Sony May Be Plotting A New PSP To Compete With Nintendo's 'Switch 2'

But it's likely several years away

by · Nintendo Life
Image: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo Life

We know what you're thinking, and yes, it certainly feels like rumours of a new PlayStation handheld have been swirling since... well, probably since the launch of the Vita. But now, we have a slightly more credible report from Bloomberg (thanks, VGC), claiming that Sony may well be developing a new 'PSP' to compete more directly with Nintendo.

According to Bloomberg, development of a new handheld is in the early stages and, much like Microsoft's planned portable device, likely won't launch for some years to come. As such, the company may still decide against bringing it to market, though given the remarkable success of the Switch and the hype surrounding its successor, we honestly wouldn't be surprised if Sony dipped its toes further back into the world of handheld gaming.

As for what the 'PSP' will be capable of, Bloomberg states that it will build upon the foundations of the PlayStation Portal, but rather than requiring the cloud to stream PS5 games, the device will instead play them natively. In other words, don't expect many (if any) bespoke handheld games like Tearaway or Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

Having direct competition from both Sony and Microsoft within the handheld space would no doubt make the 'Switch 2' a slightly trickier proposition for some consumers. That said, if rumours of both firms are to be believed, it's likely the Switch successor would have the console handheld market all to itself for at least two or three years or so. Combine that with the stellar first-party software that Nintendo is known for, and we'd say the company will have little to worry about. At least for the time being.

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Don't expect anything soon, though

What do you think, dear reader? Do you reckon Nintendo would benefit from some more direct competition from the likes of Sony and Microsoft? The countless PC handhelds that have flooded the market recently haven't really made much of a dent in Nintendo's success. Let us know what you think with a comment.

[source bloomberg.com, via videogameschronicle.com]

See Also

About Ollie Reynolds

Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.

Comments 113

PS5 games natively? Will this thing be the size of 4 bricks duct taped together and have a 30 second battery?

Well as long as it doesn’t rely on specialty memory cards like the Vita, it could probably do okay. I like the Vita. I have the TV version, but those damn memory cards in my opinion are largely what made it fail…Then again, these are just baseless rumors everyone is going to assume is fact.

Wonder if they'll be able to make something that will be able to compete with Nintendo's handheld (well, hybrid now) this time around, if this is true. Should be interesting to see what they'll cook up.

Vita, I loved my OLED vita.
You’d be mad to buy a portable device from Sony, time and time again they lose interest when their product real fast if it misses sale expectations.

The handhelds that I will accept are the machines that have PHYSICAL release of the games.
I will not accept any devices with digital only games, Game Pass subscription to play the games, Online Only, streaming from another devices.

What a surprise

Nah not for me, next to the switch, the only thing i am looking for is a good handheld pc (aka steamdeck 2)
The performances arent great yet. Steam deck is still the king of handheld pc imo.
If sony wants to compete they need to bring physical games to it, thats wat most people want, and thats why the switch was such a big hit. Scratches my collectible itches lol.

Will believe it when I see it although it wouldn't be particularly surprising since when something Nintendo makes is successful the others follow suit - look also at motion controls for example...
Theoretically, I'd welcome it for those interested (not me included as again, if I ever get a system to go along Switch's successor it will most likely be a Steam Deck), but like others here I wonder how long the battery would last, if it had the dumb proprietary memory cards like past Sony handhelds, if it were digital only since they and others are pushing towards that and so on!

Seems like all the rage these days to make handhelds. Personally not very interested in a Sony/Microsoft handheld console but it's nice to see them try where Nintendo has been very successful.

New flop incoming.

I recently got a Portal and really like it, but a stand-alone handheld would probably be expensive and/or heavy with bad battery life

Are we doing bets on how long it lasts before Sony drops it like a bag of turds?

Two years.

How is a Playstation portable going to compete with a Switch 2? People are only buying the latter for the Nintendo exclusives, whereas the former will just be a trash version of the Steam Deck.

It would be so Sony to have the very expensive VR2 languishing with no games and yet release a very expensive new console that will languish with no games (and then release the VR3 that will...)

I don't understand how Sony and Microsoft are flirting with this idea when their consoles are struggling. Where did the spirit of competition go? Sony was great at keeping the games coming. All genres. Big and small. Microsoft was never my favorite, but they seemed to be on to something. Carving out their legacy and moving the industry forward.

