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[RoadHazard]

Why would Sony release a PC where they don't get all the software revenue share themselves? If they did anything like this it would obviously be a PlayStation, not a PC.

 

[64bitmodels]

PSP was a failure, at least in the sense of it's aims and achievements.

Nobody cares about 'aims or achievements'. 80% of the time success is measured in system units sold. That's why the Wii was also a success even though software sales on it weren't the best after the granny dropoff.
The console sold 80 million units. Nintendo killer or not it was a highly desired, influential and beloved product, and it would've made for a good first step towards taking over Nintendo's handheld division if nothing else. It was the closest another console competitior came to usurping Nintendo's clearly dominant handheld throne, that counts for something.

 

[daclynk]

true and they cal it PSPPC. PlayStation Portable PC

 

[mortal]

I don't see the point of this when PlayStation is already porting first party titles to Steam.

 

[ArtHands]

Why would Sony release a PC where they don't get all the software revenue share themselves? If they did anything like this it would obviously be a PlayStation, not a PC.

Simple: To earn sales from hardware.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Psp wasn’t a failure? It sold almost as much as the 3DS. Ps vita and the 3ds selling less than what the DS alone sold a generation ago and tablets/mobile taking off is why they decided not to release handhelds anymore. The switch changed things though .

PSP sold plenty of hardware. People just weren’t buying games, which is probably why it’s viewed as a failure.

 

[ArtHands]

No. We have enough of those pointless machines to play games with low settings

Well then they can scrap the Project Q if you don't want pointless machines.

 

[ArtHands]

That comparison doesn't work. The Walkman sold way more than any of these handheld PC's ever will, Sony did manufacture tapes themselves and the Walkman didn't result in Sony competing with itself.

And then they lose profit when people purchase their games on a PC storefront instead of their Playstation console.

That wouldn't happen. To PC player this is just yet another option. To console player they will continue to buy games on PS4/PS5 and stream on this. Console players ain't going to switch to buying on PC through this.

Sony missed the window to launch a PSP/Vita successor once the Switch took off. They can also forget trying to compete in the new portable PC space unless they make drastic moves. For Sony to develop something like the Steam Deck, they would need to ensure feature parity between the PS5 and their handheld. A portable PS5 would be extremely costly. They would also need to buy an existing PC storefront. Only way I could see a future PlayStation handheld is if Sony bought someone like CDPR and leveraged GOG.

A portable PC. Not a portable PS5.

You can play PS4 games on PS5 because the PS5 is capable of downclocking nearly all of its specs to PS4 levels. It has to be designed that way right from the start. However, achieving the same capability for a handheld design is nowhere near as easy or feasible. You're right, PSVR and Project Q are also very niche. But the point is that neither of those systems encourages consumers to buy games outside of the PlayStation ecosystem, which means Sony won't receive licensing fees for those games, unlike your plan does.


Now you're just shifting from one bad example to another. Discman and Minidisc are two different products, but the point is that you wouldn't be encouraging consumers to buy products from a storefront where you can't charge licensing fees. That's the issue with the concept of a "Playstation Portable PC."

My counterpoint still holds true; you're just using another flawed example. If Sony were to launch a handheld PC, they would be encouraging people to buy games from a storefront that cuts them out of their main source of revenue: licensing fees on every single game sold on PlayStation. Releasing software on PC (which they typically do a year later or even longer) doesn't have the same impact. The only thing they miss out on is a licensing fee, but they still make a profit because it's their own title.

People aren't holding off on buying a PS5 just because a few Sony Playstation games appear on Steam one or two years after release, but releasing a PC handheld specifically designed for third party storefronts will certainly result it lost profits. It's a counterproductive idea.

Why and how will this encourage PS console fans to buy games outside PS ecosystem?

 

[RetroAV]

There's already a PlayStation portable, it's called a Steam Deck and it plays Xbox games too!

 

[RoadHazard]

Simple: To earn sales from hardware.

Hardware doesn't make money. Or even if it does, it makes much less than software/services.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Sony is done with portables meanwhile others are focused too much on portables.

 

[fart town usa]

No, it's actually Xbox that should.

I'd be down for that.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

Would have to be an open garden system otherwise what's the point.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

If Sony go that route, they will launch with PS5 compatibility like the series S but portable, they make money through licensing games for their platform, not the hardware.
I would love a new portable from Sony, but the market may not. People expect too much from PlayStation, they can't pull a switch like Nintendo. Different public.

 

[Ronin_7]

No reason for this.

Steam Deck & Asus ROG sales are laughable at Best, those things won't reach Wii U lifetime sales.

Nintendo laughing at their competition as we speak

 

[X-Wing]

No, they shouldn’t. They should focus on development for the PlayStation 5 and that’s it.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I really worry about the grasp some of you people have on reality.

