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[Rumor][Grain of Salt] Sony might be working on a new PlayStation handheld that can run PS4 titles

Deets via Angie from the purple forum:

Russian journalist Anton Logvinov, who was the first or one of the first to say earlier that Sony would release its games on PC, said today that Sony is preparing a new PSP for release and PS4 games will be available on it.

He talks about PS4 games that are already available on PC and compatible with Steam Deck.

Here's a better translation of the linked telegram post provided by another user on the purple forum:

Кстати, могу подтвердить, что Sony готовит к релизу новую PSP, но бля - там в стартовой линейке только PS4 игры, которые в общем-то доступны на ПК, а значит и на SteamDeck. Торговые сети, кстати, довольно скептичеки настроены. Либо Sony что-то совсем, либо пока хранят секреты от партнеров. "

"By the way, I can confirm that Sony is preparing a new PSP for release, but damn - there are only PS4 games in the launch lineup, which are generally available on PC, and therefore on SteamDeck. Retail chains, by the way, are quite sceptical. Either Sony is doing something completely, or they are still keeping secrets from their partners."

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Someone smarter than me tell me what the point of this is. We are halfway through the PS5 generation, forget the Pro, the PS6 is inching closer and they are making a handheld to run games from 2 gens ago? Huh?
If it's supposedly running PS4 games natively, then I guess that PS5 games will be streamed. There's def a potential market with this considering that the PS Portal has sold above expectations, and that's just a remote play device (which is great for what it does, btw).
 
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jm89

Member
Too little too late. Just like consoles, locked down handhelds have been made redundant by the open PC landscape. Even with great performance at $399, I'd still stick with what's already available.
No it isn't lol.

Might be hard to imagine if you live in a bubble but there are over 100million+ playstation gamers that this device could be sold to.
 
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Klosshufvud

Member
No it isn't lol.

Might be hard to imagine if you live in a bubble but there are over 100million+ playstation gamers that this device could be sold to.
I was more talking in personal/enthusiast terms. But even from a casual perspective, we've seen Sony drop the ball from what was considered certain top selling hardware. The casuals may not care and enthusiasts would opt for something less restricted.
 
This was reported by Moore's Law is Dead months ago.

That it would play all PS4 games and some PS5 games on a game-to-game basis. Basically, it would play PS4 games natively like the PS5 does, but when it came to PS5 games, developers would need to release a new scaled-down version similar to the Series S.

So it wouldn't be just PS4 games.

This makes sense since the vast majority of games are cross-gen. Most of the true PS5 exclusives that have already been released are Sony games or Square Enix games that Sony paid for exclusively. If Sony released a handheld, Square would probably patch these games for greater exposure in Japan.

Net new games would probably be required to support it for certification, just as it is required that they support PS5 Pro.
 
I was more talking in personal/enthusiast terms. But even from a casual perspective, we've seen Sony drop the ball from what was considered certain top selling hardware. The casuals may not care and enthusiasts would opt for something less restricted.

Personal sure, but definitely not enthusiast terms.

Lots of hardcore fans want a PlayStation handheld. And one that doesn't require unique games, ensures the hardware will always be supported.

Poor take on your part. This would sell significantly better than any PC handheld.
 

jm89

Member
I was more talking in personal/enthusiast terms. But even from a casual perspective, we've seen Sony drop the ball from what was considered certain top selling hardware. The casuals may not care and enthusiasts would opt for something less restricted.
No doubt that casuals probably won't care, can't see this doing anything close to switch numbers ever.

But i'd think this is more for keeping people within ps ecosystem for those who have been tempted by steam deck.

I'd think will sell it at a profit and keep those who want a handheld happy.

Also it gives them some footing in the japanese market.
 
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Ozriel

M$FT
First party PS4 ports won’t really sell since the bulk of the fanbase has already played them, and Sony will struggle to provide first party support on this for ongoing games.

It would have a chance in a world where Nintendo didn’t make a Switch 2…but this (likely hypothetical) device would be a flop. Especially in a world where Sony’s live service games would be playable on the next gen Steamdeck and Windows handhelds day one.
 
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Someone smarter than me tell me what the point of this is. We are halfway through the PS5 generation, forget the Pro, the PS6 is inching closer and they are making a handheld to run games from 2 gens ago? Huh?

A Sony handheld doesn't have to be on the same release cadence as the PS6. PS5 games will continue to be made for the next 10 years. See my posts about this handheld running PS4 games natively, but scaled down patched PS5 games. All of these games that release on PS6 for more than the first half of its life cycle are still going to be PS5 games.

First party PS4 ports won’t really sell since the bulk of the fanbase has already played them, and Sony will struggle to provide first party support on this for ongoing games.

