Prediction: Sony will have a portable that will play PS4/5 games

[vivster]

KBG29 said:

vivster said:
Why would they though? Last time I checked they're a for profit company. Why would they enter a risky market for nothing?

If done right it is almost zero risk. A portable device in any fashion built on the exact same hardware and software as PS4 is no different than just another model of the PS4. For example, say 2019 they order 14 Million base PS4 chips from AMD built on 7nm fabrication, 10 million are allocated for PS4, the remaining 4 million are put into PS Mobile devices. They can easily sell that amount, and it gives them a good benchmark for how successful the platform is. If it takes off they can up the order the next year. If it fails to maintain, those chips can always be redirected to more PS4 units. Sony basically has a free opertunity to test the waters again. It offers very little risk, with opertunity for massive profits if it succeeds. Even if they build it based on Ryzen Mobile and Navi, all of the software and OS side would still be shared with PS4/5, again making it low risk.

You are absolutely right that they are a for profit company. That is exactly why they have to continue to push the growth of their products. No matter how amazing they make home based PlayStation products, they will eventually hit a wall on how many they can sell. At that point they have to find growth through new form factors. Mobile makes sense in todays market, where a lot of people are spending time on tablets and smartphones. Even those that have PS4 at home, this gives Sony an oppertunity to stay more engaged with the consumer. 

It is all pretty basic business. You want to get your product in the most hands possible. From there your want to figure out how to maintain those users. Finally, you want to find a way to keep your users connected to you 24/7. The more connected you are to the user, and the easier it is for them to connect to you, the better your chances are that they will either make a purchase, or participate in a revenue sharing activity on your product. 

PlayStation is a wholly owned Sony business. They run the OS, they run the network, they run the store. Unlike Bravias, Xperias, Cybershots, ect. which run on competitors ecosystems and feed money outside of money after it reaches the consumers hands, PlayStation continues to pump cash into Sony beyond the point of sale. That is why getting PlayStation into consumers hands is the #1 priority for them. 

Also, just because other companies already have a very strong grip on a specific market does not mean you just roll over and let them have it. When you are talking about a trillion dollar a year business, you want to figure out a way to get a piece of it, and if their is any way possible you want to find a way to the top.

We should certainly wait how well the Switch is doing bfore we make any claims that Sony could be sucessful in that market at all. Dedicated gaming handhelds are becoming less relevant each year and not more. However many Switches Nintendo will sell, Sony will sell half of that tops.

Sony has plenty of other markets they can push into or grow their existing business.