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Joystiq's purported scan of Radio Shack flyer appears to prove Microsoft will literally cheapen its top console after Labor Day.
- Posted May 30, 2006 4:30 pm PT
- 242 comments
Source: A game industry report from research firm The Diffusion Group.
The official story: "As you are used to hearing from us, we have no comment on rumors or speculation."--Microsoft rep. 
What we heard: Earlier this year, the game industry was rocked by reports that Microsoft was developing a handheld under the code name Project Origami. After the Origami (pictured) turned out to be merely an " ultra-mobile PC," the Microsoft handheld rumors died down...until San Jose Mercury News reporter Dean Takahashi released excerpts of his book The Xbox 360 Uncloaked: The Real Story Behind Microsoft's Next-Generation Video Game Console. One excerpt said that Microsoft did indeed have handheld plans, with the project being led by the once-ubiquitous and now-invisible executive J Allard. However, according to Takahashi, that project was later scrapped, making Allard's continued low profile all the more mysterious.
Today, the Microsoft portable rumors once again heated up, thanks to a freshly minted report from Texas-based research firm The Diffusion Group. Titled "On the Future of Portable Game Consoles: Analysis & Forecasts," the report asserts that Microsoft's portable is probably on track to hit markets in either late 2007 or early 2008.
"With global [portable gaming console] revenues expected to reach $3 billion annually by 2008, and with only Sony and Nintendo active in the PGC space, Microsoft has before it an incredible opportunity," report coauthor Thomas Wolf wrote in a statement. "It has a critical brand presence in the console space, the breadth and depth of gaming titles, and the marketing clout necessary to enter this space and win decent market share."
But while many outlets have reported the Diffusion paper as being an official announcement of a mini-Xbox, it remains only informed speculation. "New research from The Diffusion Group suggests that Microsoft will likely leverage its Xbox franchise to enter the portable game console market in late 2007 or early 2008," read the report. (Emphasis added.) Indeed, the press release says that the company's portable strategy hasn't even been finalized. "Microsoft has been evaluating two options regarding its portable gaming strategy: licensing a version of its Xbox OS for others to build portable hardware designs upon, or introducing its own branded PGC," read the report.
Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that it's been officially announced and dated. Not bogus that somewhere in the inner sanctum of Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, campus, a portable plan is being hatched.
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