We've heard numerous rumblings of Microsoft gearing up to finally enter the handheld gaming market full steam, but none of them has panned out yet. We still don't know what Microsoft's exact plans for a portable Xbox are, but Microsoft corporate VP Shane Kim says that it's no longer a matter of "if," but "when" and "how.'"

Speaking to Kikizo, Kim said,

For us, it's a matter of focusing on 'when', because if we chased after a mobile or handheld opportunity, we would not have the resources and ability to do things like... Project Natal. So we've chosen to focus on the living room experience from a hardware standpoint, if you will, but we're building a service in Live that will... will extend to other platforms. No question about it.

We talked about Live Anywhere a few years ago. Live is the connective tissue. You're starting to see that now - we integrate Netflix, we integrate Facebook, we integrate Twitter - because we understand that customers don't want an island experience, they want to be connected to the rest of their lives.

So the question will be, how do we enter into that market - do we do our own device, do we create our own phone - that's a question for the company itself - do we continue to go down the Windows Mobile path which is that path that we're on today, etcetera, etcetera.

But believe me, we understand the importance of that device in people's lives.

That's probably as close to a confirmation we're going to get at this point in time. As for the "device", will it be the ZuneX? If they just get rid of that whole analog stick attachment deal and include a built-in stick instead I'd say that thing would actually look pretty good.

---

Related articles:

• Benheck releases Xbox 360 Portable Revision 5
  
• Microsoft's ZuneX images leaked?
• Next Zune to have Xbox integration?