Microsoft has turned the Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox

[GGGos]

In context: Like the mullet rearing its ugly head in recent years, the Surface Duo from Microsoft, along with similar products like the Samsung's Galaxy Fold are bringing flip phones back into modernity. Now though, instead of a bedazzled, hot pink Motorola Razr, we are getting some sleek devices with the portability of a cell phone and functionality of a tablet computer.

You'll now be able to use Xbox Cloud Gaming to play a selection of console games on the Surface Duo using touchscreen controls. Using the top screen to display the game and the bottom as a controller layout, this setup harkens back to older handheld gaming devices, particularly the Nintendo DS and its successors, which litter the top of sales charts for handheld devices.

There are some key distinctions to be made between the Surface Duo and the handhelds of yesteryear. While traditional handhelds have everything required to play applicable games built in, xCloud on the Surface Duo does require constant and stable access to the internet.

Microsoft has stated that you should be able to play over a 4G or 5G mobile network though requiring constant connectivity is antithetical to the idea of mobile gaming. It's not all bad though, the same requirement of needing constant access to xCloud allows the Surface Duo to play games that would normally be totally inaccessible with the available computing power of the mobile device.

The kid approves of this new #XboxGamesPassUltimate feature on #SurfaceDuo - quite fascinating to see them just start to play as if it was the most intuitive thing ever. Also yes I picked the game 😁 pic.twitter.com/dOKRx9NN17

— Carolina Milanesi (@caro_milanesi) May 24, 2021

At the time of publication there are just over 50 games with touch controls added for mobile play, with more to come.

There's a surprisingly diverse batch of games from the massively popular Gears of War 5, all the way to the little indie gem Slay the Spire. Microsoft has said that touch controls is the most requested feature from Game Pass users. They've also released a toolkit to allow developers to expedite the process of getting their games on as many platforms as possible.

A similar service to xCloud, Google Stadia beat Microsoft to market, but was a resounding flop. While sales numbers haven't been publicly released by Google, you can find rudimentary estimates at around 2 million users.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's gaming subscription which includes xCloud as one of its features (on the Game Pass Ultimate plan) dwarfs that number with over 23 million subscribers, which has been an enormous success for Redmond's software giant.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/89801-microsoft-has-turned-surface-duo-handheld-xbox.html

 

[ilovelinux]

When duo becomes a lemon, try to make lemonade put of it.

LG's G8x did the same controller thing two years ago (with the same specs), so this is not newsworthy

 

[Fearghast]

Can't wait to use touch screen for gaming ....

 

[Beerfloat]

Microsoft has said that touch controls is the most requested feature from Game Pass users.

Really? I'm surprised anyone would be looking for that, let alone multiple users.
Touch screens being just terrible for most types of gaming is like the one thing console and PC gamers completely agree on.

 

[Phyrino]

Really? I'm surprised anyone would be looking for that, let alone multiple users.
Touch screens being just terrible for most types of gaming is like the one thing console and PC gamers completely agree on.

Cloud gaming is a really nice addition to gamepass.
I use it from time to time and it's nice when you are just trying to waste a couple of minutes (ex, lying in bed) and don't have a controller available.
It's not something to use instead of controls, just a nice addition for when you ain't got that option.

 

[Peter Farkas]

OMG this bloody thing costs $1000... ridiculous to me...

 

[Fearghast]

OMG this bloody thing costs $1000... ridiculous to me...

What I find extremely sad is ... there are much better devices like GPD that are actually PC with no OS restrictions that have a physical controls, real OS ... and a headphone jack.
aaaaand it's cheaper, right?

 

[terzaerian]

What I find extremely sad is ... there are much better devices like GPD that are actually PC with no OS restrictions that have a physical controls, real OS ... and a headphone jack.
aaaaand it's cheaper, right?

I have the GPD Win 2 and it's great. While I like the size and form factor of the Surface Duo, I hate having no hard KB or joysticks.

 

[Blexxed]

Cloud gaming is a really nice addition to gamepass.
I use it from time to time and it's nice when you are just trying to waste a couple of minutes (ex, lying in bed) and don't have a controller available.
It's not something to use instead of controls, just a nice addition for when you ain't got that option.

This exactly! It's obvious that touch controls blow... Buuuut if you don't want to lug a controller around and you only play games like Final Fantasy or other RPGs on it, then touch controls are not a problem. Obviously nobody is trying to Tekken or Call of Duty with touch screen controls.