Support NeoGAF

[midnightAI]

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.

You see, I never really understood this train of thought...
You may not own a tablet
It's more convenient to have the controllers attached (what if you are on a bus, in a car, lying in bed)
Most other gaming handhelds have awful ergonomics on the controller side of things
Here you get not just the ergonomics but also ALL of the features of the dual sense
As for streaming, yeh, it's a companion device for the PS5, it's always been marketed as that, which, by the way, will be forward compatible with the PS5 Pro and PS6

So is it lazy/low effort or is it really smart design choices? (Hint: it's the latter, obviously)

 

[Roronoa Zoro]

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.

Ok but what if I told you it can run your whole psn library and carried cross progression and trophies for your ps4/5 library? C'mon hot shots golf is on PSN these days and you can work on that platinum trophy!

 

[Mr Reasonable]

You see, I never really understood this train of thought...
You may not own a tablet
It's more convenient to have the controllers attached (what if you are on a bus, in a car, lying in bed)
Most other gaming handhelds have awful ergonomics on the controller side of things
Here you get not just the ergonomics but also ALL of the features of the dual sense
As for streaming, yeh, it's a companion device for the PS5, it's always been marketed as that, which, by the way, will be forward compatible with the PS5 Pro and PS6

So is it lazy/low effort or is it really smart design choices? (Hint: it's the latter, obviously)

It's bafflingly popular to me. I'm with Klosshufvud . If the top of the list of arguments for a product is "you may not already have something that can already do this" then it's probably not really doing anything that much better.

If you don't have a tablet or a Portal, but you do have a Dual Sense, then you could get a tablet for less/the same money and get all the features of a tablet too.

 

[midnightAI]

It's bafflingly popular to me. I'm with Klosshufvud . If the top of the list of arguments for a product is "you may not already have something that can already do this" then it's probably not really doing anything that much better.

It's not the top of the list, it's at the top there because his argument was that you can already do it with your own tablet. I was responding to his post so only listed things he thought was a reason not to get one.

So, yes, you can use an existing tablet, but a tablet and controller is nowhere near as convenient, convenience and ergonomics are at the top of my list but others may have different reasons for liking it

Oh, and I have kids, it means they can play on the thing in their rooms while I watch TV.

 

[StereoVsn]

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.

For PC side, Steam has very few shortcomings. You can sell Steam games in retail as well, and some still do, albeit a small minority. You can’t resell them though.

For this particular handheld though, sales will heavily depend on the price and feature set.

Maybe such a device could natively play say PS1, PS2 (classics or PS4 ports), PS3 (one can dream), PSP (one can dream 2.0), Vita (yeah, that’s a bit delusional), and PS4 games while being able to stream PS5 locally or from the cloud.

I think the above would have some sales potential. And after a few years new version could be released that could natively play PS5 games (once hardware is available and reasonably priced).

 

[Ozriel]

Not sure where you got the idea of PS4 Ports, but you're missing the big picture here,

PS4 ports is literally one of the first things mentioned in the OP

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.

And going forward, not a single one of these will skip the Switch 2. Many will get ported.

There’s no feasible chance of Street Fighter 6 not being a launch title on Switch 2, for example.

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

Sales of the Steamdeck and other competitors will continue to grow, and the next gen versions will likely put the power of a Series S in your hands.
Guaranteed PC ports - including PlayStation’s GaaS games day one - and all PlayStation PC ports will suck up a significant amount of western buyers who would have ordinarily picked up a PlayStation handheld.

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.

It’d get absolutely cooked by the Switch 2 in Japan, and even globally since the Switch 2 would certainly be powerful and successful enough to get ports of the vast majority of third party games for quite a while. And while the Deck et al aren’t really drawing sales off the Switch, it would be a different discussion for a Sony handheld.


But who knows?

 

[Ozriel]

I think the above would have some sales potential. And after a few years new version could be released that could natively play PS5 games (once hardware is available and reasonably priced).