It would have a chance in a world where Nintendo didn’t make a Switch 2…but this (likely hypothetical) device would be a flop. Especially in a world where Sony’s live service games would be playable on the next gen Steamdeck and Windows handhelds day one.

Not sure where you got the idea of PS4 Ports, but you're missing the big picture here, which is that most of the best selling games are GaaS.

What are the most popular games in the Japanese PS Store right now? GaaS.

Genshin Impact, which is a PS4/PS5 title is the most popular game and it isn't on Switch. The same is true of Honkai Star Rail. Goes similarly for games like Street Fighter 6 and Elden Ring.

People continue to overrate the sales of the Steamdeck. A device that doesn't sell to retail because PC games are 100% digital.

If Sony is able to produce a device that is more powerful than the Switch 2 and priced pretty similarly, they absolutely have an opportunity to compete. If the Switch 2 costs 400, Sony can probably get away with 450.
 
Someone smarter than me tell me what the point of this is. We are halfway through the PS5 generation, forget the Pro, the PS6 is inching closer and they are making a handheld to run games from 2 gens ago? Huh?
Why not? We had yesterday the info that half of all Sony users are still on PS4. So not even a clear majority have moved on.
The portal seems to have sold well or is still selling well? With some Switch fantasies in some suit's mind, greenlighting an outdated device where you do not have to invest any money in new games, seems pretty risk free.
This should imho have happened instead of that shallow device or alongside it. A remote player that also can handle previous gen is imho a much better value proposition than a crippled tablet that has the Dualsense integrated, which is on the same price level as just buying any cheap tablet and a Dualsense, while not losing their versatility.
All PS4 games anyway have to (should) be Vita remote 540p compatible. So the work that has to be done is really just make it compatible and all games are set to go. So this should be less effort than porting to PC and expanding their own plattform and adding some sales.
Especially Japan might be a market for it. And a then possible PS4 Mini might also sell in places where a PS5 is much too expensive. I think PS3s are doing okay in some markets. No gangbusters numbers, but establshing the brand in poor countries.
 

midnightAI

Member
This was reported by Moore's Law is Dead months ago.

That it would play all PS4 games and some PS5 games on a game-to-game basis. Basically, it would play PS4 games natively like the PS5 does, but when it came to PS5 games, developers would need to release a new scaled-down version similar to the Series S.

So it wouldn't be just PS4 games.

This makes sense since the vast majority of games are cross-gen. Most of the true PS5 exclusives that have already been released are Sony games or Square Enix games that Sony paid for exclusively. If Sony released a handheld, Square would probably patch these games for greater exposure in Japan.

Net new games would probably be required to support it for certification, just as it is required that they support PS5 Pro.
And it would be able to stream PS5 games directly from PS5 and Pro as does the Portal
 

ShaiKhulud1989

Gold Member
Антон Логвинов? Хахахаха, отличная шутка, Неогаф!

He's a shitsource and famed clown here in CIS and Russian-speaking sphere. Just ignore him entirely even if it's true to some extent.
 

Bojanglez

The Amiga Brotherhood
Too little too late. Just like consoles, locked down handhelds have been made redundant by the open PC landscape. Even with great performance at $399, I'd still stick with what's already available.
I'd still buy one. I have a catalogue of hundreds of PS4 titles that I could play, and it would also probably be useful for remote play and online streaming PS5 games.
 

Klosshufvud

Member
A Sony handheld doesn't have to be on the same release cadence as the PS6. PS5 games will continue to be made for the next 10 years. See my posts about this handheld running PS4 games natively, but scaled down patched PS5 games. All of these games that release on PS6 for more than the first half of its life cycle are still going to be PS5 games.



Not sure where you got the idea of PS4 Ports, but you're missing the big picture here, which is that most of the best selling games are GaaS.

What are the most popular games in the Japanese PS Store right now? GaaS.

Genshin Impact, which is a PS4/PS5 title is the most popular game and it isn't on Switch. The same is true of Honkai Star Rail. Goes similarly for games like Street Fighter 6 and Elden Ring.

People continue to overrate the sales of the Steamdeck. A device that doesn't sell to retail because PC games are 100% digital.

If Sony is able to produce a device that is more powerful than the Switch 2 and priced pretty similarly, they absolutely have an opportunity to compete. If the Switch 2 costs 400, Sony can probably get away with 450.
A Sony handheld having any chance of competing with a Switch 2? Now look who's doing the poor takes. The Vita sold like 10 million. This one won't even come close to that. GAAS games like Genshin are already playable on mobile and you're delusional if you think the people who play ER/SF6 on PS5 will be interested to play that same game in handheld form. Sony already made that faulty assumption once. Expect another low effort product like PS Portal, but this time game runs natively through some x64-ARM translation layer.
 

midnightAI

Member
A Sony handheld having any chance of competing with a Switch 2? Now look who's doing the poor takes. The Vita sold like 10 million. This one won't even come close to that. GAAS games like Genshin are already playable on mobile and you're delusional if you think the people who play ER/SF6 on PS5 will be interested to play that same game in handheld form. Sony already made that faulty assumption once. Expect another low effort product like PS Portal, but this time game runs natively through some x64-ARM translation layer.
Just curious, why do you think Portal is low effort?
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
Now this is interesting . This maybe lead to new era of developer stop obsess with high end graphic and scale back to last gen level so development game wont take 10 years to come out .