Now it seems like neither listens to the people. Wants to share games. That's a plus for gamers, but exclusivity and having to make that tough choice, “Which console will give me the biggest bang for my buck” made gaming exciting.

Getting the other console, late in its lifecycle. Playing all the games you've been seeing and hearing about. That was a special feeling, too. Made even more special, if there was a price drop and a nice bundle. And a “budget” line of games. 😆

The gaming industry is in a weird place. At the age of 41, I've seen the industry go up and down. Seem like it did the know where it was going. Throughout all those years, one thing still felt palpable. Competition.

It'll be super powerful and have little/no first party support.

See PS Move, PSVR2 and PS Vita for examples of this approach (and, based on recent years, the PS5 too). I own/owned all of those aside from the PSVR2 and there's no way I'm splashing out upwards of £300 on new hardware (which is what this new thing will cost) until it's got at least 3 or 4 games that I really want to play.

The PSP was a great handheld and sold very well. The Vita was abandoned by Sony in a few years because they wanted to focus on the Playstation console? I don't see the next handheld play Playstation 5 games natively (not possible?) and I don't see Sony developing games for two totally different hardware specs (didn't work out with the Vita). Streaming PS5 first party games on the handheld seems more likely and then PS4 specs games native?

I don't see it compete with the Switch 2 because I don't think it will get the same focus from Sony. And it is years away. But more competition is good and the PSP and Vita were interesting pieces of hardware. Maybe we will see more first party games with a lower budget, less develop time with more focus on the creative side. A Daxter 2 would be interesting.

Isn't this where all consoles will go sooner or later? Running all games natively?

Because as power increases and batery tech improves then there will always be a reason to put a batery and screen in it... as the option of handheld and to a tv screen are what people would prefer overall I think. It caters for everyone.

So yeah nintendo are ahead of the game.

Good, competition drives the market forward.

I hope Sony will get some more competition on the higher specs market. They’ve become arrogant and have developed anti-consumer practices. And their CFO is ‘addicted to growth’, as he says.

@Itachi2099 Last years PC Handhelds like Legion Go and Rog Ally already runs PS5 and Xbox Series X games natively.

Duct tape is not needed with tech from recent years.

Fun fact: My "Legion Go" PC Handheld which runs PS5 and Xbox games have a longer battery time than my Nintendo Switch.

The Handheld market are already more oversaturated now than it were in 1990's.

There are already around 20 PC Handheld brands where Steam Deck, Legion Go and Rog Ally dominates in PC market.
Android Handhelds etc.

Microsoft already confirmed to work on a Xbox handheld too that will most likely launch at the same time as Next-Gen console.

If Sony can get a handheld that plays GTA6 and FF7 Remake Part 3 out of the box then Nintendo will certainly have a fight on their hands.

Ultimately, I feel like there's room for both devices. The problem Nintendo has is convincing people to upgrade their Switch to whatever their new device is versus a competitor device.

I'm hoping Nintendo have some major software trump cards up their sleeve... and not just Metroid Prime 4... Surely they have a new 3D Mario, new Donkey Kong and new Mario Kart all in late development, right?

If they don't... Man, could we be looking at a Wii U scenario all over again? I mean, surely not, right? Surely they won't do that mistake again?

I still struggle to believe that Switch doesn't have GTAV on it. Why on earth didn't Nintendo do more to secure that game? Foolish and it could bite them hard if people start to learn about another device that could do GTA6.

Because it has always worked out so well when they trail Nintendo's gimmick. But I do love my Vita as a handheld emulation powerhouse so I wouldn't say no to getting an updated one.

Probably they will be able to launch their new 'PSP' before Nintendo releases the Switch 2

They will compete against Switch 2.

and against Steam Deck, AyaNeo, Lenovo Legion Go, MSI Claw, Zotac, ASUS Rog, Logitech G cloud and a potential Xbox handheld.

Sony was dumb reading the portable market back then when they decided to stop supporting Vita. They have lost their opportunity. Now everyone is onboard.

Sony hardcore fans will buy it at whatever price Sony sets. They will have to support 2 different products with 2 different specs, since I don't see ps5 games running in anything affordable. Or ps6, since this thing might not even be in development

Maybe they should just release some games for their existing console lmao.

