Imagining what a PlayStation Switch competitor would be like

Nintendo's Switch console has seen a lot of success since launch, and it's record breaking launch and consistently high sales are making the console harder to ignore among third party publishers, and Nintendo's contemporaries. Not too long ago, Sony mentioned that they can no longer afford to ignore the Switch. Newly appointed Sony Interactive CEO, John Kodera also talked about being interested in another mobile PlayStation device.

Now I love the Switch, but I don't the hybrid home console market to be a Nintendo monopoly. I think the Switch needs a direct competitor or two, to benefit. Of the big two, Sony was always the hardest to predict in terms of how they would respond to the Switch's success. Microsoft could at least make a gaming focused Windows 10 tablet that could dock to a desktop monitor, but Sony is more of a wild card since they don't really have that kind of synergy and infrastructure. So why don't we speculate about how Sony will approach the next generation.

In my opinion, I think Sony is going to go into next gen with two consoles, rather than one. The first console, will be PlayStation 5 with all the next gen specs and features that gamers and third parties are looking for in a new console. The second console, will be a Switch-style hybrid with detachable controllers that we'll for now, call PlayStation Snap. It'd be similar to when Sony had the PSP and PS3, and PS Vita and PS4 where Sony offered two platforms, but it'll work a little different this time. Rather than aim at the PlayStation gamers who want something to accompany their PS5, PS Snap will be targeting a completely different audience. Sony will position this device at more casual gamers used to mobile games, lapsed gamers who want something convenient, or simply newcomers who want a cheaper, more user friendly alternative to next gen consoles. Similar to the Switch's target audience.

At home, the PS Snap "Go Unit" console rests in the "TV Unit" dock. When the player is ready to go, they simply take the Go Unit out of the TV Unit, and snap on the "Play Unit" Controllers, which connect via some ultra-force magnet technology. At a table, you can pop open the kick-stand, and snap off the Play Units for some tabletop gameplay, with each controller containing a Sixaxis accelerometer and gyroscope. You can even pass a Play Unit to a friend for out of the box multiplayer, and connect multiple Go units together via Wireless ad-hoc. Sounds familiar right? And it should, but there are a few key difference here.

The Play Units themselves mimic the layout of the typical PlayStation DualShock controller (And yes, DualShock 4 and 5 controllers will be fully compatible), but with a twist, a rotating mecanism lets you swap the positions of the analog stick and face buttons. This comes in handy when you're sharing a Play Unit with a friend, but it's also useful for deciding a good control layout. A 2D game may make you want to use the controllers with the default layout, but in a FPS, you might want to prioritize the analog sticks over the face buttons.

The TV Unit also has a few tricks up its sleeve. In addition to a Tegra X2 processor powering the main Go Unit console, the TV Unit will also contain an x86 co-processor, along with an extra GB of RAM. This allows TV performance to match the PlayStation 4 as closely as possible.

Now, you won't be playing too many AAA games on this thing, for obvious reasons, but there should be plenty of stuff regarding software. On Sony's side, a new Horizon game will release exclusively on PS Snap, ports of some of the best, and less demanding fist party games will also arrive, and a new multiplayer IP from Japan Studio will release on PS Snap, PS4, and PS5 with cross-play. Because they all use the same development environment, tools, OS and hardware, porting between the three systems is near instantaneous, which should reduce software droughts. For third parties, indie games will be all on board, and Japanese developers will support it with the same kinds of games found on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Western Developers will use it as an entry point for casual gamers to get into AAA franchises with remasters, as well as ports of less demanding titles like Doom.

In the end, this is all speculation, much of this will likely be false, and Sony can do something completely different for all we know. Still, it's fun to speculate as to what a Switch alternative could potentially be like.

A Playstation Switch will be like abandoned.

except in japan.

ps4 fanboys will be crying their eyes out. now they have to share exclusives lol

I truly hope Sony to doesn't even entertain the thought, their place is to be as powerful as possible piece of metal and plastic underneath the TV. Any attempt by to emulate the Switch formula will only serve to soften their place in the console wars. Bring the pain with the PS5, and if they really want to throw $ at the problem release another handheld that can crossplay. Few will buy it, as has already been foretold, whatever, but it won't cost them console marketshare. What will cost them marketshare is to try to emulate Nintendo. They need to realize their place. Time will tell...

They can still do that, but they can also make a weaker hybrid home console aimed at a completely separate demographic on-top of that. Remember, this PlayStation Snap won't be aimed at the people buying a PS5, it'll be aimed at casual gamers who want something cheaper, more accessible and more convenient than a traditional home console.

