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

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Clearly there will be adjustments to the game. Richard says in the video that there is no reason why the games cannot scale down to a PS5 handheld just as games scale up to the Pro. So games would have to be patched, but this is not going to require PS5 level power. That would be pointless when we are talking about games running at 1080p or lower. Developers would have to create a low-rez, low fidelity version of the games and it would run once patched. Similar solution that allows AC Syndicate to now run at higher frames on PS5.


But there's a good list of games today that can't play on the SteamDeck.

- Ghost of Tsuhima
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Warhammer 40k
- Stalker 2
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Silent Hill 2
- Dragon's Dogma 2
- FF 16
- Returnal
- EA Sports FC 25
- Remnant 2
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
- Starfield
- FrostPunk 2
- Hellblade 2
- Forspoken
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Test Drive Unlimted Solar Crown
- Mafia 3
- Immortals of Aveum
- COD: Black Ops Cold War
- Halo Infinite (Campagin)
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Towerborne
- Watch Dogs: Legion
- Rage 2
- GranBlue Fantasy Versus: Rising
- The First Descendant
- Undisputed



See an issue with this?
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
But there's a good list of games today that can't play on the SteamDeck.

- Ghost of Tsuhima
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Warhammer 40k
- Stalker 2
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Silent Hill 2
- Dragon's Dogma 2
- FF 16
- Returnal
- EA Sports FC 25
- Remnant 2
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
- Starfield
- FrostPunk 2
- Hellblade 2
- Forspoken
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Test Drive Unlimted Solar Crown
- Mafia 3
- Immortals of Aveum
- COD: Black Ops Cold War
- Halo Infinite (Campagin)
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Towerborne
- Watch Dogs: Legion
- Rage 2
- GranBlue Fantasy Versus: Rising
- The First Descendant
- Undisputed



See an issue with this?

A lot of those are not playable on Steam Deck due to lack of anti-cheat software. Others need a patch, which is exactly what I said in reference to portable versions of PS games.

Should also be pointed out that these games run fine on other Windows handhelds.
 
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demigod

Member
DF

Spit Take GIF


Marching orders must be out.
 
It’s should be it own platform like ps vita, but make it a simi open platform so the community can keep supporting it, think they are working on it just in case handhelds start taking off after Xbox releases their one.
 

paolo11

Member
What if the ps handheld is 800p like Steam Deck? Surely it can run the ps5 games natively at that resolution, yes?
 

Kronark

Neo Member
Sony shouldn't do it then, unless they're willing to change and invest.

The PSP and Vita were cool hardware but what really killed those platforms for me was the flood of shitty portable versions of existing games / IPs instead of the handheld really building it's own roster of IPs and identity. You just ended up with Uncharted: Portable, God of War: Portable, Jak and Daxter: Portable, Ratchen and Clank: Portable, Little Big Planet: Portable, etc which ultimately just made the handheld feel like a shitty version of the mainline console. There were some exceptions to this like MGS: Peace Walker / Acid but the PSP specifically never got much of a unique identity outside of maybe Patapon and LocoRoco. I think the Vita did better if you liked the focus on Japanese titles, but still didn't have much of a unique identity outside of maybe Tearaway / Gravity Rush.

Nintendo has done a much better job over the years of involving both 1st party and 3rd parties to build an identity for their handhelds ( Pokemon, Advance Wars, Mario & Luigi titles, 2D Zelda, Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, Castlevania, etc ). No one looks at the Gameboy Advance and thinks N64 light or the DS and thinks Wii portable. These systems have their own identites and were worth picking up for their libraries alone. I mostly sat around at home playing my GBA / DS. On the other hand I think I still look at the PSP and Vita as stripped down playstations, or the PSP as a portable PS1 emulator.
 

SABRE220

Member
That would be a deadconsole walking. Sony cant even get good ports for the ps5 pro consistently and have been unimpressive in support for their own pro console with not even all of the first party games getting comprehensive patches on time. Sony simply cant support two consoles
 

Minsc

Gold Member
But there's a good list of games today that can't play on the SteamDeck.

