| NoCtiS_NoX said: We won't see a dedicated Handheld but a hybrid. I won't be surprised if PS5 will be a hybrid or Sony will announce PS4P in the future. The time of dedicated console is dying. |
I don't see it. Sony and MS have attracted a userbase that looks out for the next jump in power. And they can live good with that (well Sony can, I can see MS is more experimental or drops out). Making a hybrid PS5 would be a massive risk for Sony: what if MS puts out a powerful machine and takes over all the fans of the PS system that like this power.
Also I think Nintendo was in a good position to switch to the hybrid. First of all the WiiU wasn't extremely powerful. So they were able to get affordable mobile tech that could match the power of the WiiU. Secondly they released mid-gen. So the mobile tech they could offer is not too much of a stepdown from PS4 and XB1. I can see that with release of PS5 Switch loses multiplats shared with that platform. It still could be the case that Switch by then has big enough a userbase for 3rd-parties to support it with exclusives though.
Sony cannot do this. Mid-gen would mean they wait until the time of PS4 is long over. They have to release earlier. And then they could be in trouble creating a handheld that wields more power than the PS4.
The other possibility could be a hybrid alongside the PS5. But the same problem I see coming for the Switch: while at the moment multiplats are possible (see Doom), it will probably be impossible with the PS5 power-level. So a PS4-level hybrid will not get the new games, it will not have the Nintendo-exclusives and probably will not get much Sony exclusives (like the Vita). Even if it is successful, it will nibble at the markets of the outgoing PS4 and the coming PS5. This scenario offers problems on every angle.
No I think Sony is better off differentiating themself from Nintendo hybrids by creating a really powerful machine, supporting VR. If they make it really powerful, even a mid-gen release of Switch 2 might not be able to bring enough power to catch multiplats shared with PS5. Nintendo in that case has more to bank on their exclusives and might actually be in a much more difficult situation. While Sony offfers the 'WOW'-tech.
