Microsoft does not intend to exit the gaming industry in terms of hardware, and the president of Xbox is once again trying to convince the public of this fact.

Following the launch of the Asus ROG Ally and the Ally handheld PCs, and amid rumors that Microsoft’s own handheld project had failed, Bond told Variety magazine that the Redmond tech giant is seriously considering manufacturing new hardware. Regarding the Xbox/Windows handheld PC experience specifically, Bond said that Microsoft is considering several software developments.

“We are 100% looking at making things in the future. We have our next-gen hardware in development. We’ve been prototyping and designing. We have a partnership with AMD that we’ve announced, so that is coming. We saw an opportunity here to innovate in a new way and bring gamers another choice in addition to our next-gen hardware. We always listen to what players and creators want. When there is demand for innovation, we’re going to build it. There’s a ton more innovation to come, including further optimizing the experience, scaling out the handheld compatibility program, offering more benefits, improving the experience, adding new features, and providing more choices and games,” said Bond.

The ROG Ally X is quite expensive. It costs $1,000 in the US. Even the base model is expensive at $600. In the interview, Bond essentially pointed the finger at Asus, saying that we should blame them for charging so much for the two handheld PCs.

“We asked ourselves, ‘How do we create multiple options for people?’ It really was Asus because this is their hardware. They have all the insight into the market, the feature set, and what people want to determine the ultimate prices of the devices. Based on the reception to the hardware, I feel really good about the value we’re giving gamers for the price. It sold out on the Xbox Store. It sold quickly at a number of other places around the world. This is real confirmation of what we’ve known and worked toward for a long time: gaming should be entertainment. It should be something you can take with you anywhere. You should be able to play any game you want with anyone you want on any device,” Bond added.

However, we are still not convinced that Microsoft will persevere with the hardware.

Source: WCCFTech, PC Gamer, Variety