After watching Nintendo dominate the gaming landscape over the last eight years with a hybrid game console, Sony is getting ready to challenge the Switch with a new handheld console of its own. Bloomberg reports that Sony is in the early stages of developing a portable game console capable of playing PS5 games natively.
According to the report, the goal is to more readily compete with in the handheld gaming market. Nintendo has yet to announce its new console, but expectations are that it will be another hybrid device similar to the Switch. Microsoft has also made it clear that a portable Xbox is in the cards, which would leave Sony as the odd man out.
The report doesn’t include any specific details about the portable console but does suggest that it will build upon the PlayStation Portal.
Last November, Sony released a portable device capable of streaming PS5 games but without the ability to play games natively. Initially, if you wanted to play games on the Portal, you’d need to own them and have them installed on your PS5. As of this month, PlayStation Plus Premium members can now stream select games over the cloud as well.
Bloomberg’s sources say that “Sony initially had intended for [the PlayStation Portal] to function as a standalone device like Valve Corp.’s Steam Deck.” That plan was evidently put on the back burner, but it appears to be a top priority going forward.
While Sony attempted to compete with Nintendo’s handheld devices for over a decade with the PSP and PS Vita, neither achieved anywhere near the same success as the Game Boy, DS, or 3DS lines. That said, those devices had their own exclusive game libraries — a portable device capable of playing PS5 games on the go would have a much higher ceiling.