Sony Reportedly Working on Standalone Handheld to Run PS5 Games - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 January 2025 / 5,621 Views
Sony Interactive Entertainment is reportedly in the early stages of developing a new handheld console that would be able to play PlayStation 5 games on the go.
This is according to people familiar with its development that spoke with Bloomberg. The sources claim the goal is to expand Sony's reach and to content with Nintendo in the handheld gaming market.
The device would be standalone rather than like the PlayStation Portal, which plays PS5 games by streaming them from a PS5 console.
A portable device that is able to run PS5 games natively would likely be expensive and/or be many years away from release.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer earlier this month revealed Xbox is working on prototypes for a handheld Xbox, however, any device is at least a few years away from release.
Spencer wants the Xbox hardware team to analyze the handheld market, which includes the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck, and more. He wants the team to "develop its vision based on what it learns."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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This would mean that you have to buy 2 devices, if you want to play on TV and on the go. This wouldn't be as attractive as one system which can do both (Switch).
Sure... but this is probably meant as an alt device
aka Switch Lite or Steam Deck as alternatives to Switch OLED and PC
As HopeMillsHorror said I think this is just a different SKU, similar to the Switch lite or PS5 Pro, It don't think it'd need to be crazy popular, just enough to justify the RnD costs and keep a specific segment happy and engaged.
but I don't think we can rule out TV play, there's nothing stopping Sony from including that function. Likely a stand alone dock they'll sell for $80 to increase their profit margin. Focus could be on giving users an HD image on TV instead of a 4k one, similar to Series S vs X.
Looks like the future of consoles is going the Switch route. Switch 2, Xbox Hand-held to now PS Hand-held. Don't expect giant leaps forward with fidelity but expect more convenience.
I am starting to think both systems could go the hybrid/ handheld route. Physical games would die out completly then apart from Nintendo. I do not see any scenario where MS or Sony go in the mobile space using flash cards/ cardridges for their games like the Switch or the Vita. I am also starting to think the PS6 could be a hybrid as well as the new Xbox...
Nice. I loved the PSP. But I sure hope this doesn't mean the entire industry is going to pull a Nintendo and abandon dedicated home consoles. I would miss them way too much.
PC isn't defined by a form factor. It's defined by it's software ecosystem.
PC hasn't "gone handheld" as PC has had handhelds since the 1990's with devices like the Sony VAIO PCG-U1 in 2002 or Microsoft's Project Origami almost 20 years ago and eventually we got devices like the GPD Win and eventually the Steamdeck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXHKCS28z1s
PC handhelds and mobile devices have existed alongside desktops from the very start.
What is -new- is the fact that AMD integrated graphics and low-end CPU's have caught up and are semi-competent at gaming.
Not at all. I think it just means more emphasis will be put on scalability which we're already seeing.
Diminishing returns + the cost of developing big budget games means developers are not making crazy technical strides which rule out prior gen support, or this case future PS5 support. Likely PS5 Portable will be supported alongside PS6 for most games.
30fps cap, any ray traycing features switched off, internal resolution sub 540p with some future variant of PSSR upscaling to 720p or 1080p. I think it'll be hard to imagine a future where many developers are building games that couldn't run on PS5 spec machine at low settings, 30fps, 480p.
Wonder what the price will be, at least $500? Handhelds are not cheap. PS5 still hasn't had a permanent price cut.
Pointless.
Games cost far too much and take far too long to make now, Sony can't afford to keep making PS5 level of games during the PS6 gen. Don't think many devs would like to make new games for it.
Unless it also uses the PSSR (2.0 probably) and all games start having a low quality tier like on PC and it actually is running the PS6 games on low settings with PSSR to improve it... why?
You're misunderstanding the device. It's a portable PS5, you don't have to make new games for it as it has access to the whole PS4/PS5 library just like the steam deck has access to steam store. Your thinking of it like a Vita, a device that needed it's own games developed for it, but this is not like that
Edit: Lol - 4 thumbs down for a truthful and accurate statement. People on this website geez
Games cost so much, you think most developers want to start on a userbase of 0 with the PS6? Long development cycles means games starting development now for PS5 likely won't arrive until 2029. Cross gen will be the norm next gen and cross gen means continued support for the prospective portable.
So it's all about the graphics?
How do Nintendo survive..
A meaningless effort. With more and more Playstation games going to PC and more and more japanese developers putting their games on PC too, a PS handheld would have very little going for it compared to an hypothetical Steam Deck 2 for example. A PS handheld would have less games, few or no exclusives and a much closed enviroment.
