Sony working on Switch-like PlayStation handheld: report

Sony is working on a handheld that can play PlayStation 5 games, according to Bloomberg.

While the publication provides little in the way of specifications or features, it describes the device as a rival to Nintendo’s own console-handheld hybrid, the Nintendo Switch. That dual functionality has been so popular that it’s helped the Switch become one of the best-selling gaming systems of all time, with Nintendo being expected to revisit it with its next console.

Given all of this, it would appear that Sony’s rumoured device would be a dedicated gaming device that can play software natively. This would be a major step up from the PlayStation Portal that Sony launched last year, which can only play games via an internet connection. For the past year, the handheld has only been able to stream games from a PS5, although Sony recently added cloud functionality for select titles.

As Bloomberg notes, Microsoft also recently confirmed that it’s developing its own Xbox gaming handheld, although that’s a few years away at least. The publication adds that Sony’s reported handheld is also years out and that the company could ultimately decide to not move forward with it.

Sony’s last dedicated handheld, the Vita, was a commercial disappointment, only selling an estimated 10 to 15 million units in its lifetime, per analysts. For context, its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), sold over 80 million units. Therefore, there was never any certainty that Sony would revisit the handheld market. Of course, that landscape has changed now, with not only the Switch doing so well but PC handhelds like the Steam Deck proving rather popular as well. Presumably, Sony (not to mention Microsoft) wants a piece of that pie.

It would also help diversify PlayStation’s product offerings. As Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently stated, the console market isn’t growing anymore, so publishers need to find new ways to reach consumers. For Xbox, that’s meant focusing more on Xbox Cloud Gaming, its Game Pass service that streams to console, PC, mobile and smart TVs. PlayStation, meanwhile, has recently embraced PC gaming in a major way while also adapting many of its games into shows and movies, including Uncharted, The Last of Us and Twisted Metal. The company also recently formed a mobile games division, although we haven’t heard more on that front.

It remains to be seen what will come out of these rumoured handhelds.

Source: Bloomberg