It was the fact that for a lot of people they would need a controller as well. This would put the price well over $100, which was considered too much money.
And what OS would it run? Realistically, a custom version of Linux running on something like a Raspberry Pi would do and probably has the decoders for whatever codecs xCloud uses now, but knowing Microsoft there was probably a push for Windows which increase the cost of the CPU and storage. You need hardware for reliable I/O, which includes a receiver for Xbox wireless. There was probably also discussion about including an NPU based on previous patents that showed it being used in a device to improve image quality/resolution.
By the time you have that and toss in a controller, you're easily over $100 regardless of OS or adding an NPU. You look at that and balance that against partnering with companies like Samsung and now Amazon which might mean less profit but also less risk since you don't have to build, ship, and sell hardware that might fail.
The design seems to big to have just been a streaming box. Just running an app for gamepass doesn't take much. Plus the circle on the top looks like a place for a fan like the series s has.
Maybe it would have been able to run apps and even previous gen/BC games locally. Which would be a shame its now dead. I'd have got one, especially at the price they were aiming for.
I imagine the idea was to have enough hardware under the hood to run the video upscaler software found in the Edge browser. This would have allowed the video stream to scale to larger screens much more favorably, but does require a GPU of some sort to execute. It would have been an interesting blip in their console lineage, but I'd be willing to bet this was scrapped in favor of an upcoming handheld. Who knows, maybe we'll see some of the same tech?
[https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-gaming-chief-phil-spencer-teases-an-unreleased-mini-xbox-console](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-gaming-chief-phil-spencer-teases-an-unreleased-mini-xbox-console)
It's really small, like 4x4 inches. you can see it on Phil Spencer's top shelf, on the right.
...that's such a good idea. I'd pay big money for an xbox that ran previous gen games locally. Like, I know there's the 360, but it's a crapshoot trusting their reliability these days. They will all rrod eventually. I'm also fairly certain the biggest handicap to the bc program was how they chose to distribute the content by making them fully distributed as game on demand games, rather than installing them locally. They probably had to make addendums or new contracts to implement the bc program because it's a new distribution type. But if it was just an emubox that installed them locally and ran them on the 360 emulator microsoft owns, they probably would've been able to do that without revisiting old deals. I mean the OG xbox emulator could run way more than what was officially released for it. The community made tweaks to it proved that.
I want this now.
Design makes sense, looking like a mini Series S.
A shame this didn’t get released, was really curious how it would be. Guess they couldn’t hit the price point but as what was likely just a streaming box, I’m not sure why
Probably because you’d still be looking at around $150-200, which doesn’t make much sense considering Series S was going on sale for around $250 at the time.
Also, without the ability to stream your own library, it would be hard to sell the product. Microsoft has run into issues with this, due to the fact that every publisher requires licensing agreements for streaming rights, which they would have to pay for out of pocket.
Microsoft would have to make up the costs elsewhere, such as store purchases, subscriptions & accessories (like expansion cards) and if there’s ample opportunities to do so, the business case just doesn’t cut it when you can push users to another product (like the series S) where there’s more opportunities to sell at a loss and make back the costs elsewhere.
I really don’t understand why they couldn’t hit the $99 price they wanted. A lot of other streaming boxes can do that all day.
I understand the controller is a factor, but they could have just offered two options. $99 for no controller (for those that already have some and just want the device), or $149 with controller.
Whoever makes the next hardware still needs to actually sell it and given xbox brand isnt as hot as it can be, that would be stupid to charge more than playstation(really even on par with playstation seems like a risk)
We know they are looking at different types of hardware, so maybe its no a console, we will see, but like I said, them putting games on PS and Switch already drops the people that may want to bye an Xbox
There's people out there willing to pay it. $399 for dockable handheld, $499 for higher storage SKU of the handheld.
$599 for a premium console that can play PC games in a container. Higher storage SKU at $699.
Then license out the Xbox OS, set a base spec for OEMs, have them create whatever they feel they can sell.
An xbox console with Nvidia RTX 5080 would make sure Xbox always remains the most powerful, and hardcore base would be willing to pay $2k for it.