Sony still on cozy grounds it seems. For all that switch sales, PS4 still no.1 monthly and yearly. Do hope for a playstation handheld device though. Personally, PSP and PSV is much better than their nintendo counterpart.

yea the sales prove that too.

@sakaixx: Well comparing a new console with a unique concept and is only a year old to a console that's five years old and already having its best sales now that its more affordable and everyone had moved on from the PS3 is a bit different. Switch was also plagued with supply shortages in its first year, and those supply issues are basically gone. As more of the Switch's bigger titles this year start coming, PS4 could be facing a much stiffer sales gap going forward. This is why Sony needs a more direct answer to the Switch because its selling well, and will only sell more each year.

Ps4 also plagued by shortages in its first year. also for a console in its 5th year outselling switch is pretty crazy. its in its fifth year, not three!

I would buy it. Despite all the hate it gets, I love my Vita. Sure Sony didn't put much work into keeping it alive, but a lot of japanese devs did and it has a lot of awesome JRPGs and other japanese games on it, including the best version of Persona 4

@TheMisterManGuy: Not denying how impressive it is, just saying that the Switch hasn't reached its full potential yet, plus you also have to consider the fact that Kratos and his new game single handedly hurled PS4s to people for most of the first half on his own, so there's that as well. Switch fever is real, but it's still impressive how well the PS4 is able to hold its own.

I think Sony will do what they usually do when Nintendo finds success, and make basically the same thing three to four years from now.

Lol... I'm sure they'd come up with some excuse as to why they're still exclusive.

But anyway, I'd actually like to see a Switch competitor from Sony. An improved Vita would be nice.

The guy has some idea to merge the standard idea of the console with the network, whatever that means.

In the Wall Street Journal's full report, Kodera hinted once more that the next PlayStation might not look like a traditional game console. "We need to depart from the traditional way of looking at the console life cycle," he told reporters. "We're no longer in a time when you can think just about the console or just about the network like they're two different things."

https://www.cnet.com/news/sony-playstation-5-john-kodera/

@Ant_17: My guess is that they're trying to build a singular unified development OS, where they can build a game, scale it to desired platforms, and deploy a single ROM file onto the store that can run on any PlayStation platform. This will help developers smoothly transition over to the PlayStation 5, while also ensuring that those who still support the PlayStation 4 don't get left out, and ensures porting between all 3 systems in near instantaneous.

I imagine one of its selling point will be you can stream PS Now games on it, kind of like the Vita had at one time.

Even if the system doesn't stand to be successful, Sony should still make one to prevent Japanese third party support from avalanching onto Switch. I mean, Vita was an utter failure yet got a lot of third party support, heck, still does.

Sony is unlikely to make a hybrid. The PlayStation fanbase expects a high powered console which means even if you offer two consoles, you still need cloud streaming, and Sony just doesn't have (yet) the ability to pull that off on a scale like Microsoft.

@blueberry_bandit: The point of a PlayStation hybrid would be that it wouldn't be aimed at the main PlayStation audience. They have a PS4 and eventually PS5 for that. The PS hybrid console would be aimed at the Switch's target audience, that being casual audiences, mobile gamers looking for a console, lapsed gamers, and those either too busy or too intimidated by traditional home consoles. I love the Switch, but I think Sony can and should create a nice alternative to Nintendo's product.

Nintendo tends to be more willing to compete when they have a direct counterpart to their console.

The DS had its best sells in its 5th year, true story.

The Vita was pretty nice compared to other handhelds. That memory card killed it for me though. I can picture Sony easily making a portable PS4(plays everything PS4 can currently play) that also streams or connects by dock to a tv. I don't think the R&D would be expensive, nor the parts. It won't sell nearly as well as Nintendos, but should still make Sony profit. They better use an SD card this time though. I also think they could sell this for $200 instead of switches $300 price tag.

There is one problem... Exclusives, PS exclusives are very demanding and cutting edge and would be difficult to scale down to such a degree. Its why the only company who can pull this off is Nintendo.

PS4 Switch would be a drastic step in the opposite direction both Sony and MS are heading, and no one would buy it. I wouldn't... It would cost what $300-350 and perform worse than a PS4?... No thanks.

Yeah while PS4 is projected to not sold as much as last year

Except the part that Sony abandons it lol. No one can possibly think that part is better.

yeah obviously it failed. cut the loses and move on, a very simple concept.

To be honest I was very surprised Sony gave up so fast with Vita. I loved my Psp very much.

If the Vita is anything, a Sony Switch would get ~3 first party games, and then Sony would immediately drop all support for the platform.