Following the success of the Change and the Steam Deck, ought to PlayStation return to handheld gaming with a brand-new console?
Whereas Sony has predominantly launched house consoles previously, there have additionally been two handheld PlayStations previously.
The PSP got here out in 2005 and was an enormous success, promoting over 80 million items. This prompted Sony to observe it up with the PlayStation Vita in 2012.
Whereas the Vita was undeniably an incredible console, it solely offered much less round 16 million items, simply 20% of the PSP. Since then, Sony has moved away from handhelds to give attention to its house consoles.
Regardless of this, the PlayStation Portal, a handheld system that streams video games out of your PS5, has been an sudden success. In fact, this has then prompted many requests from avid gamers for Sony to launch a brand new handheld PlayStation that may natively run video games as an alternative of simply stream them.
However ought to Sony launch a brand new handheld PlayStation or not?
Why Sony Wants a New Handheld
The Demand for Transportable Gaming
The primary motive why PlayStation could think about making a brand new handheld console is that the demand is there.
Because the Change was launched in 2017, transportable and hybrid consoles have been highly regarded, however PlayStation is lacking out regardless of being the present king of house consoles.
The demand for handheld consoles, in addition to the power of the PlayStation model, may result in a brand new transportable PlayStation being an enormous success.
There’s a Nice Assortment of Previous-Gen PlayStation Video games
If Sony have been to launch a handheld, it may launch nice video games from its PlayStation again catalog on the console.
Which means titles from the final couple of generations, like God of Battle, The Final of Us and Uncharted, may very well be launched in handheld kind. Moreover, it may very well be a superb approach for PlayStation to deliver classics like Jak & Daxter and Sly Cooper again.
Nevertheless, a conveyable PlayStation wouldn’t be as highly effective as a PS5, so it couldn’t run the newest AAA video games. You’d nonetheless need to get a PS5 to play these!
Sony Might Implement PlayStation Portal’s Distant Play
Lastly, even when a handheld console wouldn’t be capable of play PS5 video games natively, PlayStation already has an answer to this.
A brand new Sony handheld may incorporate the Distant Play of the PlayStation Portal. This could permit avid gamers to stream titles from their PS5 that the hand-held system couldn’t run.
Because the PlayStation Portal has already proved to be highly regarded, incorporating its perform right into a handheld console could be an incredible concept!
Why A New Transportable PlayStation Isn’t Wanted
Regardless of the arguments for a brand new handheld PlayStation, there are additionally a variety of the explanation why Sony gained’t make a brand new transportable console:
The Competitors Is Stiff
At present, the hand-held console market is dominated by the Nintendo Change, however the Steam Deck is one other in style various. It will make breaking into the hand-held marketplace for Sony fairly tough.
Due to this fact, Sony could not assume it’s value investing quite a lot of money and time right into a handheld if it will not be a hit, particularly after the 3DS comprehensively defeated PlayStation Vita within the early 2010s.
If breaking Nintendo’s handheld dominance wasn’t troublesome sufficient, it additionally seems to be just like the Change 2 may very well be releasing in March 2025!
You Can Already Play PlayStation Titles on Steam Deck
Over the previous few years, Sony has launched a variety of critically acclaimed PlayStation Studios titles on PC. This consists of God of Battle, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon Forbidden West, The Final of Us Half 1 and Uncharted.
What’s extra, all of those video games are playable on Steam Deck at barely decrease resolutions and body charges.
As Sony is already promoting a few of its greatest video games on PC and, crucially, Steam Deck, there could also be no level making a handheld PlayStation. In spite of everything, it might be a lot simpler to proceed porting video games to PC than to develop a completely new console.
It Might Be Higher to Focus On the Subsequent Residence Console
PlayStation has brushed apart its most important rival, Xbox, this console technology and gained’t wish to lose its lead.
VGChartz studies that as of December 2023, the PS5 has offered over 52 million items, whereas the Xbox Collection X has offered simply over 27 million items.
Due to this fact, it might be a sensible transfer for Sony to give attention to its subsequent house console to keep up its lead. If it tries to maneuver again into handheld gaming too, it may let this lead slip as Xbox strikes full velocity forward with creating its next-gen console.
General, we expect that Sony gained’t make a brand new handheld console within the close to future. Regardless of there being an urge for food for a conveyable PlayStation, Sony most likely wouldn’t see it as being worthwhile proper now.
It might be too nice a threat to launch a brand new handheld console proper now, and Sony will most likely focus elsewhere. In fact, its major focus will likely be on the PS5 and rumored PS5 Professional, however porting its video games to PC can also be turning into an necessary technique for Sony.