 

[The Alien]

Perhaps they could do a handheld. Could be cool. It certainly makes more sense than Project Q.

 

[Solidus_T]

I think what is more likely is a Playstation licensed version of the steam deck, if anything at all. They have already been releasing games on PC, so this would be a weird decision - still better than a streaming device though

 

[UnNamed]

Why not release a Playstation Portable PC (PPP)? Imagine the PPP being able to play PC games,

Project Q could technically do this, but I doubt it has some memory built in it, so you can't install PC and Android-like games.

In general, Sony has no plans to make a portable console, this would mean facing the same problems XBOX have with Series S but way worse.

 

[X-Wing]

PlayStation won’t and shouldn’t release any other device that would make their development teams to spread themselves thin. This is the reason why Vita was dropped so soon.

That’s why a streaming device makes more sense than anything else since development will still be targeting only one platform.

 

[Doctor Hades]

I don't think Sony will risk the handheld market again after the PSVita flopped. Then again, that was really their own fault for not supporting the handheld with a stream of quality first-party exclusives and using expensive proprietary memory cards.

I still do not see any point in Sony releasing a handheld though at this point when PS5 games are being ported over to PC and can be played on SteamDeck and other portable systems running Windows etc. Sony only want to profit from the games on PC that they have already made for their console, because it is more money for little extra cost, not spending money investing in making expensive hardware that may sell poorly due to existing competition.

If Sony make a handheld again then it will almost certainly be a PlayStation product because that has the most chance of being a success.

 

[Dream-Knife]

You can play PS4 games on PS5 because the PS5 is capable of downclocking nearly all of its specs to PS4 levels. It has to be designed that way right from the start. However, achieving the same capability for a handheld design is nowhere near as easy or feasible. You're right, PSVR and Project Q are also very niche. But the point is that neither of those systems encourages consumers to buy games outside of the PlayStation ecosystem, which means Sony won't receive licensing fees for those games, unlike your plan does.


Now you're just shifting from one bad example to another. Discman and Minidisc are two different products, but the point is that you wouldn't be encouraging consumers to buy products from a storefront where you can't charge licensing fees. That's the issue with the concept of a "Playstation Portable PC."

My counterpoint still holds true; you're just using another flawed example. If Sony were to launch a handheld PC, they would be encouraging people to buy games from a storefront that cuts them out of their main source of revenue: licensing fees on every single game sold on PlayStation. Releasing software on PC (which they typically do a year later or even longer) doesn't have the same impact. The only thing they miss out on is a licensing fee, but they still make a profit because it's their own title.

People aren't holding off on buying a PS5 just because a few Sony Playstation games appear on Steam one or two years after release, but releasing a PC handheld specifically designed for third party storefronts will certainly result it lost profits. It's a counterproductive idea.

And Sony has historically released hardware without guaranteed software income.

I played steam games on my sony vaio 20 years ago. Sony seemed ok.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I may have created a thread about this in the past but I would totally buy a brand new Sony handheld. Especially after getting my hands on PS Vita earlier this year and finding out what a great little system that is, even though it's like 12 years old by now. Just imagine the possibilities that a Sony handheld made with modern hardware would have, that would be so dope.

 

[Rykan]

That wouldn't happen. To PC player this is just yet another option. To console player they will continue to buy games on PS4/PS5 and stream on this. Console players ain't going to switch to buying on PC through this.

Okay, let me get this straight:

You're suggesting Sony should create a PLAYSTATION branded handheld device that is a PC for 499$, and somehow, it targets PC gamers and not console players (you know, the ones that typically buy Playstation products?). But that's okay because Playstation gamers won't buy any PC games on this device to run natively because....idk, reasons. Instead, they will use their 499$ device to stream PS5 games. Did..did I get all that?

Why and how will this encourage PS console fans to buy games outside PS ecosystem?

Because you're releasing a Playstation product which allows game purchases outside of the Playstation eco system. Someone isn't going to pay 80$ for a game on Sony's store when they can get the same game 10$ cheaper on steam.

And Sony has historically released hardware without guaranteed software income.

I played steam games on my sony vaio 20 years ago. Sony seemed ok.

Another insane comparison. A laptop is a multifunctional device. A dedicated handheld PC is specifically designed for gaming and targets the same audience.

 

[mckmas8808]

Absolutely no reason for them to care.

100% facts! The OP is completely WRONG!!!

 

[THE DUCK]

But what you're suggesting is essentially proposing that Sony should compete with itself.

None of these “PC handhelds” consoles are successful in comparison to other video game hardware. They represent an incredibly small niche and are so marginal compared to regular consoles that even describing it as “peanuts” is too generous.