That didn’t happen with Switch, and Switch was the best selling console.
 

chilichote

Member
If I can use my PS4 library, I'm in! PC support and possibly slimmed down PS5 games would also be welcome, but not necessary^^
 
A Sony handheld having any chance of competing with a Switch 2? Now look who's doing the poor takes. The Vita sold like 10 million. This one won't even come close to that. GAAS games like Genshin are already playable on mobile and you're delusional if you think the people who play ER/SF6 on PS5 will be interested to play that same game in handheld form. Sony already made that faulty assumption once. Expect another low effort product like PS Portal, but this time game runs natively through some x64-ARM translation layer.

  • The PSP sold over 80 million units.
  • Attributing the Vita's failure without the reasons for its failure is poor analysis
  • Not everyone wants to play video games on their phone
  • Delusional if I think people want to play ER/SF6 on a handheld? Are you going to top that off with some reasoning?
  • Another assumption you've made with zero basis.
 

MayauMiao

Member
I think its impossible for the price and size.

Look what happened to PlayStation Portal, can't make that unit to be affordable and we suppose to believe they can achieve PS4 level tech on a handheld?
 

Klosshufvud

Member
Just curious, why do you think Portal is low effort?
It's a streaming tablet with PS controllers lazily attached to the sides. Might aswell just hook your Dualsense to an old tablet lying around.

  • The PSP sold over 80 million units.
  • Attributing the Vita's failure without the reasons for its failure is poor analysis
  • Not everyone wants to play video games on their phone
  • Delusional if I think people want to play ER/SF6 on a handheld? Are you going to top that off with some reasoning?
  • Another assumption you've made with zero basis.
The PSP sold over 80m and Walkman sold even more. Times change. Or do you think we still watch movies on DVD format?
The Vita failed not because it was a poor handheld. It was a great handheld. It's just that Sony overestimated that niche in a post mobile/digital world. I owned a Vita and loved it but it was obvious the masses didn't care for AAA games on the go at that point. CoD, Ass Creed and Uncharted all failed on Vita.
Well you said yourself Steam Deck sales are low. SF6 and Elden Ring play great on that device. With your reasoning, SD should have sold 80m and counting. Or the Rog Ally, which is sold in stores and sometimes sold for really cheap.
So plenty of basis to all my claims. Take it how you will.
 
The PSP sold over 80m and Walkman sold even more. Times change. Or do you think we still watch movies on DVD format?

So your argument is the handheld format is obsolete? Then how do you explain the Switch sales?

The Vita failed not because it was a poor handheld. It was a great handheld. It's just that Sony overestimated that niche in a post mobile/digital world. I owned a Vita and loved it but it was obvious the masses didn't care for AAA games on the go at that point. CoD, Ass Creed and Uncharted all failed on Vita.

Again, how do you explain Switch sales?

Well you said yourself Steam Deck sales are low. SF6 and Elden Ring play great on that device. With your reasoning, SD should have sold 80m and counting. Or the Rog Ally, which is sold in stores and sometimes sold for really cheap.
So plenty of basis to all my claims. Take it how you will.

Steam deck sales are low because the device isn't sold at retail. It's online only. Why is it online only? Because the games are only sold digitally.

You're absolutely not good at this. And your strawman is laughable.

Not sure which retailers you think carry the ROG Ally, but it certainly isn't widely available or in any significant quantities.
 
Strange. I guess it is going to be some PC-like device PS4 games restricted or something?

Though Portal was also a strange device.
 
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Mokus

Member
If the PlayStation PC ports will work on the Steam Deck, not much of a reason to do it anymore. They should have done it sooner.
 

ManaByte

Gold Member
Very interesting. May be a smart move, and ultimately being able to target Arm would also allow them to potentially launch their store on iOS and Android in future.

The next Xbox and PS6 are going to be ARM based. They saw what Apple did and want that power.
 
Yes there is.

Those who are on the playstation ecosystem who will be able to play their backlog of games and possibly future supported titles on a handheld without having to rely on remote play.

Why is this so hard to grasp?

There are people placing the Steam deck on a pedestal even though it has no physical media and thus no avenue to sell in retail.

These are the same people who continue to push the steam ecosystem as the premier ecosystem and don't address any of its shortcomings.
 
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