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PlayStation 5 Handheld Will Likely Be Like a Lower-End PS5 Model That Would Need Dedicated Versions of Games

LectureMaster

Gold Member



The rumored PlayStation 5 handheld will unlikely be able to play PS5 games natively and will probably require dedicated versions of new games.

Commenting on the recent rumors regarding Sony's return to the handheld market following the PS Vita, the tech experts at Digital Foundry made some interesting observations on what the systems could actually be, highlighting how it will not be able to run PlayStation 5 games natively, as what is currently achieved on a 200 watts system will be impossible to achieve on 20 watts system even in a few years down the road. As such, scaling down games will be required to get games to run on the system, similar to how the Nintendo Switch handles running games in handheld mode. Sony already showed how scaling up is entirely possible with the PlayStation 5 Pro, so scaling down shouldn't be impossible.

The real question is how scaling games down will be handled by this PlayStation 5 handheld. The Microsoft handheld, for example, may be similar to how things are handled for the Steam Deck and similar systems due to the company's approach, letting the user tweak the graphics settings of the PC version of games to get games running decently. In addition, Microsoft could use the Xbox Series S profile available for all their games to get them to run decently on their handheld without leaving the user to configure settings. Sony, on the other hand, doesn't have a lower-end PlayStation 5 model, so the handheld would require dedicated versions of games, while older games would need to be patched in order to run on the system. As such, the PlayStation 5 handheld could be the PS5 lower-end system that Sony currently doesn't have that will offer a slice of what the base model offers in terms of visual fidelity and potentially backward compatibility.

 

ReyBrujo

Member
Who would have thought, right? Because PSP could run PS2 games flawlessly and Vita could run PS3 games natively...
 

jm89

Member
i dont like their support for PC either.focus should be main console only
Sure. But point is they are already supporting another system and a handheld. So not sure how this argument holds that they can't support a ps handheld.
 

baphomet

Member
Well no shit you're not getting native PS5 games running on a handheld.

I don't know why this has to be said over and over on here.

You're not getting that at ~$500 for multiple more years. Like after PS6 at least.
 

LectureMaster

Gold Member
Just what we don’t need, a PS5 Series S.
gsIlqCW.jpeg
 

SHA

Member
They should follow Nintendo's strategy, make it expensive, this isn't the vita or the 3ds anymore, otherwise, they're living in the past.
 

mansoor1980

Member
Sure. But point is they are already supporting another system and a handheld. So not sure how this argument holds that they can't support a ps handheld.
this one would need separate versions of ps5 games , it wont be like psportal
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
NON-BELIEVERS AND HERETICS IN THIS THREAD! HERETICS, I SAY!!

Us PSP and Vita zealots will finally have our time, for Sony wouldn’t dare fuck up yet another handheld by under-supporting it.

Believe Jason Sudeikis GIF by Apple TV
 

Radical_3d

Member
That’s the idea Rich has in mind but there is another way. Id you target 800p instead of 4K (reasonable on a portable mode) and ad IA reconstruction you can target very low resolutions for the render of a 200v machine. 720p is 1/9th the definition of 4K (thanks Halo MCC for this curiosity) if you low that even lower with PSSR you could be targeting 800p with a 15v machine. Of course that can’t be done automatically but with some sort of call interception or wrapper but since Sony themselves own the operative system I think it could be done. Leadbetter has only thought of the worst case scenario, where a hardware like PS5 in affordable handled factor is 15 years from now.
 

Saber

Member
Would be an incredibly stupid idea. Would be better if it run the same games normally but different resolutions and caviats.
 
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jm89

Member
What is the outrage here anyway?

When you currently have the Steamdeck running Playstation PC ports, what makes them think Sony won’t release a better handheld with PSSR doing the same thing.
exactly-point.gif

Everytime its the same shit with a ps handheld discussion.

It will be the same series s disaster....

It will be the same ps vita disaster.....

But conviently forget steamdeck. Which is what Sony is most likely trying to follow.
 
It's not happening. They released Portal for a reason. For better or worse that is their solution to play PS5 games on a handheld.

Also, why would they release another handheld with dedicated hardware, that could likely also stream games just like the Portal, rendering it completely obsolete?
 

Zathalus

Member
Obviously, you’re not getting PS5 level GPU and memory bandwidth in a handheld (15w or less) anytime soon.
 

Dorfdad

Gold Member
With today’s cutting-edge technology, I’m curious why someone can’t create a handheld 1080p 8-inch console that can play core games at a lower spec, like the Series S in handheld mode. And here’s the best part: they could sell a complimentary dock with a dedicated GPU or APU that brings the console experience when docked.

Imagine having two different SKUs. You buy the handheld, and you can play all your games in stunning 1080p resolution with a 3-hour battery life. Then, plug it into the dock, and it transforms into a powerful 4K/120 RT machine.

I can’t believe this technology doesn’t exist. It would solve the problem of having two different platforms to develop for. Plus, it would give developers a dedicated ecosystem to create games for “known hardware.”

This seems like a much better solution than having two separate platforms to develop and support.
 

Muddy

Member
What outrage? People just think its stupid, maybe you're reading twitter by accident. I honestly think would be smarter if they create a PS4 portable, the PS4 library is better.

I don’t read Twitter. I am reading this thread.

What’s stupid? A handheld which plays downgraded PS5 games upscaled using PSSR?

Like a Steamdeck with FSR does currently?

You would prefer a PS4 Portable over a PS5 Portable says everything really.

We live in 2024 not 2013.
 
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