@tourjeff Yeah that's not how things work buddy

@Ironcore And not rush their developers into making dissapointing products just so they can be entered into the game awards while also giving said devs insanely poor security allowing countless plans and assets to leak then very likely plan on liquidating the team and their assets as im typing this very reply!
: D

Spider-man 3 will be so peak and totally release guys trust me Sony totally wont scrap insomniac and find a new studio to abuse the living h3ll out of like they do every other studio they have nowadays whether it be games, movies, shows etc.

Handheld gaming in the console space is a lost art at this point. The bite-sized gaming experience made for small screens saw it’s doom a mile away as the advancing technology of standard games and the ubiquity of mobile games, squeezed it out of existence. Now we just play ‘real games’ on portable consoles as we squint to read the text. And Sony basically said as much to investors after the Vita: people want standard console games or mobile games, but not handheld games. So a return to the days of PSP (or even Vita) this ain’t.

@nocdaes Nintendo will already have to contend with the ROG Ally X, which has an impressive battery and can play all current PS5 games at 60fps.

Nintendo will absolutely crush it in the price department, as well as the battery department (likely) but not in other areas.

In the entertainment space in general I think Nintendo’s biggest direct competition is from tablet gaming. Kids love tablets. Gamers like us might want both a PS5/PC and a Switch and so for us they are competing but we are the core not the mainstream. Basically I think a decent PSPortable can co-exist quite happily without affecting Ninty too much and so I welcome one.

The bubble is going to burst sooner or later on the flood of all these handhelds, there’s just simply too many of them with barely improved versions being tossed out an an hilarious rate all targeted at a much nicher audience than Switch.

But the Nintendo Switch isn't only a handheld...

The problem with a new Sony handheld is that it will be completely restrictive like Vita and Portal and could be abandoned by its creator, like Vita or PSVR, if it doesn't meet Sony's expectations.

Personally, besides Switch, I'd buy an Xbox handheld if they made one or a third-party handheld PC.

@Banjo- Yes, that's a good point actually.

Sony doesn't have the studios to support two systems. You can see it with the PSVR2 as well.

I hope it will be a product worth owning, especially for the PSP and Vita lovers. So until then I would say, that I am more than happy with my Switch and I have high hopes for the successor.

By the way Tearaway: Unfolded is such a geat and magical game.

Unless they are going to make two different sets of games this will not work. And even if they made games specifically for this Sony only will support it a year or two before abandoning it. And to get the kind of console quality games they want on the go would mean a very expensive handheld with terrible battery life. Microsoft and Sony just need to focus on consoles. Cause when they try new things it is not good. I suppose Microsoft can better gamble at this since they have been last for a while now. But Sony things to focus on games cause it is very dry now and psvr2 is doing bad and ps5 pro still doesn’t make sense.

@Friendly Thanks. There are also interesting thoughts that others have posted, like:

· How could Sony feed a handheld with exclusives when they barely can release new games for PS5?

· How could it run PS5 games natively?

· Unlike Xbox and third parties, Sony is as restrictive as Nintendo, but Nintendo sells its exclusives massively and has only one platform since Switch, while only 6.8% of the PS5 software sales were first-party in the last quarter.

· That 6.8% of first-party sales on PS5 is going to be available on Windows, so you can play Sony's games on third-party handheld PCs and maybe on a future Xbox handheld, on top of the Windows/Xbox games.

@Toastmaster moot point, your Legion Go and Rog Ally play games that released on PS5 but they don't play them at PS5 equivalent settings/framerate/resolution and those are 800$+ PC handhelds you can tinker with, not locked down console ecosystem.

This is talking about PS5 games playing natively, meaning the already fully existing PS5 library on PSN rn without any changes to them. As in this handheld will just boot up and it plays all your PS5 games at the same settings, settings that need a monolith sized console.

You can say "well they'll just patch the games to lower settings and resolutions to fit them for this handheld" but that still doesn't make any sense and makes this claim even dumber. They'd need to patch literally thousands and thousands of games on PSN for "portable mode" meaning games that arent patched are more than likely gonna be blacklisted from being playable.