Given Sony’s more recent PC strategy, we’d likely already have handhelds that can natively play the majority of the PS5 library by that time via Steam.

 

[BaldingAshCrimson]

I would get one for sure, even though I 100% understand people's opinions here that it is unnecessary or too little loo late.

There are a lot of great games on the PS4 that I would like to play on the go.

If it's somehow backwards compatible with past consoles, even better!

 

[StereoVsn]

Given Sony’s more recent PC strategy, we’d likely already have handhelds that can natively play the majority of the PS5 library by that time via Steam.

That’s certainly possible but if that’s the case Sony won’t be releasing any handheld now since what’s the point?

 

[nial]

Maybe such a device could natively play say PS1, PS2 (classics or PS4 ports), PS3 (one can dream), PSP (one can dream 2.0), Vita (yeah, that’s a bit delusional), and PS4 games while being able to stream PS5 locally or from the cloud.

One can dream? You can already play PSP games on PS4 and PS5, lol.

 

[deriks]

Can run PS4 titles, so still can run recent games. Nice

 

[Mibu no ookami]

For PC side, Steam has very few shortcomings. You can sell Steam games in retail as well, and some still do, albeit a small minority. You can’t resell them though.

It's beyond rare.

For this particular handheld though, sales will heavily depend on the price and feature set.

Agreed

Maybe such a device could natively play say PS1, PS2 (classics or PS4 ports), PS3 (one can dream), PSP (one can dream 2.0), Vita (yeah, that’s a bit delusional), and PS4 games while being able to stream PS5 locally or from the cloud.

I think you are overstating the value of PS1-3 games.

I think the above would have some sales potential. And after a few years new version could be released that could natively play PS5 games (once hardware is available and reasonably priced).

The vast majority of people don't care about these games.

I think an upgraded model that plays native PS5 games and scaled-down PS6 games would be an obvious iteration and essentially keeps the platform going.

PS4 ports is literally one of the first things mentioned in the OP

Maybe you don't know what a port is. This would play PS4 games natively.

And going forward, not a single one of these will skip the Switch 2. Many will get ported.

This is entirely made up.

There’s no feasible chance of Street Fighter 6 not being a launch title on Switch 2, for example.

Even if it is, what would make SF6 sell on the Switch 2 rather than a PS Handheld, especially if the PS Handheld plays the game better.

Sales of the Steamdeck and other competitors will continue to grow, and the next gen versions will likely put the power of a Series S in your hands.
Guaranteed PC ports - including PlayStation’s GaaS games day one - and all PlayStation PC ports will suck up a significant amount of western buyers who would have ordinarily picked up a PlayStation handheld.

A PlayStation Handheld is in the exact same situation. With Xbox bringing over games to PlayStation and there not being a real competitor to the PS5 moving forward and likely the PS6, all games are going to be developed for it and thus a PlayStation handheld.

Again the difference is that one is going to be sold in retail and the other isn't.

It’d get absolutely cooked by the Switch 2 in Japan, and even globally since the Switch 2 would certainly be powerful and successful enough to get ports of the vast majority of third party games for quite a while. And while the Deck et al aren’t really drawing sales off the Switch, it would be a different discussion for a Sony handheld.

I remember a time when Sony and Nintendo released similarly powerful systems with similar prices and who came out on top. What the Switch 2 won't have is Sony titles and vice versa, but it will probably have the edge on power.

People should stop assuming the Switch 2 will simply sell as well as the Switch without accounting for price and without the sales momentum of the Switch, it's absolutely fair game for competition from a PlayStation handheld, especially one with a better built up library of 3rd party support.

 

[Klosshufvud]

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



Again, how do you explain Switch sales?



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.

Switch appeals to a market of kids and non-gamers with uber casual games like Pokémon and Animal Crossing. It's its own entity, as proven a million times how Nintendo seems immune to general market trends. The PSP/Vita was geared towards a similar audience that plays on Playstation consoles. But for Vita it didn't pan out at all since that audience was already consuming portable media other ways (mainly smartphones).

