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Sony Reportedly Developing A PS5 Portable System

Handhelds are so hot right now.

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A successor (of sorts) to PlayStation Portable and PS Vita is reportedly in development at Sony. The company is apparently working on a handheld PS5 system that would seemingly compete with Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2 and Valve's Steam Deck.

According to Bloomberg, the PS5 portable system is years away from hitting the market--if it does at all. There is still a possibility Sony decides to pull the plug on the handheld. The report states that the PlayStation Portal was originally planned as a similar product to Steam Deck before becoming dependent on streaming via a PS5 console. However, a new PlayStation Portal update has introduced a cloud-streaming beta for PS Plus Premium members. This means a PS5 isn't required to play games on the device.

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Sony isn't alone in wanting to expand to the handheld market. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has been very open about his desires for an Xbox handheld, though it, too, is "a few years out," if it ever releases. Meanwhile, Nintendo will likely unveil the Switch 2 in the coming months, and the company confirmed the upcoming system will be backward compatible with the current Switch earlier this month.

A possible PS5 portable system would see Sony returning to the handheld market for the first time since launching PS Vita in Japan in 2011 (coming to North America in early 2012). The system was discontinued in Japan in early 2019, before the PS5 was released.

Before that, the PlayStation Portable came out in Japan in 2004 and North America in 2005. That Sony handheld competed with Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS throughout the mid- to late-2000s.

For more, check out GameSpot's hands-on article with PlayStation Portal.

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ID0ntKn0w7

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ID0ntKn0w7

They keep wasting time amd resources chasing these dreams when they should be focusing on games.

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maxtor

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Edited By maxtor

If they do a modern PSP+A Monster Hunter Title, they will be laughing to the bank once again.

MHFU2 made so much money. Everyone and their grandmother was playing it.

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chisoxrule

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chisoxrule

Sony has a pretty sordid history in support of their portables. The PSP and Vita were both great systems with lots of potential but they fumbled with support; especially with the Vita. And now supposedly the PS Portal will be chopped liver...

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DavidinCT

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DavidinCT

Sony publicly said they were done doing portable consoles. After the Vita and how they just dropped it after a while. I would never buy a Sony portable gaming system....

Sony will drop support after a year, just like everything else...

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tbird7586

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tbird7586

Gotta copy Xbox at every turn. I thought it would end after douchnozzle Ryan was gone but looks like they're just that unoriginal they can't make any original games nor can they come up with an original idea

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StickEmUp

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StickEmUp

@tbird7586: Umm… Sony has had handhelds before, and Xbox never has. So, Xbox is copying both Sony and Nintendo. Sony also has tons more original (and far better quality) games than Xbox. You’re just firing misses today.

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MyCatIsMilk

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MyCatIsMilk

For a company that loves to drop support for their gaming hardware within a year or two, if that, I'll pass.

5 • 
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Ohaidere

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Ohaidere

What are you talking about? For almost 2 years I've heard the next big PSVR2 exclusive is just around the corner.

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DavidinCT

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Edited By DavidinCT

@Ohaidere: Vita ring a bell ? How about PSP....

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Rolento25

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Rolento25

@DavidinCT: PsP was great, what are you going on about?

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Ohaidere

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Ohaidere

@DavidinCT: At least PSP had Monster Hunter and Crisis Core--which would have been system sellers for me if I'd had money.

I can't name a single Vita game though.

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Abdulrahman1981

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Abdulrahman1981

I thought PlayStation Portal is A PS5 Portable System

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DavidinCT

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DavidinCT

@Abdulrahman1981: No it's streaming device

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Ayato_Kamina_1

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Ayato_Kamina_1

Playstation are really content to just imitate rather than innovate. They wait to see someone else have success in the market and then make their own, hoping that their brand-recognition and catalogue of exclusives will carry it to success.

Just look at Concord

7 • 
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DavidinCT

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DavidinCT

@Ayato_Kamina_1: Sounds like the modern iPhone, been copying Android from the days when Steve Jobs died.....

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chuckratm1

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chuckratm1

Without an SSD, I wouldn’t want it and I can’t see a handheld being able to handle the heat of an SSD.

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Havic316

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Havic316

I have the portal and like it quite a bit but a switch edition of a ps5 would be awesome.