Switch 2 at least will have new Nintendo games exclusively for the system, physical backwards compatibility with both Switch 1 and 2 games and whathever gimmick they come up with this gen, while also probably being a lot cheaper.
Yeah... I don't see the point. Nor it being remotely successful.
People love to conflate console and PC as if they're an interchangeable audience but there are 100m Playstation users who are invested in that playstation eco-system, for many of a whom a PS5 Portable has way more appeal than a steam deck for many reasons including it simply supporting their existing library lol
A lot of people overthink these things. If Sony found success with Playstation Portal, they can find success with PS5 Portable. Just needs to be priced reasonably and fulfil the promise of supporting the PS5 software library which will guarantee support for the next decade.
It would only support their digital library though. I doubt a PS Handheld would come with a disk drive xD
Playstation Portal's success is very relative. It's estimated to have sold like 1 milion units worldwide. Sony calls it a success because it's super profitable (it's just a screen attached to a Dualshock 5 with some streaming tech inside for 200 dollars, the margin of benefits must be so huge that selling low still gives them money).
It's a success within its own context. But in reality, it's sales are quite... discrete, and that would be sugar coating it a lot. And the reason is the Portal does a very specific function that barely anyone actually needs or wants.
It would be a similar story with a PS handheld (although with not so abysmal sales). It would just not have the appeal. There's no point anymore. With the PSP and the Vita there was this "playing PS2/PS3-like games on a handheld". But by the time a new PS handheld hits the stores, there will be many other options to do just that (playing PS5 Sony games on the go I mean) for less money and with more aditional features.
All success is relative. Has the collective sales of steam deck devices even passed 10m yet? It really wouldn't take much for Sony to be competitive in this space. Remember that unlike PSP/PSVita, sony will not depend on dedicated software support. That is the only reason why Vita (and even PSVR2) "struggled".
Success here doesn't mean shifting 50m units in 5 years or going neck-to-neck with Switch 2 in unit sales. It means selling at a profit, selling in the millions and increasing engagement and software usage in the playstation ecosystem
If you put personal preferences aside, it's pretty obvious the average gamer playing COD on their PS5 is going to pick another PS branded handheld which supports their existing library and many future purchases, over partitioning their gaming purchases and having to buy 2x of everything. 1 for their console (playstation 5/6) and a separate for their steamdeck
This comment doesn't make sense. Someone like me who has hundreds upon hundreds of games in my PlayStation account and even more hundreds with PSPlus, would definitely benefit from a device that could play them all on the go.
And there are probably 50 million people in my situation. It seems odd that this device would not find an audience.
Very few people have hundreds upon hundreds of PS4/PS5 games. Who on earth can afford say 400+ games lol
So basically a Vita?.
I jest, it's likely going to be something similar to a Steam Deck, but with less tweaking/options, aka; a Switch.
I feel like Sony's entering the market rather late though, considering how Nintendo's always been there, Valve's been on the market, and everyone else on the PC side have all been tossing their hoops into the ring, so what would Sony have to offer that would be the "must have" pick over literally everything else on the planet?.
Its pretty simple. Can you transfer and play your PS5 or your PS6 library on a Steam deck or the Nintendo Switch 2?
Sony will end this gen with nearly a 1billion software sales, there's already a huge market of people who buy and play on playstation and they're invested in that ecosystem. Why would they want to start their portable library from zero?
And I mention PS6 because if this gen had 2 years of heavy cross gen support, next gen will have significantly more, so a PS5 portable will continue to see software support for as long PS5 is supported, which honestly is going to be a very long time. Buy Spiderman 3 for PS6 but play it on the go with your PS5 Portable. If you get a steamdeck, you have to buy that game twice (once sony eventually port it)
PC has had that moniker for years. I was here on the forums when ya'll said we didn't exist, despite us buying the games, and proving validity.
Don't act like we do the same to you (in thinking you don't exist, we know you've always existed). We know you exist and have done so for decades, even before Sony showed up.
"Its pretty simple. Can you transfer and play your PS5 or your PS6 library on a Steam deck or the Nintendo Switch 2?"
I can actually play all my games I've had for years on my PC from different OS ranges, and on my Steam Deck?.
I'm talking about technological advantages, not basic level and expected convenience. Sony would 100% have to allow for BC, because that is an expected and realistic desire most people on the planet have, for just about anything.
That's not a one up above the Steam Deck or even on PC, because that platform has had that advantage on lockdown for decades now. Also Switch 2 is reported to support Switch games, and has it's own ecosystem within it's eshop (Emulation play, older titles digitally held within their store, etc). Xbox already has their own form of BC support and GP.
