PlayStation seems to have been looking for a true handheld console for years. Now it seems to have the weapons to beat the Nintendo Switch.
Sony is rumored to be in the early stages of developing a new console. This should make PlayStation 5 games playable on the go. A new competitor to the Nintendo Switch, in other words.
This is a different device than the PlayStation Portal. On this you can only stream games. However, the new device should also allow offline PlayStation 5 games.
Will this new PlayStation be the tease for the Nintendo Switch?
With the PlayStation Portal, Sony is all too eager to compete with the Nintendo Switch. Until recently, it hit the mark because you could only stream from your own PlayStation. Now that’s better settled, as you can also stream without having to have your PlayStation 5 on.
Still, there is a big difference with the Nintendo Switch: that console allows offline play. As a result, the PlayStation Portal will never win the battle for the best handheld. But Sony is not giving up and wants to develop a new PlayStation handheld.
The Portal. (Image: Sony)
The news comes from the reliable medium Bloomberg. Still, it seems we will have to wait a long time for the console. At the very least, it will be years before the portable PlayStation hits the market. Since the project is still in its early stages, it may even not come at all.
Still, the report already gives an idea of what to expect. Sony would like to build on the design of the PlayStation Portal. The company hopes the Portal will become a full-fledged competitor to the Steam Deck. But then that streaming feature has to work flawlessly first.
Can Sony really take on Nintendo?
A handheld console that can run completely offline is next. Should Sony actually succeed, it could offer serious competition to the Nintendo Switch. After all, PlayStation has a good number of exclusives that are of interest to a wide audience. If the new console also offers better hardware, it could cause people to switch.
Still, we need to see what Sony is really capable of first. As mentioned earlier, it will be years before this PlayStation is ready. By then, the Nintendo Switch 2 will probably be long and widely available. Moreover, previous Sony handhelds, such as the Vita, never went as fast as Nintendo’s. However, competition is always good: it keeps the Super Mario maker on their toes and prevents them from resting on their laurels.
