Sony is reportedly in the stages of early development for a new portable console with the aim of expanding Sony’s reach back into the mobile handheld market. Read on to find out more about their plans!
Sony Reportedly Working On Handheld Console
Back Into The Portable Gaming Market
Tech giant Sony is reported to be developing a brand-new portable handheld console that would let its players play PlayStation 5 games on the go, said Bloomberg in a November 25th article. Having a handheld console in Sony’s arsenal will help with Sony’s aim of expanding their market reach and to compete with both Nintendo and Microsoft—the former has solidified itself at the pinnacle of handheld gaming since the early days of the GameBoy, up until the present-day Nintendo Switch, while the latter has revealed plans in entering the same market, with prototypes already being worked on.
Supposedly, the portable handheld concept will build up on the PlayStation Portal, a handheld device Sony released last year that allowed its users to play PS5 games by streaming them via the internet. However, the response to the Portal was lukewarm at best, with both positive and negative reception. Improving on the current Portal technology and creating a mobile device that is capable of natively playing PS5 games would definitely make Sony’s products and software more appealing and accessible to a wider audience, especially with the news that PS5 prices have gone up by 20% earlier this year due to inflation.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Sony has entered into the fray of portable gaming. Its PlayStation Portable (PSP) has seen its fair share of popularity, and its successor, the PS Vita, was similarly well received. However, despite positive reception, it was not enough to topple the Nintendo empire, as the company has always been at the top of their game and continues to do so up until present with the Nintendo Switch. Sony’s handhelds have been left behind in favor of the PlayStation console—but supposedly, times have changed and Sony is once again attempting to establish itself in the portable gaming market.
Sony has yet to officially comment on the reports.
The Rise Of Mobile And Handheld Gaming
Today’s society is busy and fast-paced, with many people often on the go. Because of such conditions, mobile gaming has been on the rise and contributes to a large portion of the industry’s revenue. Its accessibility and convenience are hard to match—smartphones provide not only useful functionality for daily life, like instant messaging and productivity apps, but also an avenue for gaming, readily available in your pocket. However, smartphones can only do so much, and most phone devices still cannot play biggie, heavier games. This is where handheld portable consoles come in, able to play bulkier games through a specialized device. So far, this part of the market has been led by Nintendo and its ever-popular Nintendo Switch.
With both Nintendo and Microsoft keying in on this niche in the gaming industry, especially with the former releasing the Switch’s successor some time in 2025, it’s no surprise that Sony wants a piece of that pie as well.
Source:
Bloomberg