Rog Ally is absolutely widely available both retail and online, NA and EU alike. Your entire point on SD not dominating was that it was online sold only which is easily debunked with Rog/Legion Go not outselling it. And SD games being digital only (also false claim) have nothing to do with how Valve chooses to sell it. Same way PS5 digital isn't online exclusive item.

I think you're fairly clueless what you're talking about and you've resorted to the good old strawman cope in absense of proper facts to reply with.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Switch appeals to a market of kids and non-gamers with uber casual games like Pokémon and Animal Crossing. It's its own entity, as proven a million times how Nintendo seems immune to general market trends. The PSP/Vita was geared towards a similar audience that plays on Playstation consoles. But for Vita it didn't pan out at all since that audience was already consuming portable media other ways (mainly smartphones).

That is a complete farce. Nintendo has successes and it has failures.

Why did the Wii U fail? The Wii U also had Pokemon and Animal Crossing. You think kids and non-gamers don't have smartphones?

You think smartphone gaming is equivalent to ps handheld gaming? Let me let you in on a hint, they're not the same games. Look at the games that were most successful on PSP. Those games aren't what is selling on smartphones. You've simply made up that analysis with no facts.

Rog Ally is absolutely widely available both retail and online, NA and EU alike. Your entire point on SD not dominating was that it was online sold only which is easily debunked with Rog/Legion Go not outselling it. And SD games being digital only (also false claim) have nothing to do with how Valve chooses to sell it. Same way PS5 digital isn't online exclusive item.

Which retailers?

I think you're fairly clueless what you're talking about and you've resorted to the good old strawman cope in absense of proper facts to reply with.

the irony...

 

[daclynk]

 

[Klosshufvud]

That is a complete farce. Nintendo has successes and it has failures.

Why did the Wii U fail? The Wii U also had Pokemon and Animal Crossing. You think kids and non-gamers don't have smartphones?

You think smartphone gaming is equivalent to ps handheld gaming? Let me let you in on a hint, they're not the same games. Look at the games that were most successful on PSP. Those games aren't what is selling on smartphones. You've simply made up that analysis with no facts.



Which retailers?



the irony...

The Wii U was not a handheld. It was a home console with the worst naming convention ever (until Phil Spencer decided to name Xbox like car models). Nintendo handhelds are consistently high sellers due to reliable software that appeals to a certain demographic that can't find those experiences elsewhere. Compared to Vita where C, CoD and Uncharted were "just lesser versions of a game I can play on console" and for those people that did not care about quality, there was smartphones offering similar games for free. The PSP was successful because in many ways it was a smartphone before smartphones happened.

In Scandinavia, every major retailrr carries Rog Ally. In NA, I know for certain that atleast Best Buy and WalMart carry it.

Robot or human?

Store availability seems to have done little to propel Ally past Steam Deck.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

F*ck I'll buy one, having a PC as handheld is awesome but let's be real, is not the most efficient way to extract power from that machines. A portable with a custom OS and API, and direct access to the PS4 library, and their own ports? Better still, a device that I can enter a local store and buy? I'm in.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

The Wii U was not a handheld. It was a home console with the worst naming convention ever (until Phil Spencer decided to name Xbox like car models). Nintendo handhelds are consistently high sellers due to reliable software that appeals to a certain demographic that can't find those experiences elsewhere. Compared to Vita where C, CoD and Uncharted were "just lesser versions of a game I can play on console" and for those people that did not care about quality, there was smartphones offering similar games for free. The PSP was successful because in many ways it was a smartphone before smartphones happened.