Like I said, I'm talking about what technological edge could Sony give their handheld, that makes it a "must have" over every other handheld device out there, ands also make it worth paying more than the other devices at the same time. BC is not a trump card when most of your competition has it (especially PC and Steam Deck).
Also no, you don't have to buy spider-man twice to play it on a Steam deck, that's not how this works, Otter, that is you being dishonest.
You're misunderstanding the point. If you buy the PS5 version of a game, you can't play it on your steamdeck, in order to access it on your steam deck you would have to buy the game twice. I'm talking from the perspective of one of Sonys 100m users.
"there's already a huge market of people who buy and play on playstation and they're invested in that ecosystem." This is key to my point
You're reverting back to a console vs PC mindset of asking why not just do the PC thing, a discourse we do not need to get into. For console gamers, sony do not need to do anything technologically unique to stand out over "over every other handheld device out there". It just needs to carry over their PS5 library in a neat portable package and position it to be supported for years to come.
No...no I am not.
You are acting like the Sony ecosystem rules over all, and that is not how this works. On Steam Deck, I own all the games I own on Steam, and can even play games I also happen to own on Battlenet, Origin, GoG and more.
You cannot do that with Sony, you only get Sony's ecosystem, but with Steamdeck, you get to tweak and operate on all of the ones on PC. You can even swap the OS from Linux to Windows, something a Sony system will not allow for (PS3 did at one time, but Sony stripped that choice away from me without consent).
All you are doing here is spouting "Sony ecosystem, Sony ecosystem", as if that is some big bonus, juicy selling point, over the Steam Deck, over STEAM, of all devices and companies.
No I'm not reverting back, Otter, is is YOU, who is reverting back. I asked you what advantage could they POSSIBLY have, and you muttered "Steam Deck can't play Sony stuff/ you need to buy it twice", when I know that is objectively FALSE.
Stop trying tp eddle console warring on me, I am beyond that now. I am objectively looking at WHAT, Sony could possibly offer over the COMPETITION, and I am asking you WHAT can they possibly provide that makes their device a MUST HAVE.
Sony bringing over BC support from PS5 to PS6 is a MUST for Sony, not a juicy "just for you" bonus on some stupid checklist. You should naturally EXPECT Sony to provide BC since the PS1, not having to listen to corporate dreck about how we somehow need to buy the games again and again and again via different stores for the same ecosystem.
I am asking YOU, to step outside your own MENTALITY, to tell me WHY.
If you cannot tell me a simple answer without resorting to trying to trip me up and making it all about some insipid and insignificant console war, then please, don't waste my time. (The console wars are also over, it's the ecosystem wars, not physical boxes, please keep up with the times).
"...you muttered 'Steam Deck can't play Sony stuff/ you need to buy it twice' when I know that is objectively FALSE"
What I specifically said is to play the PS5/6 game you bought on the deck you'd need to buy it twice. So I just bought Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for Black Friday on the PSN store. Now I've purchased the game on PSN will I be able to play that on my steamdeck natively? Or lets look at a game thats on PC. I buy Call of Duty for my PS5 this holiday, do now also own it on my steamdeck?
There's no need to be so riled, especially after the fact you called me dishonest for stating something quite blatantly true lol.
You're asking what Sony's advantage is and I'm painting it out that they have a huge userbase who buys in their ecosystem and to them there is an "Objective" advantage in that shared library. It's not about the PS ecosystem ruling over all, just the unbiased knowledge that it obviously is preferred by a huge & very viable market.
That is where my comment about the console vs PC comes from, we know steam has a unified library across diferent devices but If we're dealing with a predominant console gamer (and there are many), it doesn't matter that steam also offers it if that isn't there predominantly platform.
It may not appeal to you but you didn't phrase your post as a personal query but more a marketing one in how sony will establish the device next to the competition considering they are "late to the market".
Beyond that you'd likely have a more streamlined, cost effective high-end experience for more casual gamers, who do not want to tinker with settings or worry about how specifics games will run. There is likely to be the advantages of more dedicated software support (especially if It literally just runs PS5 code). There are no devices running PS5 performance profiles in portable mode atm, so this is quite literally a device of the future/cutting edge. We'd need to see the actual execution to dissect any further but there is likely no "must have" characteristics of it, just benefits that will appeal to different segments of the market.
You don't need to buy it twice, because you buy the Sony games on Steam to play them on the Steam deck and on PC, that's what you get.
MS offers multiplatform and ecosystem based crossplay, something Sony has yet to actually do, but that's not a Steam/Steam Deck or even a PC problem, that's not my problem, that's Sony's problem for not offering that extended level of reach.
