Rumours of an Xbox portable gaming device have started swirling around online as fans predict Microsoft is currently building its own platform. Phil Spencer has now added fuel to the fire after he mentioned the growing popularity of these handhelds and how he wants his “Lenovo Legion Go to feel like an Xbox”.
During an interview with Polygon, Spencer cited all the issues he has with the Lenovo Legion Go and how it doesn’t feel like an Xbox. He says the device is great but there’s a list of features he wishes it had. Mainly, he wants an Xbox skin overlayed across the entire UI which delivers the same experience the Xbox Series X/S does but from a portable.
This includes all his games, his friends and of course, cross-save across his titles from PC to console.
“I brought [the Legion Go] with me to GDC. I’m on the airplane and I have this list of everything that makes it not feel like an Xbox. Forget about the brand. More like: Are all of my games there? Do all my games show up with the save [files] that I want? I’ll tell you one [game] that doesn’t right now — it’s driving me crazy — is Fallout 76. It doesn’t have cross-save”
Spencer follows up by saying he wishes these portable devices felt like an Xbox feels when you turn on the TV.
“I want to be able to boot into the Xbox app in a full screen, but in a compact mode. And all of my social [experience] is there. Like I want it to feel like the dash of my Xbox when I turn on the television. [Except I want it] on those devices.”
Does this hint that a portable Xbox device is currently in the works? It seems likely. Phil Spencer clearly has a vision of what he expects from it. What it should feel like and how it should work. He says Xbox is currently considering “different hardware form factors and things that [they] could go do”. This involves finding new players and giving people the opportunity to play at times when they couldn’t go play.
One thing Spencer says he wishes was different from these current models is the Windows experience.
“I like the fact that Valve, Lenovo, and Asus went out and innovated in a new form factor. And I will say that when I’m playing on those devices, it almost feels more like a console than a PC — nine times out of 10. The things that usually frustrate me are more Windows-based than device-based. Which is an area I feel some ownership of. Like, I want to be able to log in with a controller. I’ve got my list of things we should go do.”
Source: X
