MS games not suitable for handheld - Kim

Microsoft Game Studios corporate vp Shane Kim has said he is "very happy" the company hasn't made a handheld games console partly because the sorts of games Microsoft produces aren't suitable for that market.

"I'm very happy we didn't get into it, because launching a handheld platform is like launching another Xbox 360. You have to be fully committed, as an organisation, from a resource standpoint, to doing that," he told Eurogamer in an interview published today.

"Frankly we've got a lot on our plate with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. We don't have any experience in that space. Our content assets don't naturally lend themselves to driving success in that particular market. So we're happy to let Sony and Nintendo slog it out."

However, perhaps remembering how much of Uncle Bill's money is tied up in Zune and Windows Mobile, Kim went on to say that "mobile is probably the more important platform in the future", although clearly we shouldn't read much into that.

Indeed, for the moment Microsoft is happy to take advantage of Nintendo's DS success to extend the range of some of its own brands. Having done the same in the past with GBA releases based on Sabre Wulf and Banjo-Kazooie, the company has given its blessing to a DS Viva Pinata game due out later this year.

For more on Microsoft's plans and expectations for the rest of 2008, check out our Shane Kim interview elsewhere on the site.