for the long haul. Especially with their Wii U and it's tablet-like capabilites (which is rather impressive).

 

[Black Magic]

Microsoft is in shotgun mode. Launch a ton of things and hope something hits. A sign of desperation? I think so.

 

[ncaissie]

Tablets make ****** gaming devices. Not to mention the ARM processors can't handle real games.

 

[frayne182]

Tablets make ****** gaming devices. Not to mention the ARM processors can't handle real games.

Again look at how Nintendo is doing it. Its not about the hardware. As long as you are in range with their tablet it is capable of producing the same graphics the Wii-U can put out.

I think this is the way Microsoft will go as well.

 

[Trik]

Not sure how...

Anything to do with Xbox is worth reading. Microsoft has a gold mine and imo the best console on the market.

Edit: lol ***** I forgot whenever the words "best console" and "Xbox" are in the same sentence PS3 owners go into an instant rage xD

Shouldn't PS3 owners be logging into their free identity theft website instead of trolling Mac forums for PS3 haters?