Handheld devices are clearly continuing to make a huge comeback, and now even Sony is reportedly working on a proper, non-cloud-based portable console.
Where Nintendo goes, others follow. It's a story as old as time, in fact, that goes back to Nintendo and Sony teaming up to make a console that never came to fruition (or, well, a collaboration that never came to fruition, anyway). Sony apparently followed up with the PSP after years of Nintendo success in the handheld market, and while it did well, the PS Vita underperformed, leading Sony to withdraw from portable console gaming until the arrival of PS Portal last year. The game only runs via the cloud, though, which means you'll need a good internet connection to play it. In addition to what Bloomberg is now reporting, Sony is apparently working on a new handheld computer that you can take anywhere and you can even play PS5 games on it.
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Sony is looking to expand its reach and apparently compete with Nintendo and its control of the portable console market, according to comments from people familiar with the project. The idea is also to counter a potential Xbox handheld device that Microsoft is developing (as Phil Spencer recently confirmed ). However, don't expect to play it anytime soon, as reports indicate it could still be years away from release, and there's still a chance Sony decides not to release it.
Bloomberg also said that people interviewed claimed that the PS Portal was originally intended to work like Valve's Steam Deck, a standalone unit that can play games without being connected to the Internet, but did not provide any reason as to why it ended up going the way it did. Cloud-based route.
Rumors about a dedicated handheld device from Sony have been around for a while, which really isn't surprising considering the Switch's popularity. But if it's designed for playing PS5 games, I can only assume it will be a digital-only console like the Steam Deck. Sony is clearly going the digital-only route, as the base PS5 Pro doesn't come with a disc reader, so you might want to brace yourself for that switch.
