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[Toadthemushroom]

This month's Xbox Live Rewards survey includes a few questions about the Nintendo Switch:

- Which features you find most appealing
- Which features you find least appealing
- How likely you are to buy a Nintendo Switch within the next 12 months

For the two "features" questions up to two can be chosen from the following:

"Most appealing":
-Price
-Game catalogue
-Joy-Con Controller
-Portability
-Local multiplayer game play
-MicroSD card slot

"Least appealing":
-Price
-Game catalogue
-Lack of backward compatibility
-Joy-Con Controller
-Portable Battery Life (3-6 hours)
-Internal memory (32GB)
-Lack of console inventory
-Technical glitches
-Lack of VR support
-My friends don't own one yet

Take the survey here.

What will be interesting is seeing what take home points Microsoft gets from the feedback given.

 

[nekkid]

Everyone should highlight the portability. I'd love a handheld device in the XB1 family.

 

[noshten]

After the Kinect I wouldn't rule it out.

 

[leeh]

If Microsoft released a Switch style tablet which plays X1 games in the next couple of years, oh boy oh boy.

 

[clay_ghost]

I got an survey asking about classic SNES. Better be true.

 

[Stoffinator]

I've been trying to take the survey but it will not send the results.

 

[jon bones]

Everyone should highlight the portability. I'd love a handheld device in the XB1 family.

If Microsoft released a Switch style tablet which plays X1 games in the next couple of years, oh boy oh boy.

yeah baby

leverage that Surface tech

let's get a competitive handheld market again!

 

[Cartho]

Very interesting. Shows how seriously Switch is being taken.

 

[Zakalwe]

Portability + anywhere instant local co-op/mp. The latter is the best thing.

 

[Cartho]

The portability is incredible. Just being able to play Disgaea 5 on my TV last night then, around 10, grab my switch and get into bed and keep playing, then the next day take it to my parents' house and carry on playing on the train / at theirs is truly revolutionary for me.

I mean it's reached the point now where, given feature parity, I'd buy any multi platform game on Switch. Running at slightly higher resolutions doesn't bother me and being able to take it anywhere is easily worth the small trade off. If Skyrim runs at a respectable frame rate (so a solid 30) then it is going to utterly consume my life.

 

[Bowl0l]

I hope Microsoft publish the survey result.

 

[Stereogatari]

Everyone should highlight the portability. I'd love a handheld device in the XB1 family.

This would already be dead before release.

It would make the Vita look like the PS2/PS4.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

That's a weird survey topic for Microsoft, admittedly.

 

[nekkid]

This would already be dead before release.

It would make the Vita look like the PS2/PS4.

If you had access to the same XB1 library? No chance.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

If you had access to the same XB1 library? No chance.

It's good to dream big, I guess.

 

[gamz]

I'd love, love a portable. Never going to happen, but you'd think for Minecraft alone if priced right would sell.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

I've always been surprised by how the Xbox execs never really call the Surface a portable "Xbox" device despite its chops for playing a wide range of PC games, so I'd love to see Microsoft's Surface hardware team tackle a portable after Scorpio.

I wonder how they'd tackle the software situation though, since existing Xbox One games aren't going to be compatible with 100% certainty, and I doubt games targeting both Scorpio and Xbox One from here on out (existing XBO compatibility on Scorpio is being handled by MS itself) will work with an ARM-based, Nvidia(?) or Qualcomm(?) powered MS handheld.

Maybe when a portable does release, all new Xbox games will be forwards compatible with new Xbox console and portables, but existing Xbox games won't. Or developers can choose whether to support the portable or scale down to it where it makes sense.

Still, it's funny in a way, because the Surface is as much of a hybrid as the Switch, but because of the market it was released in it could never have been called a Switch. Its hybrid-enabling peripherals ($130 type cover, equivalent to Switch Joy-Con controllers, and $200 Surface dock, equivalent to the Nintendo Switch dock) aren't all included in the box, whereas they were with the Switch.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Oh.

Always nice to see Eurogamer (whom I read daily) take cues from a GAF thread, but it's a pity that they didn't throw us a bone.

Unless Tom Phillips was indeed filling out a brand new Xbox Reward Survey on a Thursday morning, in which case I apologise.

 

[FinalAres]

Oh.

Well.

 

[Jawmuncher]

The survey wouldn't work for me. Could do all the questions but can't submit.

