An Xbox Handheld Was Designed In The Past, Says Phil Spencer

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has stated that Microsoft has "roughly designed" a handheld Xbox in the past, but that he "still believes in the the power of a television."

The executive was talking to Gamasutra about the evolution of Xbox, and where the platform could go in the future.

"Well," he began, "let me say that the amount of times we've designed, roughly designed, an Xbox handheld, or a cheap Xbox kind of stick that you could plug in and stream from an Xbox in the home, or play low-powered games... we are always thinking and brainstorming on different scenarios of where the console could go. Or [where] the gaming experience, I guess, more specifically, could go.

"In terms of where [consoles] will go, I still believe in the power of a television in the home," he stated, before concluding, "I know it's something that we're committed to, in the long run."

Nevertheless, Spencer said he believes there will no doubt be some disruptions in the console space, and he cited the Nintendo Switch as a recent example.

"Nintendo, I thought, did a cool thing with picking mobile. They kind of said okay, Switch is going to be a console that you can take with you. That's an interesting idea. Nintendo always does cool things, right. They did the second screen with Wii U, they obviously did the Wii and motion gaming in the room. I love that innovation."

Every Xbox device to date has been a home console, while Microsoft's main competitors, Nintendo and Sony, have a history of releasing portable devices.

Microsoft is of course gearing up to launch its next home console, Project Scorpio. We recently learned the device is capable of running games in 4K at 60 FPS, at the same time as discovering its full specs.

The new console is due to launch this holiday, but it remains to be seen when Microsoft will start to officially show it off in more detail. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said he is unsure if Microsoft will show off Project Scorpio before E3 in June, while also stating recently that he thinks it's "critical" for first-party games to be ready for the system's launch.

For more on Project Scorpio, check out all our coverage of the latest information:

• Project Scorpio Specs Revealed, Capable Of Native 4K/60 FPS
• Xbox's Project Scorpio Full Tech Specs Explained In-Depth
• How Project Scorpio Makes Xbox One And 360 Games Better
• Xbox's Project Scorpio Is Designed To Win Back Developers, After Xbox One Lost Them