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GalvatronType_R

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GalvatronType_R

If true, anyone who paid $200 for the Portal which does only one singular solitary thing and depends on an above average internet connection must feel like a fool.

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Ohaidere

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@GalvatronType_R: Why? I use mine regularly.

But I guess the uncomfirmed possibility of something releasing in several years makes the time I use it obsolete. Or something.

The hate for the portal is straight up weird.

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Brimac19

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Brimac19

@GalvatronType_R:

I’m sure anyone who got the Portal is more than happy with it and it’s selling very well. The new handheld is at least 3 to 4 years away if it ever releases!!!

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Blueresident87

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Blueresident87

Sony has never really shown enough support for their handhelds, they do not seem to split their focus well.

The PS Vita will always be a massive missed opportunity.

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LucasRezende9

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LucasRezende9

@Blueresident87: But if this is a portable system that runs PS5 games and not a separate type of software, then it's a different story. Cause as long as the PS5 continues being supported so will their handheld.

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nintendians

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nintendians

always jump on the nintendo bandwagon.

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MyCatIsMilk

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MyCatIsMilk

@nintendians: In this case, it would be Steam Deck. Sony already copied Nintendo with the PSP and Vita and those flopped.

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Rolento25

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Rolento25

@mycatismilk: PsP was a flop? are you simple?!

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MyCatIsMilk

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MyCatIsMilk

@rolento25: Are you? See any future handheld since Vita? Notice how it's gone? Nintendo still going strong. You dense, bud?

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Rolento25

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Rolento25

@mycatismilk: Lmao, do you even hear yourself? It's amazing you made it this far in life.

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DavidinCT

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DavidinCT

@mycatismilk: SteamDeck copying Nintendo ? Not even in the same category..... Nintendo made locked portable gaming systems. Handheld PCs like the Deck have been out for many years now, we can bring devices like that before the DS (although handheld dedicated PCs were pretty bad in the early days).

The PSP didn't flop, it sold like 88 million devices but, the vita was lower but, blew away the 3DS for performance and quality of AAA tiles (not Nintendo stuff but, bigger name games)

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nintendians

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nintendians

@mycatismilk: sony been copying nintendo's concept since the n64 days, since the n64 was the 1st system to have 4 players.

2 • 
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DavidinCT

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Edited By DavidinCT

@nintendians: It's Nintendo's reason why Sony is making consoles in the first place....

Nintendo contracted Sony to design a CD addon, I believe for the SNES or N64, and long story short Nintendo screwed Sony after a large investment into it.

Sony said, We can do better.....and welcome to the PS1...

the story is longer and more detailed than this but, look it up...

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nintendians

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@DavidinCT: yeah, after sony wanted all of nintendo's ip back then in the 1st place if sony make the nintendo playstation (snes cd), nintendo said "no" and went to philp to make one but end up cancelling the add on later on, since sega cd wasn't selling that well too.

but i was talking about multitap for ps1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Multitap). sony probably saw nintendo having 4 controller ports on the nintendo 64 and sony copied that concept to have 4 to 8 player play on one screen.

2 • 
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DavidinCT

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Edited By DavidinCT

@nintendians:

Remember, the PlayStation didn't exist till after the SNES and it was because of that thing that happened that created the PlayStation.

Did you actually play the bad ports of Zelda and Mario for the Philips CD-i (I have)? Nintendo gave up their IPs for Philips but, not Sony? Personally, Sony would have done a better job with the games...

Meh, copying Nintendo for a multi-player adapter? I have seen some 4 player adapters for systems going back to the Atari 2600. Nintendo didn't invent it, others have, today, it's a non-issue as wireless could have tons of controllers if they wanted...

Of course, Nintendo wants to be like Apple who claim they invented everything when it's been on Android for like 4-5 years...

The big N as they are called, or the big Bully...

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nintendians

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@DavidinCT: yes, that when nintendo wanted a cd addon for the snes, before the next console was released (n64, ps1 and sega saturn),

no i didn't play it, but i know it wasn't cannon and it's awful. nintendo didn't give up their ip to philips, it was a deal between them to make the snes cd but when that didn't happened, nintendo let philips use it for their cd-i console. maybe sony would but not way sony made the deal with nintendo - sony knows that nintendo's ip would sell so they wanted that too.

okay, i never check that far in gaming years. not arguing about today's standard for how many gamepad controllers a console could connect.

true, i wouldn't argue about that.

nothing wrong when protecting your stuff that you make or owned it.

