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Could a PS4 portable be Sony answer to Nintendo?Can it be done?
- Thread starter HighFive
- Start date
If the plan for the PlayStation platform moving forward from the PS4 was to have the PS4 be the base line model with every new hardware iteration just improving on that while promising compatibility with older models of the hardware, they could have eventually released a portable baseline PS4. But if they're intention is to still have large generational jumps (which I believe is what Sony reps have brought up) then it is unlikely to ever happen.
The best thing SONY can do now is staying fucking away from portable things and focus on exclusives .
You're not wrong. However, if the Switch makes inroads on the traditional console space, then it won't become apparent until at least a couple of years have passed and at that point, a portable PS4 isn't going to be the answer. Your question should be whether the PS5 should be designed with a future portable/hybrid variant in mind.
Hypothetically it is conceivable that in say 2019 AMD (or hell, Intel with their new focus on GPU) could deliver a custom x86 APU that could be approximately around PS4 power... at 15w... just for the APU. Entire Switch is around what 5-7 watt power-wise? The key here is that you would want x86 so not to port, i.e. the whole hybrid thing, and then maybe some optimization downgrade would be needed.
7.5W APU is unrealistic in the next couple years so I just don't see it for a while. ARM is almost at that level (new Apple chips in iPhone 8 and X are very fast, for example) and will be by 2019 which is great... for Nintendo but not so much for Sony/MS since again, that would require full on ports which defeats the whole point.
Edit: Something the size of say 13" laptop could be delivered but I am not certain what would the market be. New Sony not-Vaio, now plays PS4 games?
7.5W APU is unrealistic in the next couple years so I just don't see it for a while. ARM is almost at that level (new Apple chips in iPhone 8 and X are very fast, for example) and will be by 2019 which is great... for Nintendo but not so much for Sony/MS since again, that would require full on ports which defeats the whole point.
Edit: Something the size of say 13" laptop could be delivered but I am not certain what would the market be. New Sony not-Vaio, now plays PS4 games?
Sony could do it, but they have no business motivation to do it right now.
The Switch happened in the right set of circumstances for its success, and the PS4 had its own set of circunstances for its own massive success. They have different form factors and they are complementary, both in the sense that they have different exclusives and in that, with multiplats, they sit at different points in the versatility/fidelity scale. Right now each firm has a good grasp of their own niche. More on that later.
So, Sony could do it in a future, but why? They would have to switch to ARM and support two versions of the same platform, (It'd be a PS5 portable, running the same games only at 1080/720p) and they'd be competing with the Switch 2, which will be exactly this in a few years.
So, Sony will probably stick to their own market, in which they are doing pretty well.
The Switch happened in the right set of circumstances for its success, and the PS4 had its own set of circunstances for its own massive success. They have different form factors and they are complementary, both in the sense that they have different exclusives and in that, with multiplats, they sit at different points in the versatility/fidelity scale. Right now each firm has a good grasp of their own niche. More on that later.
So, Sony could do it in a future, but why? They would have to switch to ARM and support two versions of the same platform, (It'd be a PS5 portable, running the same games only at 1080/720p) and they'd be competing with the Switch 2, which will be exactly this in a few years.
So, Sony will probably stick to their own market, in which they are doing pretty well.
They have shareholders that are probably already asking about this.
It can be done but no way they'll outclass Nintendo in portables
HAHAHAHA WHAT? Nobody can do portables like Nintendo!
OP
OP
Lol. Your not the only one feeling that way. I dont think streaming is there yet. Maybe Sony wil focus on that to make it better , i dunno, but it got is flaw. And they just keep pushing PS Now which seem for me just horrible for lag. For home streaming, i think its good, i just found it not the same experience because of the controller
Sony's answer to Nintendo is doing what they've done for years, make quality home consoles.
You can't make a portable machine without massive compromises and I'd rather see a true PS5 than a underpowered hybrid machine.
You can't make a portable machine without massive compromises and I'd rather see a true PS5 than a underpowered hybrid machine.
So a Vita 2 essentially in some fashion? Or rather a PS4 Portable... the PS4P without an exclusive library? I love the Vita but that isn't ever happening again in either case I think.
Still... Vita is love; Vita is life!
Edit: not sure how the PS4 library could even run on the thing so I don't believe that's really the answer.
Still... Vita is love; Vita is life!
Edit: not sure how the PS4 library could even run on the thing so I don't believe that's really the answer.
