After reports that Microsoft is “sidelining” its own first-party developed handheld, the new Xbox Showcase revealed two new mobile devices – Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. These machines are hardware collaborations with Asus, bringing Xbox hardware design ideas to the table in combination with a revamped version of Windows that puts gaming first. There are profound, welcome changes here – but one big question needs to be addressed. Is this the first new Microsoft offering no backwards compatibility with the Xbox digital library? Is this an Xbox that doesn’t play Xbox console games? If so, this is a bump in the road in Microsoft’s journey forward – and must be addressed.
