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G2ThaUNiT on 02 February 2024
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EpicRandy said:
Mnementh said:

It probably means: at a lower resolution with fewer effects if the game is ported to the console. A binary compatible handheld that plays PS5 games I cannot see.

Exactly, Sony would need to require a Series S-like port for all their PS5 titles for them to work in a handheld form factor. 

This is not impossible but Sony would only be able to require such from 1st party for existing titles. And it's not even clear how they could add such a requirement for 3rd party going forward as they would have to renegotiate past contracts with everyone which does not seem feasible.

So this pretty much leave the possibility of a handheld being a completely separate hardware like it was for the Vita. But creating a Vita 2 that cannot defacto live off of the success of the PS5 seems like a no-go to me. The investment would be too large, and risky and cannibalize support for their main system.  

Theirs also the possibility of Sony doing a PlayStation-branded PC handheld, their PC support has increased and I expect them to fully support PCs in the short term. This is unlikely but it still appears as the likeliest path for Soy to do a handheld now IMO.

That would certainly get all the Series S haters to be silenced  

I agree though that not only would the investment be too great, but the dev power would be too great to support a separate ecosystem. We're already at the point where we'll get 1, maybe 2 games from a developer in a single console gen, Insomniac being a major exception, and pulling even more first party resources to support the separate handheld ecosystem would push timelines even further, unless Sony outsources like crazy. A big knock on the Vita was how quickly Sony first party abandoned the platform. There were certainly some notable titles for sure, but after the first year, they became scarce to nonexistent and the Vita was quickly a focus from third parties. 

A portable PS5 with Series S, if not a little greater than the Series S, level capabilities would certainly be much more doable from a dev perspective and would an enticing offer in a post-world Switch and handheld PC market.

A PS branded handheld PC I don't think would make much sense. Sony has always run proprietary software on their hardware, and to go from that to potentially running Windows, I imagine would upset a large portion of the playerbase. Not to mention, Sony's CEO specified that the console would be their primary focus and all hardware released up to this point has been dedicated to the PS5. So outside of console, software will most likely be how Sony handles mobile and PC. Whether Sony is actively working on a dedicated PC launcher though....continues to be a big question.