- Ghost of Tsuhima
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Warhammer 40k
- Stalker 2
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Silent Hill 2
- Dragon's Dogma 2
- FF 16
- Returnal
- EA Sports FC 25
- Remnant 2
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
- Starfield
- FrostPunk 2
- Hellblade 2
- Forspoken
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Test Drive Unlimted Solar Crown
- Mafia 3
- Immortals of Aveum
- COD: Black Ops Cold War
- Halo Infinite (Campagin)
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Towerborne
- Watch Dogs: Legion
- Rage 2
- GranBlue Fantasy Versus: Rising
- The First Descendant
- Undisputed



See an issue with this?

I see this list, pick the first game I want to choose from it to verify, google Steam Deck + Game name and get results of it working great!



Your list sucks ass.

Also I do believe you mean to say SteamOS and not Steam Deck, because the Steam Deck can run Windows (for free). But regardless your list is obviously incorrect.
 
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ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
What if the ps handheld is 800p like Steam Deck? Surely it can run the ps5 games natively at that resolution, yes?

PS5 lowest rendering resolution for AAA games is 1080p while drawing 210W. It’ll take a lot more than lowering to 800p to shrink the power draw from 210W to 30W or less. The developers will definitely have to introduce patch with very heavy optimization (which turns off various graphic fidelity) and even that can only help to a certain (minor) extend.

15-30W is the average power draw of a modern handheld PC like Steam Deck or ROG Ally X, and that’s with 2 to 8 hours play time. Nintendo Switch average power draw is 7W. USB-C power delivery tops out at 100W

It work for Steam Deck, because PC games are highly scalable to fit on various PC specs, multiple monitor resolutions and sizes, architecture, APIs, support all sorts of peripherals etc. Deck players can easily drop the AAA games setting to 720p30 with all effects turned off to lower the draw power.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I see this list, pick the first game I want to choose from it to verify, google Steam Deck + Game name and get results of it working great!



Your list sucks ass.

Also I do believe you mean to say SteamOS and not Steam Deck, because the Steam Deck can run Windows (for free). But regardless your list is obviously incorrect.


Yes SteamOS.
 

Radical_3d

Member
PS5 lowest rendering resolution for AAA games is 1080p while drawing 210W. It’ll take a lot more than lowering to 800p to shrink the power draw from 210W to 30W or less. The developers will definitely have to introduce patch with very heavy optimization (which turns off various graphic fidelity) and even that can only help to a certain (minor) extend.
Actually some AAA titles can go as low as 720p, but the target once reconstructed is 4K. You only have to half that in four and then reconstruct to 800p. It’ll look worse in the most demanding games, sure, but most of the catalog will be just fine (for a small screen).
 

Topher

Identifies as young
how long did they support the VITA again?

Not comparable to what is being talked about here. Vita needed games made entirely for it from the ground up. Portables these days are obviously able to run their big screen counterparts with, at most, some patching.
 

Sorcerer

Member
There is little room for a handheld that can play "me too versions" of the big brother console. With the cloud, love it or hate it you can already play the games on the go, with caveats of course.

The portal is the best idea for this because its relatively cheap, even for those who already have the console.

Is Sony going to continue to port pc versions of their games once the handheld is out? If I could play those games natively on a Steam Deck or various other Windows handhelds then where does this fit?

Is Sony is going to have dedicated studios to bring games to this thing? Doubtful, and if they do, they will close them down shortly afterward. I guarantee third parties will not jump onboard this time. You can almost tell that before the device hits the market Sony will probably have a timeline in mind to kill it and move on. It's just the Sony way.

From what I understand Sony was not feeling very good about VR when they brought out the last headset. But they shoved it out the door anyway. That's just a terrible thing to knowingly do to consumers.
 
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Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Bad decision if true. Split development is never a good option, as we just saw with Series S.

Now if they could just make it more PC-like in the sense that games can scale down based on FPS and resolution (as they do on Steam Deck), that might work. But even then, Steam Deck does not guarantee that every game would run. A gaming console would have to guarantee that.

I don't see a win-win solution for PlayStation with this.