Do you see Sony doing that and going thru this long process in any conceivable way while also telling 3rd party devs to do that? For a more than likely niche device like this? Do I need to remind you about Playstation TV? Devs couldn't be bothered just turning off PS Vita features to whitelist their games, what makes you think they wanna go back and literally rebuild the PS5 games around this portable hardware and patch them for free?

Can’t really see a place for this at all. Back in the day it was worth having both a DS and PSP or a 3DS and a Vita (to a lesser extent) because they were so different to one another and provided things you couldn’t get on the opposing machine. What would be the key difference here? Power? There are already handheld PCs that are more flexible than dedicated handhelds and offer PlayStation games on them anyway.

A straight up portable PS5 would be amazing but how much would that cost, how bad would the battery life be etcetera…on the other hand, if they decide to make a bespoke new machine then that means splitting up their dev teams to work on games for a separate device (when they struggle to make tons of games for the console they already have) and would require third parties to consider another platform when making games. I just don’t know where a new PlayStation handheld fits in today, honestly.

They will only produce 500 units, so they can trick gullible news reporters into thinking it's a success, just because it's sold out.

@Itachi2099 It'll probably only support a limited selection of games, and not play most of the big 1st party titles.

Well good luck to them I certainly wouldn’t buy one I still feel like I got burned off the ps vita it was a great little machine with an awesome screen at the time but it was dead on arrival it’s as if Sony had no intention of supporting it and the memory card fiasco killed it off very quickly

@Itachi2099 I agree with what you say more or less.

Yes, these PC Handhelds are real PC's without a locked down system like Switch for example.
I know PC Handhelds cost more, but they have no limitations as they are running Windows 11 and they can run over 100.000's of games.
Both of these PC Handhelds currently have great discounts this week.

There is only 3 + soon 2 more, PC Handheld brands that is sold anywhere on the planet. Legion Go, Rog Ally and MSI Claw.
The upcoming Acer and Zotac Handhelds will be sold globally too. MSI Claw is the only Handheld using Intel hardware.

PS5 games still looks good on a 8.8" screen on Legion Go at 1200p because of the tiny screen.
I get 55 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 with medium settings on Legion.
Over 250 FPS in Resident Evil 7 on low settings which is insane on a handheld...

Next-Gen PC Handheld hardware is coming in 2025.
Microsoft and Sony will have a problem when it comes to power vs price. If they use PC Handheld hardware, you know the price already as consoles isn't sold at a loss anymore.

I also don't think Sony will bother this much to get old games compatible, at least not for free.

You can bet Microsoft will do upgrades on games 100% for free on their handheld including third party games.
Remember Microsoft already upgraded lots of third party Xbox 360 games like Red Dead Redemption to 4K for free, and they manually made over 600 games run on newer consoles without emulation. It took them 3 years or so to do it.
In fact MS even bothered to replace the Xbox 360 assets with PC assets on a lot of games. As you know PC had higher quality textures.

@Toastmaster
Handheld PCs are designed to run PC games, which is possible since PC games are designed to run on a range of different hardware spcifications, from low-end gaming laptops to top of the line rigs.

PS5 games are designed to run on the PS5 (and now PS5 Pro). That's it. There are no low-spec PS5 equivalents. For a PS5 handheld to work, developers would need to patch their games to run on this device because there is no way a handheld device will be able to run native PS5 games without significant downgrades.

@westman98 You are 100% correct about everything you say.

The new PC Handheld hardware coming next year is for handhelds that will probably cost closer to 1000$

In 2-3 years Rog Ally and Legion Go hardware will maybe drop enough in price to run downscaled PS5 games natively.
PS5 Pro cost 980$ in several countries in Europe, so it's not unlikely Sony would sell a 600$ PS5 Handheld too.

Someone in the comments was mentioning the Lenovo Legion Go, as an example of "battery life". 1.5 hours is a laughable battery time. Imagine a PlayStation portable console that plays the PS5 games natively, it will last 30 minutes, with luck. People tend to forget, that games on the Switch, actually have been optimized to take advantage of the console's capabilities, including, battery life. Hence why the usual playtime with games with high graphical fidelity, goes between 2.5 hours, to 3.5 or maybe 4 hours, depending the game. A lot of games can be played for 6-8 hours on the Switch.

@Pipulitoch Leaving the handheld market was actually a very wise decision, it was just no longer a sustainable market and they just couldn't pull what Nintendo did with the Switch.

