It looks like Sony is eager to return to the handheld gaming market after the surprise success of the PS Portal.
According to a Bloomberg report, Sony is developing a new handheld gaming console that will allow gamers to play PlayStation 5 games without being tethered to the internet or console.
The website reports Sony is making the console to rival Nintendo, which currently dominates the handheld gaming market, with the Nintendo Switch and its successor, rumored to be arriving in 2025, will only cement that dominance. Microsoft is also currently making its own handheld gaming device, which is a “few years out,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer revealed.
Portable PC gaming consoles, such as Valve’s Steam Deck and Asus’ ROG Ally, have also made great strides in the handheld gaming market.
PlayStation is looking to build off the success of the PS Portal, the eight-inch gaming device that steams PS5 games via the cloud over Wi-Fi, and the PS5 console’s remote play feature. Bloomberg reports that Sony originally intended for the PS Portal to be a standalone device to expand PlayStation’s gaming audience.
If this is the case, it will mark PlayStation’s return to a territory that it is very familiar with thanks to previous devices, the PSP (PlayStation Portable), and its successor, the PS Vita.
Social Media Is Smelling What Sony Is Cooking
Gamers have been reacting to this news because, believe it or not, plenty of people out there, like Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller, have been screaming at Sony to drop a follow-up to the PS Vita.
— Greg Miller (@gameovergreggy.bsky.social) 2024-11-25T03:27:18.153Z
Well, that day is currently far away. Until Sony officially drops the bomb, you can peep more reactions to the rumored new PlayStation handheld device in the gallery below.