Let's see how they tackle it. For all we know, this is just one of the bullshit rumors.
 

kyussman

Member
Good lord,how is it everyone on here can see this is going to be a giant waste of Sony's time and money.......and yet Sony can't.Just let Nintendo have their Switch 2,you aren't going to compete now.
 

GymWolf

Member
Good lord,how is it everyone on here can see this is going to be a giant waste of Sony's time and money.......and yet Sony can't.Just let Nintendo have their Switch 2,you aren't going to compete now.
It's moronic and it's gonna bite sony in the ass, and i'm here for it.

Wasting money on gaas wasn't retarded enough i guess.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
I’d consider this but for me it’d need a separate tier of PSN (or none at all). Can’t be paying £60 a year for online when it’s free on Deck and £12 on Switch (for now).
 

Minsc

Gold Member
PS5 lowest rendering resolution for AAA games is 1080p while drawing 210W. It’ll take a lot more than lowering to 800p to shrink the power draw from 210W to 30W or less. The developers will definitely have to introduce patch with very heavy optimization (which turns off various graphic fidelity) and even that can only help to a certain (minor) extend.

15-30W is the average power draw of a modern handheld PC like Steam Deck or ROG Ally X, and that’s with 2 to 8 hours play time. Nintendo Switch average power draw is 7W. USB-C power delivery tops out at 100W

It work for Steam Deck, because PC games are highly scalable to fit on various PC specs, multiple monitor resolutions and sizes, architecture, APIs, support all sorts of peripherals etc. Deck players can easily drop the AAA games setting to 720p30 with all effects turned off to lower the draw power.

Actually there's USB-C PD that reaches 240W, and beyond IIRC. 240W is out now, with the custom 140W being a lot more popular.

But a 240W device would chew through a 10 pound - yes 10 LB - power station in a couple hours. I don't think we want to be carrying around 12 lb handhelds.
 

Boss Mog

Member
A portable PS4 would be way better because it would already have a huge library of games and could probably run the games well without too much compromise.
 

Markio128

Gold Member
I think Sony should either continue with the Portal, or somehow develop a 1080p handheld PS5 that you can download the existing games to, like the Switch. If any additional work is required by the devs, it’ll fall on its arse.
 

Danny22

Member
Terrible idea that'll hold back next gen.

Instead of a 500-600 dollar handheld that sells 5-10 million at maximum, focus on a 150 dollar portal handheld that can stream games. Streaming will limit the audience but it's only getting better and the low price point will bring in new customers without holding back next gen.
 

SScorpio

Member
There are a few things with the comparisons that people using to say, oh this can't work.

  1. The Steam Deck was released 2.5 years ago but uses the same architecture as the PS5/XS. It's been said that this handheld is years away things will get faster. Here's Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p with Raytracing running 45-50fps on AMD's latest iGPU that's over a year old. It will be even better with two more generations of development which the handheld would align with.
  2. The Steam Deck was compared to a base model PS4 in terms of performance. Games with issues are either down to anti cheat or finally being next gen games that need more resources. Having 24-32GB of memory is very doable for something releasing in 3-4 years. The handheld will be locked down, anti cheat isn't an issue.
  3. If this is a purely portable device with a 7" screen. Then why does it need to be greater than 1080p? The PS5 already works fine connected to a 1080p TV. The system just need to identify itself as a regular PS5 with a 1080p TV to any game, so no "special" patch required.
  4. The Steam Deck and other handheld PCs were created to handle any game. Some keyboard and mouse games have control issues. But just like the portal, the controls are just a known gamepad. Duplicate what's there.
 
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Ebrietas

Member
Lol at this thread. You all thought the portal would be a disaster that nobody would buy and look how that turned out. Now you’re saying it’s all anyone needs lol.

I think this device could be a massive hit if Sony doesn’t screw it up. Particularly in Japan. This is how you actually expand the ecosystem. By making a variety of PS devices similar to Apple’s lineup. Not by bringing games to your competitors platforms.
 