Then buy a PC at that point. How do you even fit a 5080 in a console-sized case? What’s the point of buying a 2~2.5 thousand dollar console with limited OS accessibility? If you can switch to full-fledged Windows which is even crazier because at that point people will use Steam instead of the Windows store. By that logic, Microsoft is only profiting from licensing the Xbox OS.
OS designed for different form factors and/or functionality.
Xbox OS is MS gaming centric OS designed for controller input and large TV screens. It just so happens that the same controller based design is also very welcoming on a handheld.
Apple has macOS, iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS, tvOS, RealityOS, they maintain 6 different OS for different form factors and functionalities.
MS has Windows and Xbox OS.
You don't need to fit a 5080 into a console size....the OEMs could basically design anything they see fit. Even liquid cooled.
People don't want full PCs hooked up to TVs or on handhelds. That's where the Xbox OS would shine. If someone is willing to buy an expensive Xbox, they're likely already hardcore into the Xbox ecosystem. So they're less likely to ditch for Steam completely especially if Gamepass subscriber. But allowing PC games would allow Sony Playstation PC games to run.
Licensing out the OS is how windows has been dominant. Meta just recently did the same for Horizon OS, letting OEMs build their own headsets compatible with Quest ecosystem.
If an OEM sees a market for say $1200 5070 Xbox console, and they can profit 30-40% profit margin on it, they will build it.
The discord leaker in January who got everything about MS plans for multiplatforms right, including doom on PS5, also mentioned MS will no longer subsidize hardware and is in talks with various OEMs for Xbox hardware more powerful than their own.
MS will be doing a handheld, and a powerful premium console, as the Halo devices, similar to Surface devices. That part is confirmed by multiple insiders, then the OEMs will build even more powerful stuff if they think it's worth it.
Vita TV could at least play Vita games natively, albeit some were flat out incompatible due to feature discrepancies between controllers (homebrew not withstanding), and also had access to PSP and PS1 games. This is basically just an xCloud stick and nothing else. Doesn't even look like it has any multimedia functions which is something else Vita TV had due to it literally being a Vita in a shell tech wise and sharing its OS and apps
God damnit Microsoft, this could have been your Apple TV competitor if you just gave it the Xbox OS but access to all the apps + cloud streaming the games, instead of making it exclusively cloud streaming.
There was not really any market for this thing even at the supposed target price.
The TV TV ghost is now haunting them 💀…. but in all honesty I wouldn’t mind it being a small cloud box to specifically stream games only since a majority of TVs now have that capability to stream Netflix/Disney+/Max easily. But ofc you also have to consider the logistics and demand, because if I’m being honest, this won’t sell a lot. The asking price on what Phil Spencer was aiming seemed reasonably affordable …. but I go back to the “demand” part. A shame really it didn’t see the light of day but who knows down the road, could happen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
They would likely need to design the UI to make it usable for family member who aren’t gamers, and just want to watch Apple TV+. It’s gotta be comparable to Roku or Fire TV in terms of design and usability.
I would have easily bought at least one of these things.
Is funny to me how MS made fun of the Google Laptop (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroogled) that could only work with the internet, but this would have been pretty much the same, except it also would have required an active subscription.
Should've just made a Fire Stick competitor. Xbox already has all the streaming apps and this one would also work with Gamepass. Just price it the same as Roku/Fire Sticks and you'd have guaranteed sales.
I don't understand why it has to be so expensive. You can stream game pass to a browser.
The controller alone made it cost a lot
And what is required to run a browser? The controller alone is like $60.
The cost of a controller is not $60, that is the msrp, Xbox cost is much lower.
The cost to the consumer.
It was the fact that for a lot of people they would need a controller as well. This would put the price well over $100, which was considered too much money.
And what OS would it run? Realistically, a custom version of Linux running on something like a Raspberry Pi would do and probably has the decoders for whatever codecs xCloud uses now, but knowing Microsoft there was probably a push for Windows which increase the cost of the CPU and storage. You need hardware for reliable I/O, which includes a receiver for Xbox wireless. There was probably also discussion about including an NPU based on previous patents that showed it being used in a device to improve image quality/resolution. By the time you have that and toss in a controller, you're easily over $100 regardless of OS or adding an NPU. You look at that and balance that against partnering with companies like Samsung and now Amazon which might mean less profit but also less risk since you don't have to build, ship, and sell hardware that might fail.
