Nintendo has its 3DS and Sony will have its PS Vita by the end of this year. What does Microsoft have to say about portable gaming? According to Microsoft’s COO Dennis Durkin, the answer is not much. Citing the Nintendo 3DS, Durkin says that launching a standalone portable gaming console might not be in any company’s best interests right now, given how rapidly the mobile space has evolved into all-in-one devices like the iPhone and Android smartphones. His full statement after the break.
“I’m not sure I would want to be launching a dedicated portable device right now into that market. I think the DS – if you look at the 3DS, certainly versus people’s expectation’s it’s not been as successful as people would have thought. So that’s a very crowded market and a very, very red ocean right now with a lot of change happening. So I’m not sure it’s [a good idea].”
If you look back at Microsoft’s historical record in the portable market, starting from the Zune to Windows Phone 7, you can just about notice a pattern: it’s not very good marketing and selling portable devices. So why no portable Xbox 360? Costs. Microsoft entered the console race 10 years ago and it lost a lot of money building up the Xbox brand. With each new console, it takes a loss on every unit sold until it becomes profitable (which it is right now).
The PS Vita will sell for $250. That’s a lot of tech in the Wi-Fi model for such a low price. We’re talking quad-core processor, dual-cameras, 5-inch OLED touchscreen, rear touchpad and dual analog sticks. Sony’s said it will lose money on the Vita for at least three years. Does Microsoft want to lose money for another three years? We doubt it. As far as Microsoft is concerned, WP7’s integration with Xbox Live is it’s stab at a portable Xbox.