There'll Be No Xbox Portable

Peter Moore, the head of game content for Microsoft, has made it clear that his company has no plans to release a portable gaming device.

Instead, Microsoft will encourage game developers to create titles for handhelds and smart phones running Windows Mobile, according to The Register.

Mr. Moore made this announcement at the Game Developers Conference, going on now in San Jose.

A Pocket PC for Gaming?

With Microsoft itself out of the portable gaming market, the door is open for someone to make a Pocket PC equivalent of the Tapwave Zodiac, a gaming-oriented Palm OS model. Many current Pocket PCs make decent platforms for playing games, but some have called for a device with the extra buttons needed for serious gaming.

Though we now know that such a device wouldn't have to face off against an Xbox Portable, there still would be plenty of competition. There's the already mentioned Zodiac, plus Sony is going to release a portable version of its PlayStation in the U.S. next year. Nokia is expected to announce a new version of its N-Gage in a month or so and, of course, Nintendo currently dominates this market with the GameBoy Advance.

New Tools

Earlier this week, Microsoft's Chairman Bill Gates announced XNA, a development platform for high-end games. It will primarily be used to make it easier for companies to create games for both the Xbox and Windows, but it will also allow for the development of Windows Mobile games.

Thanks to Engadget for the tip.

Related Links

• Brighthand Reviews the Tapwave Zodiac
• RumorMill™: N-Gage 2 Will Fix First Version's Problems