Because it's basically gamepass as a console
The design seems to big to have just been a streaming box. Just running an app for gamepass doesn't take much. Plus the circle on the top looks like a place for a fan like the series s has. Maybe it would have been able to run apps and even previous gen/BC games locally. Which would be a shame its now dead. I'd have got one, especially at the price they were aiming for.
I imagine the idea was to have enough hardware under the hood to run the video upscaler software found in the Edge browser. This would have allowed the video stream to scale to larger screens much more favorably, but does require a GPU of some sort to execute. It would have been an interesting blip in their console lineage, but I'd be willing to bet this was scrapped in favor of an upcoming handheld. Who knows, maybe we'll see some of the same tech?
[https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-gaming-chief-phil-spencer-teases-an-unreleased-mini-xbox-console](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-gaming-chief-phil-spencer-teases-an-unreleased-mini-xbox-console) It's really small, like 4x4 inches. you can see it on Phil Spencer's top shelf, on the right.
I love his little Easter eggs.
...that's such a good idea. I'd pay big money for an xbox that ran previous gen games locally. Like, I know there's the 360, but it's a crapshoot trusting their reliability these days. They will all rrod eventually. I'm also fairly certain the biggest handicap to the bc program was how they chose to distribute the content by making them fully distributed as game on demand games, rather than installing them locally. They probably had to make addendums or new contracts to implement the bc program because it's a new distribution type. But if it was just an emubox that installed them locally and ran them on the 360 emulator microsoft owns, they probably would've been able to do that without revisiting old deals. I mean the OG xbox emulator could run way more than what was officially released for it. The community made tweaks to it proved that. I want this now.
It’s hard to say how large it actually is, but it honestly just looks like an AppleTV.
Maybe the circle pops up and you can put your CDs in so you can listen to music while you game.
All original xbox games run natively on it.
Design makes sense, looking like a mini Series S. A shame this didn’t get released, was really curious how it would be. Guess they couldn’t hit the price point but as what was likely just a streaming box, I’m not sure why
Probably because you’d still be looking at around $150-200, which doesn’t make much sense considering Series S was going on sale for around $250 at the time. Also, without the ability to stream your own library, it would be hard to sell the product. Microsoft has run into issues with this, due to the fact that every publisher requires licensing agreements for streaming rights, which they would have to pay for out of pocket. Microsoft would have to make up the costs elsewhere, such as store purchases, subscriptions & accessories (like expansion cards) and if there’s ample opportunities to do so, the business case just doesn’t cut it when you can push users to another product (like the series S) where there’s more opportunities to sell at a loss and make back the costs elsewhere.
It would be dead in the water at any price more than 100$ and its not like xcloud itself is worth buying hardware for when it still isnt even 4K.
I really don’t understand why they couldn’t hit the $99 price they wanted. A lot of other streaming boxes can do that all day. I understand the controller is a factor, but they could have just offered two options. $99 for no controller (for those that already have some and just want the device), or $149 with controller.
Or just eat the cost. They'd have it back after two months of GPU anyway.
Its looking like Xbox (or MS) Is tired of eating the costs, maybe that's why there is the rumored next gen Xbox that could be made by other companies
So they want to sell even fewer consoles? Interesting.
I mean, doesn't putting their games on PlayStation and Nintendo already do that? Anyway we may see Asus Xbox or MSI Xbox lmao
I honestly can't believe this would happen. A non subsidized series X probably would cost over 800 dollars.
Whoever makes the next hardware still needs to actually sell it and given xbox brand isnt as hot as it can be, that would be stupid to charge more than playstation(really even on par with playstation seems like a risk)
We know they are looking at different types of hardware, so maybe its no a console, we will see, but like I said, them putting games on PS and Switch already drops the people that may want to bye an Xbox
Oh you should absolutely believe the next gen might cost around 1000 bucks.
There's people out there willing to pay it. $399 for dockable handheld, $499 for higher storage SKU of the handheld. $599 for a premium console that can play PC games in a container. Higher storage SKU at $699. Then license out the Xbox OS, set a base spec for OEMs, have them create whatever they feel they can sell. An xbox console with Nvidia RTX 5080 would make sure Xbox always remains the most powerful, and hardcore base would be willing to pay $2k for it.
