With the Nintendo Switch being such a runaway success, and having a successor console on the way, it looks like an old rival might be throwing their hat back into the ring. An insider report from Bloomberg states that Sony is looking to contend in the portable gaming market, and thus, are in the early stages of creating a new handheld device. Supposedly, the concept builds upon the PlayStation Portal, but would, "function as a standalone device like Valve Corp.’s Steam Deck". Bloomberg notes that the release of such a PlayStation-branded handheld would be "years away", or could never be fully realized.

The product is aimed at expanding Sony’s reach and contending with Nintendo Co. for the portable gaming market, according to people familiar with its development. It would also counter any potential mobile hardware from Xbox maker Microsoft Corp., which is working on prototypes in the category as well. Sony’s portable device is likely years away from launch and the company could still decide against bringing it to market, the people said, asking not to be named discussing private plans.

Source

 

[lordelan]

They have the portal. They just need to adjust the firmware.

 

[tommasi]

Sony is just a money grab company and no longer an entertainment company. Their new values probably are:collect dust, keep it off, vertical stand, make it ugly.

 

[Kraken_X]

It should already be possible for them to release a portable PS4 at a reasonable price point. It would have a big library, including most of the PS5 titles since they were also released on PS4. The problem is that it probably wouldn't launch until holiday 2025 at the earliest and the PS4 is starting to not get the more recent PS5 titles.

 

[Robert Newbie]

2010: Sony released their own set of Wiimotes almost four years later. Right after that the Kinect released.

2013: Sony copies the Kinect with their own PS4 camera.

2016: Sony releases a makeshift VR headset making use of their former two achievements only to be 6 months behind the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

2023: Sony copies the Valve Index Controllers released almost four years prior for their PSVR2 headset.

What I want to say is that Sony has quite a track record of being late to the party. Now they are about to make the same mistake by trying to compete with the Switch 2 without exclusives and the Steam Deck (as well as the whole PC handheld market) without versatility. They could make it play PS5 games on an Xbox Series S level, but then I could imagine them racking up the price to that of a PS5 Pro. And as the Vita taught us, you can bet that crossbuy might be optional on this one, because why give potential customers any comfort if you can try to make them pay twice.

Doesn't this sum things up. Sony has talented staff, but they continually try to muscle in as a market is shifting or settling. In general, I don't think Sony's ecosystem works with gimmicks. The PSEye didn't work, the PSMove didn't catch on, etc. Even Sony fans question their software offerings, despite a wealth of IP's to pull from.

The PSP worked because the handheld market was alive and well. The hybrid market is a bit more precarious because the handheld market is still gone, but the console market doesn't mind built-in portability. If Sony customers already have a PS5 (or PS5 Pro), this handheld/hybrid is likely not going to entice them.

The more I think about this idea, the more my head hurts. Will Sony forget all the lessons it should have learned from the Vita? Will Sony truly try to run a console and a hybrid at the same time? Will Sony pull a PS5 Pro and overprice? Will Sony even have software lined up?

 

[PrincessLisette]

Bit late for this, Sony. Not like you'll get the Japanese market back with this handheld. They moved over for Nintendo, especially after you shut down Japan Studio.

 

[MysticStarlight]

I can't trust them again after what they did with the Vita.

 

[Silterpy]

If they really do make another fully portable device (and not another streaming device), please make it work with microSD and USB-C. I don't want to have to spend $100 on a 32GB reshaped micro sd card

 

[ikynx]

I find this rumour pretty hard to believe.
Sony, Microsoft (and even Nintendo with it's decade lag) are desperetaly trying to shift to game as a service, and I really wouldn't be surprised they offered their next generation "platforms" where you can/have to stream from their data centres, much like geforce now.

 

[BlueFox gui]

ah yes, another portable for them to completely abandon 2 days after the release, just like the VITA

 

[Stwert]

Having sworn never to buy another Sony handheld after the way they treated the Vita, this would potentially change my mind.
At least with the capabilities to play games I already own I wouldn’t be worried about them giving up the ghost and dropping support…. again.

 

[subcon959]

Surely this is nothing but a rumour? I've seen a bunch of news items about this on all the major sites and they all source the same Bloomberg article, which doesn't give any official references other than Sony refused to comment.

 

[supershadow64ds]

2013: Sony copies the Kinect with their own PS4 camera.

PS2 had the Eye-Toy.

 

[Ligeia]

Another baseless rumour. Great

 

[SylverReZ]

2013: Sony copies the Kinect with their own PS4 camera.

Sony had the EyeToy camera for the PS2 years before the Kinect existed. Other companies dabbled with this idea as well, too, with plug-and-play consoles. Calling the Kinect an 'original concept' isn't true.

 

[HarveyHouston]

This would be interesting, if they pulled it off.

 

[BraveDragonWolf]

Nintendo: "The Nintendo Switch".

Sony: "The Sony Swap".

 

[Axido]

Sony had the EyeToy camera for the PS2 years before the Kinect existed. Other companies dabbled with this idea as well, too, with plug-and-play consoles. Calling the Kinect an 'original concept' isn't true.

I wouldn't call it original anyway (my point was more like "Gaming company makes a thing and Sony somehow makes their own version of it), but the Kinect included technology that didn't exist in the EyeToy camera, most notably the depth sensor that still makes it a viable option for 3D scanning. However, I do have to admit that I shouldn't have said Sony "copied" it... they actually went with a second RBG camera instead of an actual depth sensor, which is the more economic way of achieving a similar result.

I also forgot them adding HD Rumble to their DualSense controller.

And once they get innovative themselves, we get stuff like Wonderbook. Does anyone remember that thing?

 

[kaliburn]

2010: Sony released their own set of Wiimotes almost four years later. Right after that the Kinect released.

2013: Sony copies the Kinect with their own PS4 camera.

2016: Sony releases a makeshift VR headset making use of their former two achievements only to be 6 months behind the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

2023: Sony copies the Valve Index Controllers released almost four years prior for their PSVR2 headset.

What I want to say is that Sony has quite a track record of being late to the party. Now they are about to make the same mistake by trying to compete with the Switch 2 without exclusives and the Steam Deck (as well as the whole PC handheld market) without versatility. They could make it play PS5 games on an Xbox Series S level, but then I could imagine them racking up the price to that of a PS5 Pro. And as the Vita taught us, you can bet that crossbuy might be optional on this one, because why give potential customers any comfort if you can try to make them pay twice.

Didn't sony make the eye toy for ps2

 

[Ettino]

money grab company

Well, unless you're non profit organization. That's pretty much every businesses motto.

 

[Robert Newbie]

I wouldn't call it original anyway (my point was more like "Gaming company makes a thing and Sony somehow makes their own version of it), but the Kinect included technology that didn't exist in the EyeToy camera, most notably the depth sensor that still makes it a viable option for 3D scanning. However, I do have to admit that I shouldn't have said Sony "copied" it... they actually went with a second RBG camera instead of an actual depth sensor, which is the more economic way of achieving a similar result.

I also forgot them adding HD Rumble to their DualSense controller.

And once they get innovative themselves, we get stuff like Wonderbook. Does anyone remember that thing?

I remember the rumble addition to the Dualsense controller. Initially, Sony said it couldn't be done, then they went and did it. A similar setup was being able to access the BIOS in-game on the PS3. Initially, it wasn't a feature, but Sony had to catch up to Microsoft, so it got in.