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what101

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Edited By what101

@mycatismilk: PSP actually did solid. 80 mil sold, it's above what the 3ds sold. It was pre touchscreen phones becoming the norm so handhelds that weren't from Nintendo still had a chance.

The DS kicked it's butt left and right with almost double the sales, but it still did decent enough for a successor.

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DavidinCT

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DavidinCT

@what101: The Vita was a great system....

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what101

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what101

@DavidinCT: ok? Good for you? I don't know why you're replying that to me, I made no mention about anything in regards to the Vita.

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MoogleStar

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Risky. I love my PS5 but Sony's last products - Pro, Portal, and VR2 have only done moderately well as far as I know. Hopefully they deliver something worthwhile because Nintendo has that market pretty much locked down, and then there's also Steamdeck.

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Gifford38

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@mooglestar said:

Risky. I love my PS5 but Sony's last products - Pro, Portal, and VR2 have only done moderately well as far as I know. Hopefully they deliver something worthwhile because Nintendo has that market pretty much locked down, and then there's also Steamdeck.

portal are doing great numbers after the last update on the portal. psvr2 game list is getting larger and larger. games like metro and aliens and behemoth. after black friday psvr2 will be 350 bucks. Nintendo does not have vr on locked down.

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RSM-HQ

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RSM-HQ

If I can play Monster Hunter Wilds on it that would be amazing. Played a lot of MH on the PSP.

2 • 
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GirlUSoCrazy

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GirlUSoCrazy

At least when you install a game they don't have to keep spinning the disc so that should cut down on battery usage for a portable.

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Ohaidere

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This could be awesome, but Sony support for non flagship platforms like Vita, and more recently PSVR2 has been tepid.

The platforms certainly had/have 3rd party support, but they've lacked must have title outside of some early pushes.

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RSM-HQ

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Edited By RSM-HQ

@Ohaidere: A lot of people don't want to admit it but a large part of the PSPs success was Monster Hunter. Which the Vita lacked.

Sure eventually Vita got Portable 3rd but the damage was already done.

Nintendo got all the 4th gen MH games on 3DS, while the Vita just became dead-weight for a niche crowd.

Vita had no standout game worth being on a handheld. A lot of it was PS3 ports, mostly inferior in every way.

2 • 
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mogan

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mogan  Moderator

@RSM-HQ: Why would people not want to admit that?

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RSM-HQ

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Edited By RSM-HQ

@mogan: Don't know if an actual question or what. .

Been around for sometime on various gaming forums and majority state they didn't know Monster Hunter existed till World, noting how irrelevant it was prior to generation 5. MH was essential to the PlayStation Portables success and is so swiftly brushed under the rug.

But I'm guessing you want some form of proof? look at PSP listings from reviews. Oh they don't think much of MH despite it being very well recieved by customers. Here is the Game Spot must play PSP games. . Oh look no Monster Hunter. .

A lot of people bought a PSP just for MH.

Of the top 10 selling PSP games; three of them are Monster Hunter games.

The only game to sell more than P3rd is a Grand Theft Auto game. Which everyone knows is among the best selling game franchises ever. & at the time GTA was the biggest video game franchise around.

So yeah. Vita failed because it could no longer piggyback on the Monster Hunter franchise.

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LucasRezende9

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Edited By LucasRezende9

@Ohaidere: Biggest problem with Vita was that it was treated as a separate platform that needed its own games and ports while all the focus was on the PS4. If it's a system that actually plays PS5 games on its own, without being a remote play/streaming only device, that could work. But it would need to be a very powerful machine. Switch manages to do that with a much simpler hardware, this handheld would need to keep a level of fidelity on par with the PS5.

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Ohaidere

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@lucasrezende9: You make a good point. I was thinking of this in more of a pre Switch handheld context, but between that and Steam Deck that ship has probably sailed.

I suppose by the time or if it comes out it probably would functionality be a successor to the portal with on-board options, so I'd probably get it.

2 • 
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gameboy8877

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gameboy8877

@Ohaidere: in 4 years the PS6 is surely to launch— if they got this out by then and wanted it to run PS5 games it would sure help if they’d had a Series S equivalent all along. Devs aren’t gonna go back and make low settings ports to their years old games especially with a new gen already begun

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