Microsoft has been a heavyweight contender, quite literally, in the console business (here in the US) since 2001. The beast of a machine brought to life the Halo series, reinvigorated many game genres, and resurrected the Dreamcast controller (don't deny it, they look similar). Despite the power behind the company, they haven't been able to get it together to move into the handheld realm. There were rumors about a portable division years ago, but Project Natal, a.k.a. Kinect, shelved that project for who knows how long. Now that the motion controller, or peripheral, or whatever has been released, is it time for Microsoft to consider entering the war on handhelds?
Personally, there seems to be enough going on in world of portable gaming, and I frankly doubt I'll be able to afford buying a 3DS and an NGP within a year, let alone the games for it, on top of a third portable. The question is, what could Microsoft bring to the game that isn't already being done? Nintendo has glasses-less 3D, Sony has the power of a current gen console in your hands, and both feature some sense of touch and motion control. There's nothing new that Microsoft can do with an Xbox portable to compete.
There still seems to be some life in Microsoft, and some small urge to move the Xbox name beyond the home console. With their new line of phones, users can access their XBox Live avatars on their phones, something Nintendo and Sony don't have (...yet, Sony is still working on their "Playstation" phone, which is no longer tied to the "Playstation" name). Apple has proven that phones are capable of doing more than just call people, so maybe that's what Microsoft is thinking as well. I don't know for sure, and I can't confirm anything. Perhaps E3 will hold more answers.
What do you think? Should Microsoft make the leap to compete with Sony, Nintendo, and Apple? Or should they stick to what they know for the moment?
Dream on.
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