Sony Working on Handheld Console for PS5 Games to Rival Switch

Sony is developing a new portable gaming device capable of playing PlayStation 5 games, Bloomberg News reported Monday. The project follows the 2023 release of PlayStation Portal, a streaming-only handheld, and aims to compete with Nintendo's dominant Switch console and potential Microsoft offerings in the portable gaming space.

PSP returns?

[xack]

I had a PSP back in the day, it was actually the best way to experience mobile internet before modern smartphones took off. I never had the Vita though as it was more locked down. Modern Linux based handhelds have entered the scene now, I don't think Sony can recreate the magic of the original PSP with modern competitors. I don't plan to get the Switch 2 either.

Valuable point

[GoTeam]

They're saying it could be a few years away (I've read 2027 in a couple places), and that they still may never release it. With that level of commitment, they might want to save their time and money, and just not bother with a handheld. There are some great handhelds in the market already, so they'd need to have a game changing system (or be first to market with new tech) to make a dent in the market.

Handhelds are like Keurig for coffee

[Somervillain]

They're saying it could be a few years away (I've read 2027 in a couple places), and that they still may never release it. With that level of commitment, they might want to save their time and money, and just not bother with a handheld. There are some great handhelds in the market already, so they'd need to have a game changing system (or be first to market with new tech) to make a dent in the market.

There's Nintendo and there's everyone else. And the switch only plays PS3/XBox360 games...which were released almost 20 years ago. Nintendo has great 1st party games, but the graphics suck on everything else and you have to play really compromised games. I don't even bother. I love the idea, but I get so little time to play games these days with small kids, I just wait until I can sit at a big TV with good graphics if I want to play a shooter, RPG, or modern game. Nintendo switch games are like Keurig

Re:

[OrangeTide]

If Sony could pull of a PS5 in a handheld, I'd be the first to buy it. I want something I can take on flights that won't suck for grown up games.

Law of thermodynamics gets in the way. With current processes you're not going to get a handheld console that is as powerful as a best of set-top consoles. This is why Steam deck and others are not as good as a laptop or desktop. Looking at broader categories, an iPad represents one of the better performing devices at that size. And there are compromises when compared to say a MacBook. Hard to dissipate heat when you're small, and hard to fit a big battery in a small place.

I think Nintendo has a huge advant