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You don't think the handheld is happening? We'll see. It's def an open question as to how high they could go on pricing and make it work.
It would cost more than a Pro, even if it were to happen 4 years from now. But it's pointless to speculate on this, because it's not happening. And Sony isn't making another Vita that requires its own dedicated games, 3rd parties would not be on board. It would have to play all games from the PS5-PS4 library to make sense. DF just fishing for clicks on this one.
 
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SScorpio

Member
That's because of the high clock speeds. The Series X draws like 150 W. You could go even wider and slower and get better power efficiency. Course it costs more.
And going back to the Steamdeck. That can run indies as low as 4W while the AAA games can use up to 15W. We'll have much more processing power when this handheld comes out.

It would cost more than a Pro, even if it were to happen 4 years from now. But it's pointless to speculate on this, because it's not happening. And Sony isn't making another Vita that requires its own dedicated games, 3rd parties would not be on board. It would have to play all games from the PS5-PS4 library to make sense. DF just fishing for clicks on this one.
Valve released a cut to the bone in terms of pricing Steam Deck at $400. And that was releasing something new and unknown with a lower production run. Sony will have the economy of scale on their side.

We also still have PS4 versions of new games releasing. I only see that lasting even longer with next gen on the PS5. Though that brings up an interesting question. If you used the latest hardware to create a prior gen system. Could Sony then already release a budget digital only that's the size of the PSTV that's a digital only PS5? They already did all the work with the custom silicon to make a portable. Double up and get people's digital libraries locked to your ecosystem. I don't see this as something at the next gen launch, but maybe during the Pro refresh that would allow for a node shrink or two and lower power draw.
 
I've been trying to tell people this but they won't listen.
Also, DF (also Bloomberg) don't know shit. Is Sony researching and developing handheld hardware? Of course they are, they labs research and develop/test stuff all the time, doesn't mean it will ever come to anything.
Any portable PlayStation has to be able to natively play the exact same games as a TV-centric PS console without porting.
It's not going to be a handheld x86/PS4/PS5 when Sony still hasn't given the world a full fledged PS2 handheld that plays regular PS2 games.
PS2 (EE+GS) is already relatively low power and PS2/PS1 games naturally work on small screens better than 4k games.
Sony just bakes PS2/PS1 HW into the PS5 and digital-download PS2/PS1 games will work across both consoles without any porting.
They reopen the PS2 and PS1 platforms to studios and bake DualSense feedback into old PS2/PS1 games for digital release.
The PS2 portable could be made in two formats: a self-contained pocketable portable like the Vita and a a small box with an OLED display that snaps onto the DualSense - providing full DualSense feedback.
All of the PS2 consoles would have ports for MagicGate memory cards so users can easily move between handheld and TV console without screwing around with logins or menus.
 
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midnightAI

Member
Any portable PlayStation has to be able to natively play the exact same games as a TV-centric PS console without porting.
It's not going to be a handheld x86/PS4/PS5 when Sony still hasn't given the world a full fledged PS2 handheld that plays regular PS2 games.
PS2 (EE+GS) is already relatively low power and PS2/PS1 games naturally work on small screens better than 4k games.
Sony just bakes PS2/PS1 HW into the PS5 and digital-download PS2/PS1 games will work across both consoles without any porting.
They reopen the PS2 and PS1 platforms to studios and bake DualSense feedback into old PS2/PS1 games for digital release.
The PS2 portable could be made in two formats: a self-contained pocketable portable like the Vita and a a small box with an OLED display that snaps onto the DualSense - providing full DualSense feedback.
All of the PS2 consoles would have ports for MagicGate memory cards so users can easily move between handheld and TV console without screwing around with logins or menus.
I am still convinced it will be something around or equal to PS4 power. Either at that level to natively play PS4 games as they are or at least powerful enough so that games can be made with similar effects (maybe even PS4 power with RT and of course PSSR (although, if they can't get something like 720p or lower to 1080p running well then I don't see the point other than maybe super sampling)

But then also have it streaming PS5 and PS6 games like Portal. So it's essentially Portal with enough power on board to run PS4 games and/or enough power to have games built from ground up close to PS4 level (of course ideally PS4 right out the gate as then it would have a massive library instantly). Possibly TV output, but I don't think it's essential for Sony, I really don't see them going the hybrid route. And I think they'll stick with the Portal form factor, is it a bit big? Sure, but it guarantees compatibility with all games and is exceedingly comfortable to use, way more comfortable than any other handheld.
 

ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
I'm angry at myself for surrendering my common sense into believing the opposite narrative. This is going to be an absolute disaster.

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.
Thank you for re-establishing that PC ports have already done enough to hold back the first party catalogue.

Layden said it best: the industry isnt growing so they are trying to find new ways to sell shit to the same people.
This isn't the debt ridden economy we're talking about, this is the vidya market. Sony and Microsoft have wasted a lot of time and money looking for an untapped audience that just isn't there. Failed VR, failed AR projects that didn't even ship, failed PC ports and multiplatform initiatives, failed subscription service business plans, failed low-cost hardware releases, fail fail fail fail fail.

Provided that they recognize that consoles need cutting edge games, exclusive games, and a genuine focus, Sony will benefit from around 20-40 million new users from the Xbox camp as Microsoft exits itself from the hardware space, and maybe gaming in general.
Beyond that, at some point, the executive class in the games industry will have to accept that the industry has matured and behave accordingly.
 

SScorpio

Member
I am still convinced it will be something around or equal to PS4 power. Either at that level to natively play PS4 games as they are or at least powerful enough so that games can be made with similar effects (maybe even PS4 power with RT and of course PSSR (although, if they can't get something like 720p or lower to 1080p running well then I don't see the point other than maybe super sampling)

But then also have it streaming PS5 and PS6 games like Portal. So it's essentially Portal with enough power on board to run PS4 games and/or enough power to have games built from ground up close to PS4 level (of course ideally PS4 right out the gate as then it would have a massive library instantly). Possibly TV output, but I don't think it's essential for Sony, I really don't see them going the hybrid route. And I think they'll stick with the Portal form factor, is it a bit big? Sure, but it guarantees compatibility with all games and is exceedingly comfortable to use, way more comfortable than any other handheld.
The Steam Deck that's been out for over two years and initially sold for $400 already has the power of a PS4. It's using Zen 2 and RDNA2 matching the PS5 in architecture. Something not releasing for another four years or so will be more powerful.

There are already other PC handhelds with more power than the Deck. I guess everyone just keeps comparing to the Switch in their mind when they think of a modern portable. Except the Steam Deck can emulate the Switch and run games better than they run on the native hardware.
 

SScorpio

Member
I'm angry at myself for surrendering my common sense into believing the opposite narrative. This is going to be an absolute disaster.


Thank you for re-establishing that PC ports have already done enough to hold back the first party catalogue.


This isn't the debt ridden economy we're talking about, this is the vidya market. Sony and Microsoft have wasted a lot of time and money looking for an untapped audience that just isn't there. Failed VR, failed AR projects that didn't even ship, failed PC ports and multiplatform initiatives, failed subscription service business plans, failed low-cost hardware releases, fail fail fail fail fail.

Provided that they recognize that consoles need cutting edge games, exclusive games, and a genuine focus, Sony will benefit from around 20-40 million new users from the Xbox camp as Microsoft exits itself from the hardware space, and maybe gaming in general.
Beyond that, at some point, the executive class in the games industry will have to accept that the industry has matured and behave accordingly.
Yes, it's the desire to also sell on PC that's hold back first party PS5 games. 🤡

I've got some news for you in terms of untapped markets. The vast majority of younger people just play on their phones or tablets. The average console gamer is 35-40. The Switch has some of the younger market, but just as many 35 year olds that never grew up and still play Pokemon. For some reason people won't want to play games on their TVs, they are still sitting on their couch but just staring at their phone. A portable directly targets this market. And well if you are complaining about the PS4 still getting games, you're going to absolutely love the PS5 which I wouldn't be surprised to still see get releases by the time the PS7 comes out. We're hitting hard diminishing returns. There could be some large additional compute changes in the future, but many modern games hit 25-30% CPU usage on PCs so there's loads of headroom.
 
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