The overwhelming majority of a console's profits come from the licensing fee that is charged for every single game sold on that system. Hardware profits only make up a fraction of the total.

So when you say, “Well, Sony should launch a handheld PC that allows people to play PC games purchased from Steam or elsewhere,” you're essentially saying, “Sony should develop a handheld that encourages players to buy games from places where Sony can't charge licensing fees since a PC is an open platform.”

In other words, you're suggesting that Sony should encourage people to buy games elsewhere. Your point that “It should run low level PS4 games” isn't helping either. That's just not how it works. PS4 games are specifically designed to run on PS4 hardware. To make them work on a handheld PC would require significant porting efforts or emulation, neither of which is feasible on a PC handheld device.

Sorry, mate, but I don't think you have fully thought this concept through


You can't reasonably develop a handheld that is similar in specs towards a Series S for a reasonable price. That is not feasible.

The Steam Deck is almost 2 years old already and we are seeing other handhelds similar to S at this point. Produced in mass, it's very close.

 

[THE DUCK]

There is no portable that would have the power of the series s, decent size, decent battery, and not be extremely expensive. It would not sell 10s of millions of units.

It's really not far off, and would sell much better than you think. The huddled masses would jump at it.

 

[Rykan]

The Steam Deck is almost 2 years old already and we are seeing other handhelds similar to S at this point. Produced in mass, it's very close.

They aren't close to the Series S, because you can't run a handheld device that performs on the same level as a Series S for very long.

 

[THE DUCK]

They aren't close to the Series S, because you can't run a handheld device that performs on the same level as a Series S for very long.

The system would probably be something akin to the ally, not quite at seties S but still current gen games would be very playable at 720- 800p.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

They shouldn't make any device that doesn't play same games as ps5.

That's why they are releasing games on pc. Much less amount of hardware to be hassled with.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Nah

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Given the success of ASUS ROG Ally, the rumors of an upcoming Lenovo Legion Go and the increasingly popularity of other portable PC such as AYA NEO and Steam Deck in recent years, its bizarre Sony haven't capitalize on the momentum and use their handheld experiences to create their own portable PC.

Instead we got a streaming-only accessories 'Project Q'

Why not release a Playstation Portable PC (PPP)? Imagine the PPP being able to play PC games, customized OS instead of Windows, stream PS5 games (like the Project Q) and PC games. compatible with all PC peripherals in desktop mode like keyboard/mouse, external storage to play video/music/images, native media apps, HDMI output to a TV etc

With unique feature of being able to install selected low end PS4/PS5 games from your existing PS library natively like Hades and Final Fantasy Pixel Masters, so existing PS fans have a portion of PS games ready to be installed and play without internet on it.
Also DualSense support for compatible games, and able to buy and play classic PS1, PS2, PS3, VITA and PSP games.

Add in OLED screen, touch pad, back touch pad, back buttons, and 8 to 12 hours battery life, better specs than ROG Ally, a price tag of $499 they could easily outsell other portable PCs. I will definitely buy a bunch of PPP for myself and friends.

some random concept art of a Sony portable handheld

 

[StereoVsn]

Steam deck is like 399 already

Yes, and I have that and the Ally. I didn't know they could natively play any of these platforms?

I also didn't know you could run PS4 and Vita emulation in these.

The point is to have a device one could point at PSN, download your purchases and play then locally. Majority of the population isn't going to grab Deck or Ally and then start trying to figure out say PS2 and PS3 emulation.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

Sony isn't going to release another walled-garden handheld after the Vita burned them as hard as it did. They don't have the development resources to properly support another discrete platform, and making even a Series S horsepower handheld would be incredibly expensive right now.

Sony has the capacity to release a handheld PC, but that bitch is going to be sold for a profit. Expect a minimum of $600-700.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

Given the success of ASUS ROG Ally, the rumors of an upcoming Lenovo Legion Go and the increasingly popularity of other portable PC such as AYA NEO and Steam Deck in recent years, its bizarre Sony haven't capitalize on the momentum and use their handheld experiences to create their own portable PC.

Sony wants to make profit and creating a handheld to support the sales of games outside the PlayStation ecosystem doesn't help them with that goal.

They are making the Q because it will not cost much to make the device and since its streaming only they don't have to put expensive tech in the device = good profit margins day one

 

[Dream-Knife]

Okay, let me get this straight:

You're suggesting Sony should create a PLAYSTATION branded handheld device that is a PC for 499$, and somehow, it targets PC gamers and not console players (you know, the ones that typically buy Playstation products?). But that's okay because Playstation gamers won't buy any PC games on this device to run natively because....idk, reasons. Instead, they will use their 499$ device to stream PS5 games. Did..did I get all that?

