Microsoft has turned the Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft has turned the Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox

#141

Post by passivate » Tue, May 25, 2021, 7:07 AM UTC

techrat wrote: post #137

passivate wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if in the future you could have micro-fluid channels underneath the screen where you can pump fluid to create raised bumps for the buttons. I remember seeing a techdemo years ago, but haven't seen it materialize in a product. This seems to be a good fit.

>I wonder if in the future you could have micro-fluid channels underneath the screen where you can pump fluid to create raised bumps for the buttons. The problem with this technology is several-fold: 1) Areas that can be raised are fixed. 2) Liquids. 3) Do you like the feel of squeezing a zit when you press a button in a game? 4) Anything that uses this technology will not have a uniform looking screen, relegating th…

Thanks for your comment! How did you learn about these details? Would love to read more about it.

Re: Microsoft has turned the Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox

#142

Post by trixie_ » Tue, May 25, 2021, 2:33 PM UTC

minimaul wrote: post #91

bartread wrote: post #76

No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Touch controls for most games suck (I've tried). Replicating somebody's Xbox controller on the second screen sucks . It's unendingly annoying when you die over and over in a game because your thumb or finger wasn't in quite the right place to fire or move in a particular direction. Not to mention, the Duo is ####ing expensive: top-end iPhone kind of money for the unlocked variant. If you r…

100% yes. Touch controls suck for gaming because your fingers drift. There's no physical feedback that your fingers are on top of the button and ready to press. It sucks, and I really really hope that this doesn't catch on.

It’s not perfect, but for FPS shooters touch aiming is closer to a mouse. I wish there were controllers with the joysticks replaced with touch pads. There was the Steam controller but it’s discontinued. The reason is that like a mouse, movement on a touch pad is final. You don’t need to ‘return to center’ like with a joystick to stop moving. With added gyro assist, aiming is even better. Call of Duty and PubG are pretty good on mobile, the aim speed is better than console and drift is avoided because the screen and controller are one in the same.

Re: Microsoft has turned the Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox

#143

Post by Shadonototro » Tue, May 25, 2021, 8:52 PM UTC

mafuyu wrote: post #63

Shadonototro wrote: post #56

Console Sales: - Switch: 85 millions - PS5: 8 millions - XBOX: 4 millions Looks like both Sony/Microsoft forgot something when they announced their new console.. A proper portable console with 1 (and not 2) home console would have been a killer I'm not sure what the target audience is with a virtual gamepad, smartphone users want games designed for their phones, and console users want games designed for a gamepad, an…

Competition in the portable market would be rough, although I would love to see Sony give portables another shot. Especially now that smartphone gaming is its own segment entirely. Microsoft's strategy seems pretty solid, especially given their stumbles last gen. They're buying in heavily into Game Pass and making games subscription and cross platform across PC and Xbox. XCloud streaming ties into their subscription…

Looks like Valve went ahead.. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/05/exclusive-valve-is-ma...

That's another missed opportunity for microsoft

Re: Microsoft has turned the Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox

#144

Post by zeusk » Fri, Jun 04, 2021, 12:06 AM UTC

throwaway3699 wrote: post #112

zeusk wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

death of 10X, leadership would like us to believe was more so because of COVID and their concern around less consumer confidence during a pandemic. Obviously, that didn't really happen since prices are through the roof for cars, houses, gpu, gaming consoles etc.

> Obviously, that didn't really happen since prices are through the roof for cars, houses, gpu, gaming consoles etc. Which can be indicative of supply crunch, rather than high demand.

demand being higher than expected is what causes supply crunch.

Most management people I knew were very pessimistic right around when lockdowns started in March.