 

[Son Of D]

If you had access to the same XB1 library? No chance.

How much would a handheld that powerful cost to buy? Plus battery life would be a concern.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Xbox Switch will be at e3 2018.....lol.

 

[Eolz]

Oh.

Always nice to see Eurogamer (whom I read daily) take cues from a GAF thread, but it's a pity that they didn't throw us a bone.

Unless Tom Phillips was indeed filling out a brand new Xbox Reward Survey on a Thursday morning, in which case I apologise.

Did they seriously watermark those pics? Wtf, it's not some secret survey.

 

[nekkid]

How much would a handheld that powerful cost to buy? Plus battery life would be a concern.

Does it have to be that powerful? The same games don't necessarily need to be the same fidelity.

 

[tolkir]

Oh.

Always nice to see Eurogamer (whom I read daily) take cues from a GAF thread, but it's a pity that they didn't throw us a bone.

Unless Tom Phillips was indeed filling out a brand new Xbox Reward Survey on a Thursday morning, in which case I apologise.

Always it's good when a company believe your fake news.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Did they seriously watermark those pics? Wtf, it's not some secret survey.

It's probably automated through the Eurogamer CMS.

Anyway, I only really expect something like a line with "keen-eyed forumites have noticed..." with a link to the thread. Since I doubt the piece (with watermarked survey screenshots) would have gone up had this thread not existed. It's not the first time this has happened.

 

[clay_ghost]

Oh.

Always nice to see Eurogamer (whom I read daily) take cues from a GAF thread, but it's a pity that they didn't throw us a bone.

Unless Tom Phillips was indeed filling out a brand new Xbox Reward Survey on a Thursday morning, in which case I apologise.

I felt like they stole my post.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

Too bad Nintendo doesn't send out these surveys about their competitors lol. I disappointingly recall an interview where they were like "What's Xbox LIVE?"

Everyone should highlight the portability. I'd love a handheld device in the XB1 family.

yeah baby

leverage that Surface tech

let's get a competitive handheld market again!

This would be sweet.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

I felt like they stole my post.

Oh right. Yeah, there was a question about the Classic SNES in the survey (it appeared before the Switch questions). I didn't think it was important enough to form the basis of this thread. But anyone taking the survey will see that question for sure.

 

[Rodin]

How much would a handheld that powerful cost to buy? Plus battery life would be a concern.

There's no such a thing at the moment. Mobile tech isn't there yet.

Also this would make sense if they'd make a portable Windows device like the GPD Win, but for Xbox? Yeah no.

 

[jdstorm]

How much would a handheld that powerful cost to buy? Plus battery life would be a concern.

In that same 299USD range assuming controlers similar to Joy Cons were not standard. The key feature that needs to be on PAR with the standard Xbox one is the CPU and by next year that will be a 6 year old CPU designed for mobile devices.

A modern mobile CPU designed specifically for this type of device should be able to hit that peformance window. As for the GPU, that wont be close, but better then Xbox 360 visuals at 540p or 768p is still pretty nice for a portable.

 

[Haunted]

Everyone should highlight the portability. I'd love a handheld device in the XB1 family.

Zune 2 incoming!

 

[LordRaptor]

If Microsoft released a Switch style tablet which plays X1 games in the next couple of years, oh boy oh boy.

Its more likely they steal the dock idea for a phone.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

In that same 299USD range assuming controlers similar to Joy Cons were not standard. The key feature that needs to be on PAR with the standard Xbox one is the CPU and by next year that will be a 6 year old CPU designed for mobile devices.

A modern mobile CPU designed specifically for this type of device should be able to hit that peformance window. As for the GPU, that wont be close, but better then Xbox 360 visuals at 540p or 768p is still pretty nice for a portable.

Wonder if they'll call it something that's not Xbox depending on what the device is, their best bet is to go with Nvidia for a portable (they did with the Surface Book's discrete GPU model, and with Surface 2 which had Tegra 4), the Xbox as a name just doesn't fit a handheld in my eyes.

And a handheld wouldn't take Xbox discs and peripherals. I think if they do a handheld it'll either only take applications and games published to the Windows store with a "portable" flag attached, or it'll have a new form of physical media and peripherals without the Xbox name. Maybe they'll keep the green branding.

Its more likely they steal the dock idea for a phone.