@Gs69 If PS VITA were as big as Switch, and used SD cards it would still be a great handheld today.

It should never have been shipped with a small screen and small buttons, on top of two missing shoulder buttons.

As for the PS Vita OS, still a joy to use in 2024 as it's so optimized and polished.

I'm surprised Switch isn't as fast and polished as a VITA to use.
Perhaps Switch 2 can be on par with VITA there.

The Tegra X1 inside Switch were designed for Android TV to stream video at 4K/60 and run 4K movies locally back in year 2014.
This is the reason why Switch have a slower OS as the chip wasn't designed for gaming handheld's.
In fact Switch doesn't even have more RAM than the 10 year old NVIDIA Shield TV media boxes.

Neat, but I won't believe it until I see it

Not following much the Sony side of things, all I'm gonna says is this.I know this is a rumor at this point and there's probably something I'm missing, but still:

What a waste of resources. Why make that Playstation Portal if you plan to make a separate handheld? Why they didn't make the Portal its own handheld that can work with the PS5 instead?

@Itachi2099 I think Sony could take advantage of the Xbox Series S existence. I imagine a portable PS5 would have similar specs, and therefore studios could use Xbox Series S versions of games as the base for the portable PS5 ones.

@Edu23XWiiU Battery time is mostly irrelevant as there is power almost everywhere including ships, trains, ferries, planes, cars etc.

Legion Go have "Charge and Terminate" like Switch, so the PSU can stay in power 24/7 all year without breaking the battery.

Legion Go have a optional charging feature missing on Switch.
When it reaches 80% charging, the charger changes to PSU mode.
These handheld batteries last a lot longer when they end charging at 80%.
Nintendo never thought of that.

With the Steam Deck OLED existing, they have a pretty hard time. And when it comes out, Steam Deck 2 will likely be out.

Still, millions of people have full digital libraries of PS4 and PS5 games, with crossplay it could still be a decet success. Just buy and enjoy hundreds of games you already own. Like the Portal, where people thought it would be a big failure but its selling actually well. Now imagine that but no internet restrains.

Competition is always good for the consumer in the end. Let's see the two giants battle it out for your hard-earned money!

@The-Chosen-one No chance Sony will bring physical media to a new portable device when they are moving away from it on the console side where there's more flexibility.

It'll probably be a PlayStation Portal again but this time with real hardware and internal storage in there (hopefully ssd). My guess is it'll be similar to a PS5 Digital Edition where you can download and play all your PS4 and PS5 games digitally but is also compatible with a disc drive too like how the PS5 Pro does for those who still wants to play their physical games on the go.

İ have never buyed a PSP before and for sure İ will not buy this one too. About handheld gaming İ have buyed the Gameboy, DS Lite Black and New 2DS XL. That New 2DS XL model is beautiful İ am still in love with it. DS Lite Black model when İ buyed that for the first time that was so beautiful too.

@SalvorHardin PC Gamers are not a niche audience

It'll come as no surprise that I have zero interest in a Sony handheld when I have my Switch and a gaming PC at my disposal, besides that I have a lot of retro stuff to keep me entertained.

Having said all that, I do hope they will at least try to compete with Nintendo, because it will keep the big N on their toes, maybe just a little bit more, and that's always a good thing.

The gaming industry is in a really strange position for the past couple of years and we constantly hear things that these might be the last consoles, etc. I'm not sure about any of that, but I am sure that I will keep "loyal" to Nintendo, because I feel they serve my gaming wishes best and they have the best first party games.

Considering how they (mis)handled PSVita, dropping support almost immediately after release (That's what it felt like, at any rate) and all, i'll sit back and see how it develops first...

I’d like to be excited but Sony has a bad habit of abandoning these pretty hard. Even the PSP was carried hard by 3rd parties while you’d be lucky for Sony to make a spinoff of their main titles

Sony will never just be content with home console success. When it comes to VR and - potentially - handhelds, they’re Sisyphus. Keep pushing that boulder uphill, Sony.

