Of course they still care about the hardware or else the handheld wouldn't look and feel like a portable Xbox. They clearly put a lot of time into developing this with ASUS. 

I suggest checking out any hands-on for this device because its been very positive. 

Regardless, Xbox is still going to be making hardware as they said in yesterday's announcement. 

I think the XBox branding could boost this product. Branding can mean a lot to many people, as silly as that may seem.

I was a big fan of Xbox and Xbox 2 (I use my own numerical system lol). But that era of Xbox and this era of Xbox feels as if they aren't even related; like they're two separate, clashing dimensions. I haven't cared about them for a while, and it would take them reverting to the way they did business in 2007 for me to care again.

A bit OT but calling the 360 the "Xbox 2" is definitely not displaying you as an "big fan of Xbox" :) More casual user or even the opposite of a fan than anything else lol (which is more than fine but kinda funny that you are trying to portrait yourself as a Big fan of Xbox while saying that at the same time)

From what it sounds like, you haven't played or owned an Xbox systems since the 360 which is fine, but you probably aren't nearly as familiar with what the systems offer now. What does "reverting to 2007" mean to you? No matter what, gaming will never be exactly how it used to be, no matter what platform you play on. Right now, Xbox is a much bigger publisher than the brand has ever been before. Have you seen all the games Xbox is releasing this year? It's a mix of heavy hitters, indie, and everything in between. 

I was a big fan. I just call it the Xbox 2 because their naming scheme was unnecessary and confusing, imo. So much easier to call them Xbox 1, Xbox 2, Xbox 3 and Xbox 4. When people are like Series this, and S that... I'm like, okay, what one is that, again?

It would mean keeping their first parties exclusive, having a unique identity, and offering something that is wholly distinct from the other guys. Back in those days, you knew what Xbox meant. It was a platform that did things the other guys didn't. And their exclusives were coming out at a regular tick and were industry-leading, must-have AAA giants like Halo and Gears of War. Now, Xbox just feels like a publisher. Sort of like EA. Me no like.

And yes, I owned an Xbox One. But it didn't do for me what the 360 did.

They already were, don't you remember all the ads telling you even your smart fridge is a Xbox!?

An expensive PC with a tiny monitor.

That can be displayed on a large monitor.

October 16th release date:

https://www.vgchartz.com/article/465541/rog-xbox-ally-and-rog-xbox-ally-x-to-launch-on-october-16/