• So why did the 3DS sell worse than the 2DS but the Switch sold better than the 3DS, despite the rise of smartphones
• Again, you're applying a weakness for the Vita that wouldn't apply here. This would be the same games on console but on a handheld.
• PSP was successful because it let you play the closest thing to console games on handheld at the time. It petered out due to a lack of support in the end
  • Again the games that released on the PSP are not what sells on smartphones today, you're simply making it up

In Scandinavia, every major retailrr carries Rog Ally. In NA, I know for certain that atleast Best Buy and WalMart carry it.
Robot or human?
Store availability seems to have done little to propel Ally past Steam Deck.

Oh, the bastion of retail and the cornerstone to Switch sales, Scandinavia...

Best Buy has it in very limited quantities as I mentioned and Walmart doesn't carry it in retail stores as far as I know

 

[SaintALia]

Cool, another product with potential that's gonna be hamstrung by dumb decisions and restrictions, then slowly stifled by neglect and no support when it doesn't fly off the shelves. Yeah, I'm SOOOOOO looking forward to that.

Also, a PS4 games machine could be cool. But I'm guessing you wont be able to just buy and play PS4 games, they'll just resell them to you and you won't be able to cloudstream PS5 games or even stream them at all from the PS5.' I don't know how many people are looking for a PS4 only portable, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere. All the better to ignore them crying when it inevitably fails......but I'll probably get one anyway...

 

[Radical_3d]

Is the technology even there? Is not the same to have a 2TF portable machine than to have one that runs with all the specs and speed of a previously 250w system. I am seriously asking, I don’t keep up with portable hardware.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

That would make the PS Portal even less relevant.

 

[KiteGr]

It will be called Steam Deck 2.

 

[marquimvfs]

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.

That makes more sense than a PS5 pro. Me wants.

 

[Fake]

PS4 portable would be great. PS4 catalogue is impressive and most of the games run between 1080p and 900p, so a 720p screen should be a killer device.

 

[El Muerto]

That's cool. But are they going to support it like they did the Vita, PStv, PSVR2? Knowing their cheap asses they will make us buy our PS4 games all over again to play them on the handheld, with no vita/psp backwards compatibility.

 

[Astray]

Not surprising to me that PS (and Xbox if they do go through with new hardware) are targeting handhelds, the Switch has proven that high-powered handhelds are a blue ocean, to the point of taking an entire territory for themselves (Japan).

Re: ARM: Thermals have become a major concern with traditional SoCs, which adds to materials cost and makes selling a device harder. Not to mention the size needed to cram in so much cooling.

ARM is the future of computing and I wouldn't be surprised to see more and more hardware designers go that route.

 

[splattered]

Ps4 games native and ps5 games via cloud? Maybe similar strategy as rumored xbox portable? Could be good.. I might actually play my ps games more if this is real.

 

[W11d]

Given Sony’s more recent PC strategy, we’d likely already have handhelds that can natively play the majority of the PS5 library by that time via Steam.

There are millions of gamers who don't give a shit about anything pc and steam related. Did steam deck even reached Vita sales?

 

[Furball]

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

That is because . It is only Switch . if Sony join the party then it may happen , Xbox already has Series S .

 

[baphomet]

You're not getting native PS4 games on a $399 handheld for a few more years.

 

[ZehDon]

With how poorly supported the PS Vita was, and how poorly supported PSVR2 has been, I'm not sure I'll give Sony the chance to sell me another device for them to play "wait and see" on.

 

[FingerBang]

Being unable to play my PS games on the go like I do on PC is really what is missing from the ecosystem. The power to run PS4 games natively on a mobile device is there, it would also benefit from faster loading speed. Then make it able to stream PS5 games like the portal and I'm sold.

 

[adamsapple]

Vita means life, y'all.

 

[Draugoth]

No they are not, there's a reason why the Portal is a thing

 

[Skifi28]

With how poorly supported the PS Vita was, and how poorly supported PSVR2 has been, I'm not sure I'll give Sony the chance to sell me another device for them to play "wait and see" on.

I think the whole point of such a device is that it doesn't need any support, it just plays the games you already have. The days of making exclusive games for different devices are over.