@Toastmaster I still have my vita it’s like you say hampered by some bad design choices I still play Ridge Racer both psp and vita versions and everybody’s golf or hotshots golf depending where you are it’s a nice size to put in a bag I just always felt that Sony didn’t really care about it from the very beginning I know Nintendos consoles are not always technically the best but they always seem to get the best out of them I know the switch is underpowered but it’s been a joy to own from day one

@NinChocolate Thank God for indies

Starting with the current console generation, customers seem to be sticking to the same platform, because of backwards-compatibility and their previous investment in its digital library. It's one of the reasons why Xbox is struggling against PS5 and also why Nintendo was so keen to emphasize next-gen backwards-compatibility ahead of their actual Switch 2 announcement.

So if this new portable will be able to play all games from existing digital libraries, then that's a good value proposition for people who prefer PlayStation.

Anyway, the Switch really shook up the industry.

@fenlix "I think Sony could take advantage of the Xbox Series S existence. I imagine a portable PS5 would have similar specs, and therefore studios could use Xbox Series S versions of games as the base for the portable PS5 ones."

The problem with that is that Xbox consoles run Windows and PS consoles don't.

How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?

Why not just improve the Portal to make it a full on handheld? Apparently it was originally meant to be that, but for some weird reason they decided to compete with the Wii U instead lol. The Portal seems to be getting better by somewhat supporting cloud play or whatever it was, allowing you to play on the go I think? Correct me if I'm wrong by the way. Point is, why not turn the Portal into that instead of having to make an entirely new system for that purpose?

@GoldenBot
PS Portal doesn't have more power than a 100$ tablet, so you would be stuck with games like Candy Crush and other simple 2D games.

You can't improve portal. You have to design a new hardware from scratch as nothing from Portal can be used besides controller.

@Kitchener They gave Vita longer in the Japanese market but yes, two years in the west sounds right.

@Gs69
Yeah. VITA were ahead of it's time like Atari Lynx from 1989 were.
Atari Lynx could run current Amiga and PC games in 1989 which were insane and also had Mode 7 chip for "3D", but still lost vs Gameboy.

Third parties ditched VITA already the first year, and Sony ditched it a few months later.
VITA were almost a portable PS3, and i guess development cost were too high vs how many games were sold so most gave it up besides Indies who supported it for years.

I haven't used PS4 in years, and VITA store is closed.
I recently bought a few Indies on sale on PS4 for fun on sale that also included VITA versions.

VITA games are still for sale, but only if they are included with PS4 version.
The PSN Store still works on VITA so you can download them, but purchases have to be done on PS4.

Anyway. VITA and Wii U console sales were compared weekly back then as they sold about same amount...
Wii U is wonderful console for many reasons most Nintendo fans missed out on.

@HugoGED 2009 wasn't the right time for PSPgo when they had to worry about GameStop being cut out of (physical) game sales, but no longer in this decade.
Wow, how much GameStop these days sells other merchandise...

Sony and PlayStation can coexist. A Sony handheld might shift sales from Nintendo slightly, but not enough for the Switch 2 to fail.

Nintendo staples like Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda, and Pokemon are the main reason people buy Nintendo hardware.

Even if Sony releases a more powerful handheld, it’s unlikely to make a significant difference. People who prioritize these features already have the Steam Deck.

As for me, I’ll likely buy both systems eventually.

Considering these factors, I don’t see it as a potential rivalry where one system wins over the other.

Nintendo has learned from the Wii U not to fail in marketing its new system.

It would be exciting to see a new PlayStation handheld or hybrid.

Sony does what Nintendoes too.

If they did it right that would be great but they won't. It needs to be more than just a playstation portable it needs to be something we can't get from another company.

@fenlix I guess, you might have a point there. I say might because Sony handhelds were one step behind. PSP was on par with PS2 in PS3 era, Vita on par with PS3 in PS4 era. Sony handhelds kept losing relevance due to a lack of support and vision from Sony's part. If I remember correctly, to Sony; smartphone gaming was supposed to kill portable gaming. That didn't happen. There was a huge market for that. What we see today is the proof. But in order to be successful, you must support your device. Affordable PS4 levels now are possible. Thew weren't possible 7 years ago when Switch was released. But Sony keeps pushing specs. So with that attitude, we can both agree that releasing a portable device is ridiculous. I believe we agree there.

If true, this would be an interesting development. I never had a shot at the PSP or Vita back in the day due to my financial situation (first a poor minor, then a broke college student) and the proprietary nature of the Vita in particular. However, I think the article is inaccurate when it mentions "...the Switch successor would have the console handheld market all to itself for at least two or three years or so." Like it or not, mobile gaming does occupy some of this space. Plus, we already have other more dedicated portable gaming devices like the Steam Deck. Even some niche ones like the Playdate.

