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

Why not just a PC storefront?

[Touvan]

I'll never understand why the console makers - Nintendo and SONY in particular - don't just release PC store fronts. The demand for their content on that platform has been made crystal clear. They already have a store front cloud infrastructure. Its like their executives just don't understand how PCs work. Nintendo goes around pissing money away by suing everyone, and Sony gives their profit margins to others by listing their games on their store fronts. The PC (which includes Windows, mac, Linux, Steam OS)