Don’t Hold Your Breath for an Xbox Streaming Stick
Prior to E3 earlier this year, rumor had it that Microsoft would announce an Xbox-branded streaming stick -- something in the vein of a Chromecast or Amazon Fire Stick. But it didn't. Instead, we got an announcement of the high-powered Project Scorpio with nary a streaming stick in sight.
It ends up that the streaming stick seems to have been pulled last minute, according to Windows Central, and we may never hear of it again.
The streaming stick, known internally as Project Hobart, was reportedly all set for announcement and even launch. Microsoft had reportedly ordered 300,000 of them for manufacture, and they would have sold for $99 a pop. It would have streamed Xbox One and Scorpio to and ran Windows apps.
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But when details about Sony's PlayStation Pro (then under the codename "Neo") started leaking, Microsoft apparently had a last-minute change of plans. Hobart was shelved, and, according to Windows Central's source, the company decided to talk about Project Scorpio far earlier than it originally intended.
That left no room for an introduction to Hobart, which appears to have been canned. It's not clear why the announcement of Scorpio precluded any talk about Hobart, or if there was a greater shift in Microsoft's thinking.
The stick is the latest casualty in Microsoft's strategy to get into IOT, wearables and devices other than Xbox and PCs. Earlier this year the company announced it won't be releasing the Band 3, putting an end to its fitness aspirations. Microsoft is also apparently killing the Lumia line of smartphones with no Surface Phone in sight.
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