In setting up the ROG Xbox Ally and what its launch means for Microsoft, Team Green says that "we define success by how much time players choose to spend with us", going on to talk about the new handheld device as a system "designed to make that time more seamless, flexible, and fun than ever before".
Here's that little introduction as the ROG Xbox Ally makes its public debut:
"At Xbox, we define success by how much time players choose to spend with us—and the Xbox Ally handhelds are designed to make that time more seamless, flexible, and fun than ever before. Your Xbox experience travels with you—your library, your progression, your friends, and your achievements. And for the first time ever, you can play more of your games with Xbox, including those from leading Windows PC storefronts, all in one place. Whether you’re playing locally or streaming from your console or the cloud, it’s all right there, ready when you are."
These are the sorts of metrics that Microsoft uses these days when talking about its wins of course — you know, player engagement, time played within the Xbox ecosystem, etc. — but this does feel like a slight step further. To say you "define success" in this way is a pretty bold statement, and it all centres around Microsoft's new mission to get Xbox on as many screens as possible.
Of course, it's also just a neat way to officially introduce the first Xbox device that players can take anywhere, following decades of straight-up home consoles from Team Green. Time will tell how successful the ROG Xbox Ally itself will be, but it certainly opens up more scenarios to be hopping in and playing games wherever the user happens to be, which is exactly what Microsoft wants these days.