There's no advantage to be had when MS is the one offering multiple ways to play their game, and Sony limiting themselves to splitting their sectors into two, while also actively blocking multiple regions. Again, that is not my issue, not my fault, that is Sony's own fault by their own design., and that is not an advantage, but a weakness, a pitfall.
You keep saying "huge userbase", but that's not a technological advantage, or even an ecosystem-based one. There are far, far more users out there on PC and even mobile devices, than there are on the PS5, and the yet to be released, PS6.
There is no "objective advantage" with 2 or even 3 Sony based system BC, not when MS has BC, when Nintendo has it now in two forms (emulation and Switch 2 will enforce BC with Switch 1), and when Steam Deck has the vast library of games, and clients at it's disposal.
You saying "it doesn't matter", is the problem, because you're ignoring the growth of the competing platforms, and trying to prop up Sony like it's some end all to be all, while using mirror arguments as if that counters what I've been trying to tell you (I know you're going to fling what I just said right back at me, because it's within your type of character to do so, I know psychological profiles, I know how certain people think and act, I'm not stupid).
I phrased what I originally said in a way that appeals to everyone and those who were previously within their ecosystem (like myself, someone who was there since the PS1 days, up to the PS3). You are acting like I cannot ever be appealed to, nor should I be, and honestly, that's wrong-think to even suggest or entertain as a thought.
You know how modern day streamlining is right?. It's not cheap as chips, bug super powerful as you like to think. Look at the Switch, it still has to run with caps and resolution restraints. Yes the Deck can do that, but people are given the option to tweak resolutions, voltages and overclocking, and you don't get that with a "streamlined" experience, you get capped, you get what Sony says you will get, not what you want (and if you want less, then I honestly don't know what to tell you, besides thinking for yourself, not what a company wants).
The device isn't even out yet and you're already hamming it up as supreme and "cutting-edge", and there's been no specs or any testing done, which is why I feel like you're the one letting the inner fan control your viewpoint of this, rather than looking at the whole picture in a more realistic and logical manner (you know, actually asking questions, instead of answering them on Sony's behalf, because you do not ever need to do that).
Yes, because the natural expectation of modern gaming is to be able to access the games you've purchased over the years
The fact consoles have only just decided in the past deacde; "hey, we should really work on BC, instead of making different digital mini ecosystems every console gen", because now that doesn't make logical business sense, it makes sense to have an evergreen and ongoing, long-lasting ecosystem.
PC has had that advantage for decades, which is why it's gotten so far ahead, hence that being one outright advantage. Consoles have swapped for custom unique parts to being more like a PC, and now the same is happening with their own ecosystems.
This is why I find the console warring to be nonsense today, because at the end of the day, consoles are becoming akin to a PC, and eventually they will drop the plastic closed box model altogether, as the ecosystems eventually outgrow the need for said boxes (that's just how existential growth works over long periods of time.
No... Vita had its own dedicated library lol
Ah yes, we've come full circle. Before the Switch it was "handhelds are dead everyone just plays mobile games on there phone" to now everyone and there grandma has to have a portable gaming device.
As someone who thoroughly enjoyed my DS and GBA back in the day, im all for it. Switch and Steam Deck have been great affordable options.
I think this is a great decision. Switch 2 is likely coming with good enough specs to run a good amount of third party games handheld mode. So a good way to tackle this is release a handheld that can run your already existing library. This way you get the convenience of portability, and the power of running the same games on your PS5
I don't think it's a huge market for it (maybe 20-30 million copies), but I can see the appeal. If the price is coeherent I might end buying to play outside home
really when is hardly anything to even play on it
I suppose they're deciding to go for broke and far exceed Steam Deck in performance, which doesn't bode well for pricing.
A PS Portable that has superior specs to a PS4 Pro with support for all non-VR PS4 games and a selection of PS5 games would be cool.
I don't think we'll ever get a third PlayStation handheld because Nintendo is pretty much the only one left thanks to Pokemon keeping Nintendo handhelds viable.
"Working on" meaning its 2-3 years away minimum lol
Certainly cool, buy I'll be ready for a PS6 at that point and playing Switch 2 in the meantime.
The portal has been a great option for the time being though.
I've been liking things going to PC so not sure I like this move. Would have preferred Nintendo start releasing on PC rather than this development...
Why not just turn the PS portal into a proper hand held PS5, its already on the market just improve it.
The thing doesn't have a GPU.
You can't OS update a handheld into a PS5
It would change so much that it wouldn't be the same device. It wouldn't make sense unless they kept some of the branding (which would be confusing) and call it PS Portal Ultimate or something like that.
Portal Pro