Stick to the Portal. Doesn't cost too much, can run all games without the need for developers to make tweaks to run on a handheld, won't weigh a tonne.

I have mixed feelings towards Sony handhelds. The PSP was great since it had some pretty neat exclusives and tons of great JRPGs. The Vita I never bothered to buy since it had nothing I was interested in playing and Sony left the thing to die.

I honestly don't have any interest in another PSP since I already have a PS5.

Nice. It's inevitable these platforms would copy Nintendo eventually. In this case, it's an objectively good thing for them. Unlike when Xbox did Kinect and PS3 did PlayStation Motion or whatever it was called, this isn't copying a fad. This is the future of gaming.

@Tyranexx Right. The portable market is shared with handheld PCs and partly mobile gaming, e.g., those playing Call of Duty and Fortnite on their phones. 10% of the massive Steam user base plays on Steam Deck. It's true that Nintendo is the winner of the last generation after Wii U thanks to Switch and it's true that Nintendo's games are not available on other platforms, but Nintendo is not alone in the handheld market, less now than in 2017, and it will be very interesting to see how the market is shared after Switch.

If it can play PS5 and PS4 games natively then that would be huge and would sell a tonne. Obviously the downside would be that it would have to be digital only but that hasn't stopped the Deck from being successful.

This isn't going to be a seperate system where it has its own games, the days of dedicated handhelds has gone.

Nintendo: how many times do we need to teach you this lesson, old man!

Not gonna lie, I miss the era of truly dedicated separate gaming handhelds. While it's cool to see how far tech has come in bringing console quality gaming on the go, it means there's less room for the more unorthodox and experimental games you wouldn't see on a traditional console for one reason or another. Maybe that's why the Playdate interests me as much as it does.

This seems neat, but I think for non-Nintendo handhelds, the Steam Deck is preferable for me. They're all so expensive, the Steam Deck is likely to be my only purchase between the two.

@Rakshasa Technically Nintendo is older than Sony. Just not bigger when it comes to techs.

Interesting. I enjoy handhelds so I might be inclined to get one if the price is right. I can't see this thing playing the PS5 discs, nor would I want it to, so I sure hope it has a large internal storage and a non-proprietary way to expand it. If it's real.

@UltimateOtaku91 Natively is one thing but it will still screw customers over if physical games are all the customer got. They'll have to rebuy their entire PS4 and PS5 library all over again digitally if they want to play them on the handheld. The only correct way Sony needs to do this is to make the PlayStation 6 into a hybrid console. Make it a portable focus console but with the added value of playing it dock similar to Switch 2. It'll lose physical backwards compatibility with PS1-PS5 but at least it could keep the digital PS4 and PS5 library and release some kind of PS Classic remaster or re-releases for games of the PS1-PS3 generations. It'll make more money for Sony if they go this way instead of relying on disc going forward. Since they're buying Kadokawa, they could even launch it with an anime lineup and a Bloodborne 2 or Sekiro vs. the Ghost of Tsushima as launch titles for the new handheld console.

I did enjoy my PSP, but a Sony handheld has much stiffer competition these days in the Steam Deck and other PC handhelds.

They shouldn't bother, only a few hard-core PlayStation fans would want this.

I would like another handheld Sony gaming console. But I am probably going to prefer the Switch 2 over it.

Imagine they made it so you can play your PS Vita games on it. Then yeah I will definitely get it for sure, but I doubt they would do that.

PSVita 2

Sony will do the same thing as with the original Vita. Support it with 2 games, then ignore it for years.

This really seems like a reaction to Nintendo's Switch successor rather than a general good business decision. It simply can't be something that plays PS5 games natively because mobile tech isn't to that point yet, not even in the next few years. It would be weaker hardware that could play downscaled ports of PS5 games, so devs would have to separately make games for it beyond already dealing with the PS5 and its Pro. With Sony barely making any games themselves as it is that aren't remasters/remakes of existing PS4 games, what is left are 3rd-party, which already have a home on portable devices thanks to portable PCs like the ROG Ally. They'd be competing with them in the end, not Nintendo.

