A decade after the early demise of the PlayStation Vita, handheld gaming is extra vibrant than ever, main many individuals to wonder if Sony will someday attempt to get again into the transportable gaming market. Primarily based on a brand new report by Insider Gaming, the reply is each sure and no. Sony is seemingly engaged on a brand new handheld system, however it is going to presumably solely be for distant gaming with the PS5. It actually doesn’t sound just like the Vita 2 some followers have been dreaming about.
Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson experiences that this new system is codenamed the Q Lite and received’t work offline or like a standard cloud gaming handheld. As an alternative, it is going to seemingly work completely together with your present PS5 to stream video games remotely at as much as 1080p decision at 60 FPS. “Early prototypes present the console will look so much like a PlayStation 5 controller, however with a large 8-inch LCD touchscreen within the heart,” he writes. “The system sports activities adaptive triggers for haptic suggestions and can embody what you’d come to count on from a handheld – Quantity buttons, audio system, an audio enter jack, and so forth.”
Kotaku can’t corroborate Henderson’s report, however GiantBomb’s Jeff Grubb recently wrote that he has additionally heard about plans for a attainable “cloud-streaming handheld.” Sony didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
If correct, it’s a particularly odd selection that may actually be a letdown to longtime followers of Sony’s transportable gaming units. Whereas by no means as profitable as Nintendo’s Sport Boy and DS handhelds, the PSP and Vita have been slick units in their very own proper that each expanded on the PlayStation gaming ecosystem in novel and helpful methods.
Learn Extra: Everybody’s Making A New PlayStation Vita However Sony
We may spend all day re-litigating why the Vita in the end failed, each when it comes to gross sales and its recreation library, however what’s clear immediately that wasn’t a decade in the past is that cell gaming didn’t destroy the market for high-end portables. The Swap is arguably the most effective console of this {hardware} cycle, and the Steam Deck has now proven that with the precise tech you possibly can completely benefit from the latest blockbusters from God of Conflict to Elden Ring on a tool that matches between your arms.
So it’s disappointing, if not totally shocking, that Sony could also be trying to string the needle by providing the worst of each worlds: a doubtlessly dear accent that may’t play video games natively. That’s principally what the Logitech G at $350 is for Xbox, although even that system advantages from Sport Go cloud streaming assist. Primarily based on Henderson’s report, Q Lite received’t even be capable to stream PlayStation Plus video games if you happen to don’t already personal a PS5. The Razer Edge is one other gaming handheld whose restricted options battle to justify its $400 price ticket (or $600 for the 5G model). In each circumstances the conclusion was clear: simply purchase a Steam Deck.
And in a approach, Q Lite already exists. It’s referred to as my smartphone which at the moment helps PS5 Distant Play. Add the PlayStation Spine controllers launched final 12 months and you’ve got a full-fledged distant gaming handheld, although one I admittedly don’t use a ton as a result of the streaming expertise nonetheless isn’t nice general, particularly with so many higher choices round. Possibly by the point it truly ships, if it ever does, Sony’s subsequent gaming handheld will be capable to justify itself. Henderson experiences it may arrive earlier than the top of 2024.
