By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
EricHiggin on 23 December 2017
Edit Thread
KBG29 said:

EricHiggin said: 

 Even the low end Ryzen mobile APU chips are in the 15w range and are really impressive in how well they can handle games. Like not that far from PS4 impressive. At 720p they should play perfectly on a PS handheld/hybrid. I don't see how a $300 PS "Switch" isn't possible in the next year or two, assuming they already have something preliminary they can work off of, on top of seeing Switch's design and success.

This is what has me very excited, and makes me think they will be able to pull this off on X86.  The Ryzen 7 2700U already has the CPU power to run circles around PS4, and it has more GPU power than the XBO, and this at 15watts on 14nm FinFET. Going to 7nm FinFET, which should be available in 2019, there is a very real possability of a PS4 Portable or a PS5 Line of devices that includes a Portable. At any rate there will be more than enough power to run PS4 games, and keep the power window under 10Watts, using X86 which is ideal for compatibility and work load. I really hope something is in the works, and Sony killed off Vita support in anticipation of unifying their home and mobile offerings under one architecture, one OS.

If a 2700u level PS handheld/hybrid can play PS4 as well as PS5 games eventually, I wouldn't be surprised to see one asap if they are going to take the leap. They might as well offer the PS 'Swap' or whatever they call it in mid to late 2018, if they can get it ready in time without rushing too much and ruining the launch. This way you can play all your PS4 games at 720p, and eventual PS5 games at 720p-1080p due to better compatibility and more similar hardware, then they can offer an upgrade 2 or 3 years later on a perfected 7nm. Once on 7nm, all PS4 games would play at full 1080p just like on PS4, and PS5 games could play at 1080p or 1440p maybe as well.

While there are definitely hardware issues that would be tough to resolve, like memory, storage, and battery, I don't think the hardware is the biggest problem. What it takes on the software end of things might be what holds this back. x86 to x86 shouldn't be too big of a deal for BC, but since it's to the metal, the effort needed to make this happen for PS4 just might not make business sense. Since we have heard devs talking about how the newest PS4 games are being designed to scale for the future, it would make sense that a handheld/hybrid could very well fit into the PS5 family quite naturally.

I still don't know if they'll do it. On one hand their laser focus on PS4 has led to massive success, on the other hand, when your kicking ass and taking numbers, trying something new, especially to add competition, seems like a natural progression. Whether it's a good idea or not depends mostly on their execution, yet retaining their focus on the core, which is not an easy thing to accomplish.