 

[Punished Miku]

It wouldn't really surprise me. PS Portal is such a bizarre product and that exists. They're clearly thinking about it.

 

[Business]

Hard sell in a world where Steam Deck exists, specially considering many Sony first party games have released on PC as well.

 

[Woopah]

A lot will depend on its positioning. If its just a new model of PS4 that only plays old games, it'll attract a fairly small audience.

But if its a PS5 model that gets most of the new games that system does, then I can see it giving PS5 hardware sales a good boost.

Hopefully it's tracked by Famitsu, Circana ect.

You're not getting native PS4 games on a $399 handheld for a few more years.

This is basically what we will get with Switch 2.

 

[magnumpy]

rough that this will be going up against "switch 2" or whatever it will be called D:

 

[paolo11]

If it plays all the ps4 library on PSN offline (not streaming), I’m down. I wish it played ps5 on lower resolution as well so I can play ff7 rebirth or 16 on the go.

 

[paolo11]

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.

If it plays ps5 games on lower resolution like 720p, this is a win . I pray the new psp screen is 720p native so it can play all games with good performance

 

[LordOcidax]

Again… Sony is not going back to develop for two different platforms, they are struggling with just one, forget about two. The only solution for this is a hybrid console and is not going to happen.

 

[ZehDon]

I think the whole point of such a device is that it doesn't need any support, it just plays the games you already have. The days of making exclusive games for different devices are over.

If it’s running PS5 games on a “case by case basis”, then it requires specific support. And Sony won’t bother if it doesn’t sell hot out of the gate. Which it won’t if all it can play are PS4 games, that if they’re successful enough have switch ports already or work on a Steam Deck or other PC handheld.

 

[GymWolf]

Ugh why?

 

[Katatonic]

Ah yes, a new way to sell them remasters!

Reading this post with that character from No Retreat No Surrender's voice is hilarious.

 

[Ozriel]

This is entirely made up.

This is an informed assumption

Even if it is, what would make SF6 sell on the Switch 2 rather than a PS Handheld, especially if the PS Handheld plays the game better.

SF6 runs at 1440p 60fps on PS4 Pro, with a worse CPU that what the Switch 2 will bring to the table. Nobody going to care that it looks a smidge better on a higher spec Sony handheld when it launches at 60fps on the Switch 2.

A PlayStation Handheld is in the exact same situation. With Xbox bringing over games to PlayStation and there not being a real competitor to the PS5 moving forward and likely the PS6, all games are going to be developed for it and thus a PlayStation handheld.

But most third party games will show up on Switch 2, including ports of Xbox games.
Additionally, all these games are targeting PC handhelds too.

I remember a time when Sony and Nintendo released similarly powerful systems with similar prices and who came out on top. What the Switch 2 won't have is Sony titles and vice versa, but it will probably have the edge on power.

Or you could remember the last time they went Head to head in handheld and the 3ds outsold the Vita despite being significantly weaker.

The Vita sold decently, boosted by no competition on the ‘high end’ of handheld gaming.

Any Sony handheld now will not have that luxury of limited competition at the high end.

People should stop assuming the Switch 2 will simply sell as well as the Switch without accounting for price and without the sales momentum of the Switch, it's absolutely fair game for competition from a PlayStation handheld, especially one with a better built up library of 3rd party support.

Switch 2 will have backward compatibility with Switch, and will be a very attractive target for 3rd party games going forward.

Only one of those would launch with Mario Kart so…

 

[Ozriel]

There are millions of gamers who don't give a shit about anything pc and steam related. Did steam deck even reached Vita sales?

Good thing Valve is pushing the deck as something akin to a handheld console that plays PC games, eh?

 

[MikeM]

This would be great so long as its a native box and not another shitty streaming screen.

 

[TropicanaTwista]

Just enable cloud streaming on the portal and I would be set. Don't even need a new handheld.

 

[tmlDan]

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.

Luckily its not about you, now is it