Last week, Microsoft bigwig Shane Kim claimed that portable Xbox gaming was a matter of “when.” Despite this, videogame analyst and dangerous shaman Michael Pachter has discounted the idea of a handheld Microsoft console, at least in the current market.
“I don’t see Microsoft as being competitive in handheld gaming,” explains the man who can crush coal into diamonds. “The Zune has been a commercial disaster, and their core Xbox consumer is too old to carry a handheld gaming device.
“The DS skews very young, the iPhone very old, and the PSP in between. Microsoft would have to take the PSP and the iPhone on in order to succeed. I don’t see this happening in the foreseeable future.”
Ouch. Harsh words indeed, especially the Zune stuff. What do you reckon? Is Pachter on the money here, or would Microsoft have a good chance of succeeding if it attempted to take on the PSP and iPhone?
Published: Jul 22, 2009 05:00 pm