They did a dock with the Lumia 950 and continuum but there wasn't any excitement or demand for it. Given the services you use on a phone are already connected to the internet almost all the time, it didn't really fill a market need versus just logging in to your desktop or laptop and fetching your emails, your web page favourites, or your new documents from the internet.

 

[TannerDemoz]

Are they allowed to do this?

 

[CJY]

Everyone should highlight the portability. I'd love a handheld device in the XB1 family.

Strangely, I have more confidence in MSFT being able to produce a portable XB1 than Sony producing a portable PS4

 

[LordRaptor]

They did a dock with the Lumia 950 and continuum but there wasn't any excitement or demand for it. Given the services you use on a phone are already connected to the internet almost all the time, it didn't really fill a market need versus just logging in to your desktop or laptop and fetching your emails, your web page favourites, or your new documents from the internet.

The appeal of the Switch dock is how low friction and seamlessly the device transitions between handheld and TV, not that nobody wants a dock, and MS for whatever reason can't let go of the concept of having a middleman device serving up content and MS supplied ads to a TV screen.

 

[Ushay]

They still need the software to sell such a device. If it works with all 360 and X1 titles, then that's a different story..

 

[jdstorm]

Wonder if they'll call it something that's not Xbox depending on what the device is, their best bet is to go with Nvidia for a portable (they did with the Surface Book's discrete GPU model, and with Surface 2 which had Tegra 4), the Xbox as a name just doesn't fit a handheld in my eyes.

And a handheld wouldn't take Xbox discs and peripherals. I think if they do a handheld it'll either only take applications and games published to the Windows store with a "portable" flag attached, or it'll have a new form of physical media and peripherals without the Xbox name. Maybe they'll keep the green branding.

Microsoft could just make it an all digital device, Or have Scorpio support Carts.
Both are good options given the curent state of the industry with manditory installs.

 

[Phoenixus]

If you had access to the same XB1 library? No chance.

I dread to imagine the size of the memory card you'd need for a decent library on the go, especially when considering potential installs.

 

[Rodin]

I dread to imagine the size of the memory card you'd need for a decent library on the go, especially when considering potential installs.

Also that blu ray drive in a portable will look ace, unless Microsoft suddenly wants to start asking publishers to ship games on two different formats after making 3 different versions (Scorpio, One, portable).

 

[Cartho]

Another thought here for this survey:

Could MS be fishing to gauge reaction to Switch in the run up to Scorpio's launch? I mean I can't believe they'd really be affected but is there a chance that they could be thinking "how damaging could a potential Mario Odyssey, Pokemon Stars, Smash Bros Deluxe triple header be to us if they come out around October / November this year?"

 

[Fiendcode]

Most appealing: formfactor
Least appealing: paid online

 

[NewGame]

WARNING: e3 leak ahead










Xbox PorTWOble

 

[emb]

For the two "features" questions up to two can be chosen from the following:

"Most appealing":
-Price
-Game catalogue
-Joy-Con Controller
-Portability
-Local multiplayer game play
-MicroSD card slot

"Least appealing":
-Price
-Game catalogue
-Lack of backward compatibility
-Joy-Con Controller
-Portable Battery Life (3-6 hours)
-Internal memory (32GB)
-Lack of console inventory
-Technical glitches
-Lack of VR support
-My friends don't own one yet

I know I personally am really excited about the MicroSD slot. Hard to resist a console with MicroSD.

 

[Machina]

Lol Microsoft with the subtlety of an Opera singer in a library

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

I love how these other companies get threatened by Nintendo whereas Nintendo just do their thing and don't care about anybody else.

 

[Rodin]

Another thought here for this survey:

Could MS be fishing to gauge reaction to Switch in the run up to Scorpio's launch? I mean I can't believe they'd really be affected but is there a chance that they could be thinking "how damaging could a potential Mario Odyssey, Pokemon Stars, Smash Bros Deluxe triple header be to us if they come out around October / November this year?"

This makes more sense than Xbox Portable.

 

[phanphare]

if they end up making a hybrid device they should call it the Xbox 360

 

[LordRaptor]

I know I personally am really excited about the MicroSD slot. Hard to resist a console with MicroSD.

There's been something of a push in mobile devices to abandon removable storage for god knows why reasons, so the more pushback from consumers on "Yes please, I would like cheap easily removable and upgradable storage and not expensive built in untamperable FLASH memory" the better imo