Sony reportedly planning to create a new PlayStation handheld capable of playing PS5 games
Sony is reportedly developing a new handheld console capable of natively playing PS5 titles in an attempt to compete with Nintendo's upcoming Switch successor.
The details:
As reported by Bloomberg, the system is still in the "early stages" of development and will most likely take years to launch, assuming it even goes into production at all. According to the publication, sources familiar with the system's development claim that "the product is aimed at expanding Sony's reach and contending with Nintendo for the portable gaming market."
Bloomberg also states that the PlayStation Portal, Sony's remote play streaming handheld that recently received cloud gaming functionality, was originally designed to play games natively, similar to a Steam Deck.
If plans for the new console go ahead, Sony may also face competition from Microsoft, as Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently stated that Xbox was in the process of developing prototypes for a new handheld. Spencer stated that the proposed system was years away and that the company was still deciding what the console should be capable of.
Sony's first portable system, the PSP, is still one of the most popular gaming handhelds of all time, with games comparable to those available on the PS2 and one of the only systems that could compete with Nintendo's DS. On the other hand, the PS Vita, the PSP's successor, did not achieve the same level of success due to the higher cost of the system, games, and peripherals, as well as the rise of mobile gaming in 2012.
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