Because you're releasing a Playstation product which allows game purchases outside of the Playstation eco system. Someone isn't going to pay 80$ for a game on Sony's store when they can get the same game 10$ cheaper on steam.

Another insane comparison. A laptop is a multifunctional device. A dedicated handheld PC is specifically designed for gaming and targets the same audience.

It shouldn't be Playstation branded. I said that in my first post in this thread.

Sony made gaming monitors a year or two ago. They have displayport. Guess what? Gaming PCs use displayport, not consoles.

Sony is first and foremost a hardware company.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I’m all for it but where is the hardware for something like this? It just doesn’t exist especially with 8-12 hours of battery life.

 

[M1chl]

I don't think so, if anyone should do it its MS, but real answer is nobody from console space, because it would be ridden with extra DRM or/and high price.

 

[StereoVsn]

OLED display + highest end AMD chipset + discounted games + imaginary chipset able to deliver 8-12 hrs battery life while PC gaming.

Did I sleep and wake up on April 1st?

Just need to add a 1 before that price point.

Realistically $700-800 could be doable. Minus the battery life, that's just crazy talk.

 

[Rykan]

It shouldn't be Playstation branded. I said that in my first post in this thread.

That part of my post was intended for Art.

Sony made gaming monitors a year or two ago. They have displayport. Guess what? Gaming PCs use displayport, not consoles.

Sony is first and foremost a hardware company.

You still don't seem to grasp the main issue with these comparisons: A gaming monitor has no impact on software sales for any of their PlayStation systems, none whatsoever. If someone is buying a PC gaming monitor, it's safe to assume they already own a PC.

The situation is entirely different with a handheld PC gaming device. This device actively urges players to spend money and buy games from storefronts where Sony won't receive any licensing fees. It's counterproductive. You're literally pushing consumers to spend their money elsewhere.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

I think by next gen portability would be optional, just like the switch console, if we reach 1nm or less.

 

[CobraAB]

There has not been a branded ”Sony PC” in quite a long time. Not since they spun off the VAIO name.

 

[rofif]

Well then they can scrap the Project Q if you don't want pointless machines.

It will play games with ps5 settings.
Just as you would play steam deck games. In your bed I’m home lol.

Let’s be real. We use these things mostly in home anyway. Might at least play ps5 quality in my hand rather than low settings at 30fps

 

[Vox Machina]

true and they cal it PSPPC. PlayStation Portable PC

pspspspsps

 

[alucard0712_rus]

Noooo. Closed ecosystem is still the thing that are good for games so what the point in doing PC when you can do PS portable.

What they need to do is portable PS4 (fully compatible with PS4) - so they continue to develop for two very popular systems and sell games to very wide install base. (PS4 + PS5).
Everyone will buy that and today hardware is ready.

 

[Dream-Knife]

That part of my post was intended for Art.


You still don't seem to grasp the main issue with these comparisons: A gaming monitor has no impact on software sales for any of their PlayStation systems, none whatsoever. If someone is buying a PC gaming monitor, it's safe to assume they already own a PC.

The situation is entirely different with a handheld PC gaming device. This device actively urges players to spend money and buy games from storefronts where Sony won't receive any licensing fees. It's counterproductive. You're literally pushing consumers to spend their money elsewhere.

A handheld PC is different from a home console connected to a TV. It doesn't encourage customers to stop buying a playstation anymore than the GBA encouraged played to not buy a PS2.

Again, it shouldn't be limited to the playstation brand, and should just be another Sony product. Sony makes hardware.

 

[vkbest]

If they release a PS4 portable (digital only by obvious reasons) I bet they would sell really well.

 

[ArtHands]

Hardware doesn't make money. Or even if it does, it makes much less than software/services.

That doesn’t explain the existence of the portable PCs in the market in the past years

Noooo. Closed ecosystem is still the thing that are good for games so what the point in doing PC when you can do PS portable.

What they need to do is portable PS4 (fully compatible with PS4) - so they continue to develop for two very popular systems and sell games to very wide install base. (PS4 + PS5).
Everyone will buy that and today hardware is ready.

Because history and track records has proven you wrong multiple times.

It will play games with ps5 settings.
Just as you would play steam deck games. In your bed I’m home lol.

Let’s be real. We use these things mostly in home anyway. Might at least play ps5 quality in my hand rather than low settings at 30fps

Project Q will play games with lag and latency. A hypothetical Playstation Portable PC can do what Project Q do too but more.

 

[RoadHazard]

That doesn’t explain the existence of the portable PCs in the market in the past years

Those are overpriced compared to, say, a PS5. Only Nintendo really makes money on selling consoles of the big three (the Switch is VERY overpriced).