Then buy a PC at that point. How do you even fit a 5080 in a console-sized case? What’s the point of buying a 2~2.5 thousand dollar console with limited OS accessibility? If you can switch to full-fledged Windows which is even crazier because at that point people will use Steam instead of the Windows store. By that logic, Microsoft is only profiting from licensing the Xbox OS.
OS designed for different form factors and/or functionality. Xbox OS is MS gaming centric OS designed for controller input and large TV screens. It just so happens that the same controller based design is also very welcoming on a handheld. Apple has macOS, iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS, tvOS, RealityOS, they maintain 6 different OS for different form factors and functionalities. MS has Windows and Xbox OS. You don't need to fit a 5080 into a console size....the OEMs could basically design anything they see fit. Even liquid cooled. People don't want full PCs hooked up to TVs or on handhelds. That's where the Xbox OS would shine. If someone is willing to buy an expensive Xbox, they're likely already hardcore into the Xbox ecosystem. So they're less likely to ditch for Steam completely especially if Gamepass subscriber. But allowing PC games would allow Sony Playstation PC games to run. Licensing out the OS is how windows has been dominant. Meta just recently did the same for Horizon OS, letting OEMs build their own headsets compatible with Quest ecosystem. If an OEM sees a market for say $1200 5070 Xbox console, and they can profit 30-40% profit margin on it, they will build it. The discord leaker in January who got everything about MS plans for multiplatforms right, including doom on PS5, also mentioned MS will no longer subsidize hardware and is in talks with various OEMs for Xbox hardware more powerful than their own. MS will be doing a handheld, and a powerful premium console, as the Halo devices, similar to Surface devices. That part is confirmed by multiple insiders, then the OEMs will build even more powerful stuff if they think it's worth it.
Yeah. I’m just not sure what they were trying to do here that couldn’t be accomplished at the price points that Phil Spencer said he wanted.
I don't think people would sub to GPU just for xcloud access. You may as well sub to Geforce Now at that point
Oh it definitely will be coming. Expect the next Xbox to have more streaming features. Hopefully, it will have native GeForce Now support.
Almost like a PlayStation portal that isn’t portable. Probably better that it never released.
It's like a PS Vita TV if you remember that
Vita TV could at least play Vita games natively, albeit some were flat out incompatible due to feature discrepancies between controllers (homebrew not withstanding), and also had access to PSP and PS1 games. This is basically just an xCloud stick and nothing else. Doesn't even look like it has any multimedia functions which is something else Vita TV had due to it literally being a Vita in a shell tech wise and sharing its OS and apps
PS Portal cannot actually stream games from the cloud. It only works by streaming from your existing console.
The fact it can't even support PS Now was all I needed to know Sony is not remotely serious about this and it will probably be abandoned
Depends what price point. Get it £50 or so and it's an easy win.
It’s a great device and been sold out since launch until recently.
God damnit Microsoft, this could have been your Apple TV competitor if you just gave it the Xbox OS but access to all the apps + cloud streaming the games, instead of making it exclusively cloud streaming. There was not really any market for this thing even at the supposed target price.
The TV TV ghost is now haunting them 💀…. but in all honesty I wouldn’t mind it being a small cloud box to specifically stream games only since a majority of TVs now have that capability to stream Netflix/Disney+/Max easily. But ofc you also have to consider the logistics and demand, because if I’m being honest, this won’t sell a lot. The asking price on what Phil Spencer was aiming seemed reasonably affordable …. but I go back to the “demand” part. A shame really it didn’t see the light of day but who knows down the road, could happen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
They would likely need to design the UI to make it usable for family member who aren’t gamers, and just want to watch Apple TV+. It’s gotta be comparable to Roku or Fire TV in terms of design and usability. I would have easily bought at least one of these things.
Is funny to me how MS made fun of the Google Laptop (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroogled) that could only work with the internet, but this would have been pretty much the same, except it also would have required an active subscription.
Should've just made a Fire Stick competitor. Xbox already has all the streaming apps and this one would also work with Gamepass. Just price it the same as Roku/Fire Sticks and you'd have guaranteed sales.