I have a history of Sony customer service treating me like absolute garbage. Lost an entire account, and their response was "Well, we could see about MAYBE getting you $100 in store credit." Like, I lost an entire library! Needless to say, while that was years ago, that scenario as well as their intents on going mostly digital are enough for me to just call it quits with them.

They can certainly give it a go. I feel like they've built too much of their brand around "epic cinematic experiences" for most of their fans to want them shrunk down to the size of a portable. I bet a same-day launch with Astro Bot 2 would help shift some units, though.

Than never going build another psp or Xbox another 360 in my eyes I own both . They're dated but still good. Able to play the PS2 version of GTA portable so good a the time. Prob good for the developers pockets too. If they do it will prob be download only like psp go. I think majority people buy the consoles for the first party titles their only so many times u can remaster a game. I owned every playstation up to 4. I when from good to bad for me . Sad really

@Banjo- For sure. Nintendo definitely "won" this generation since they helped tap a missing niche in the market - quality console gaming in hybrid form - but now there's an increasing number of companies who want a piece of the same consumer pie. If the next system indeed fulfills a similar role based on some credible rumors, the Switch 2/Neo/Next/etc. will have more competition than ever. I'm curious to see how it'll all play out. Grabs popcorn

Dollars to donuts they'll use proprietary memory cards again lol

They should not directly compete with the Switch and make it a dedicated handheld.

I might be interested in this, but considering this is Sony, I would expect there to be a catch. Super expensive and/or using overpriced storage like the Vita. Native PS5 sounds hard to believe, but maybe that might change given it's still a few years off... Native PS5 means it would be super expensive, no matter when it comes out.

since it will come out in a few years it will be vastly more powerful then the switch 2 have more memory storage but likely would be a all digital console..

On the one hand, they'd be silly not to try. On the other hand, the handheld market has always seemed to follow a "there can be only two" rule when it comes to the big players and I think currently that's Switch and Steam Deck. Could be interesting though!

Another Sony handheld that will probably great hardware but be held back by stupid decisions like lack of support or really expensive secondary storage.

If Sony cannot make their console handheld/TV Based, they have already lost!
What is the point by now?
It cracks me up how corporations with no fore site try to play catch up later.
It will only stream........So, It will fail.....Without a doubt!

The issue that Sony keeps making is they make hardware that is just too powerful for a for portable device, all their handhelds were more powerful than their Nintendo counterparts, PSP was more powerful than the DS and the PS Vita was more powerful than the 3DS, yet they lost the first war quite badly and they lost the second war catastrophically.

They seem to make the same mistake every time, the machine is powerful, but costs more, has less battery life and games tend to be fewer and far between, because optimising graphically demanding games is not easy on a piece of portable hardware.

Sony keeps getting this balance wrong and judging by their new PS Portal, i doubt they will be getting it right anytime soon.

@Serpenterror as a gaming company, Nintendo is bigger than Sony, but as a company overall, Sony is bigger than Nintendo.

In terms of actual gaming though, Nintendo is the biggest company around.

Sony gaming division is worth 29 billion

Microsoft gaming division is worth 21 billion.

Nintendo just makes games, they have some other smaller ventures but their main focus is video games. Their market cap is around 69 billion.

In terms of an actual gaming company, Nintendo is worth more than Sony and Microsoft combined.

How many times does Nintendo have to teach Sony this lesson?

I honestly wouldn't be surprised. Between Switch and Steam Deck, console power in a portable form is probably more of the long-term future and, as a Nintendo die-hard, I'm kinda proud that Nintendo really started that trend. I know, I see you PSP/PS Vita. You were great... but you were handhelds first and foremost. Switch, Steam Deck, that's console power and it's equivalent to consoles at the time. There's no question about that. I think Sony getting back into the portable game, and Microsoft doing something similar (Xbox Go, anyone?) is kinda inevitable at this point. Especially if the Switch successor does even half as good as the Switch classic.

@Kriandis Article points out it won't stream

Why? They don't even have enough games to make the PS5 worth owning yet.

If it’s three years away then Nintendo is good for this upcoming generation. They will have built enough of a userbase and catalog by then.

@Toastmaster Why have a handheld, if you're going to carry its battery everywhere? It beats the purpose of the console, it's like a Sega Nomad hahahaha. Laughable.

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