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No and Sony doesn't need an answer to Nintendo. They do their own thing. It's actually a really nice situation at the moment IMO: Japanese and western console games on PS4, portable games on Switch with both Sony and Nintendo focusing all their recources on one device.
Won't happen as it has a drawback of requiring low-end hardware due to its compact form in order to prevent overheating.
Too young to remember the walkman, or even the 80million plus selling PSP which the 3DS wont outsell?
Sony isn't good at juggling two different platforms and to some extent i feel as if Nintendo isn't either. Sony needs to just focus on one thing they are good at and that's consoles. Nintendo putting their attention into one platform is going to bring a lot of software and pretty much a win win for console and handheld gamers.
The "answer" to Nintendo is supply constraints because of mobile NAND competition, it's why they're at 7m right now. But if Nintendo can actually ship another 30m units in the next year Sony should absolutely consider fighting fire with fire. I love both platforms.
Plus not everybody is interesting in the portability side of things. Too many sacrifices need to be made at times.. so I'm with you both are doing excellent and focusing on what they do best.
Does Sony really need an answer to the Switch? I guess that's the question that should be answered. I'd be down for your proposal though. Just seems really unlikely
In the handheld gaming market? Is this serious or have you not heard of the Gameboy and DS?
I don't think there's room for two portables in the market. Especially a Sony one after the Vita. Nintendo just has a stranglehold on that market. Plus with Sony's exclusives focusing so much on cinematic graphics, immersion etc. there's probably a lot more like me that only want to play Uncharted, Horizon etc. on our big screens (as evidenced by Vita having Uncharted, Killzone etc. and not generating much buzz or sales). Vs Nintendo's more gameplay focused games and cartoonish art styles where you're not missing out on as much of the experience when playing on a small screen compared to a cinematic game.
Sony has the right approach with just working on their remote play and letting people play on their tablets, PCs etc. using dual shocks IMO.
Sony has the right approach with just working on their remote play and letting people play on their tablets, PCs etc. using dual shocks IMO.
Why do people want Sony to compete in a market they have shown time and time again they don't care about?
Nintendo offers something that only decades of investment and time is going to compete with. Trying for the 3rd time to shoehorn in the AAA experience in a handheld form factor, then abandoning the whole thing entirely when it fails to match Nintendo (again) is a waste of time and resources.
The vita is dead. The mobile market will never support an Xperia play 2. These are realities for Sony. Let Nintendo continue to clean up in the portable domain and let Sony maintain the one area of gaming they have ever gained dominance.
The PS4 is like the PS1 and PS1 before it, a jack of all trades and a master of none. That's the area of the industry Sony works best in. They will never be full in on the Hardcore gamerike Microsoft nor will have the Disney like quality of Nintendo. It's that quality, that makes Nintendos portable efforts as enjoyable as Sonys AAA games.
Sony on the other hand, has always seen the portable market as a place to shoehorn in cutdown inferior versions of IP. They don't get it and no amount of powerful hardware is going to change that.
Honestly, the only portable product that Sony should attempt at this point is a portable PS3 with full PS1 and PS2 BC. At least that could be argued for as a unique product that would need minimal support post launch, for a niche audience.
Nintendo offers something that only decades of investment and time is going to compete with. Trying for the 3rd time to shoehorn in the AAA experience in a handheld form factor, then abandoning the whole thing entirely when it fails to match Nintendo (again) is a waste of time and resources.
The vita is dead. The mobile market will never support an Xperia play 2. These are realities for Sony. Let Nintendo continue to clean up in the portable domain and let Sony maintain the one area of gaming they have ever gained dominance.
The PS4 is like the PS1 and PS1 before it, a jack of all trades and a master of none. That's the area of the industry Sony works best in. They will never be full in on the Hardcore gamerike Microsoft nor will have the Disney like quality of Nintendo. It's that quality, that makes Nintendos portable efforts as enjoyable as Sonys AAA games.
Sony on the other hand, has always seen the portable market as a place to shoehorn in cutdown inferior versions of IP. They don't get it and no amount of powerful hardware is going to change that.
Honestly, the only portable product that Sony should attempt at this point is a portable PS3 with full PS1 and PS2 BC. At least that could be argued for as a unique product that would need minimal support post launch, for a niche audience.
If something, the Switch is the answer to the question Nintendo has been asking itself this last few years: "How do we create a product that doesn't compete with Sony and MS?".
Nintendo cannot win just by making a "normal" console like the others.
Would a PS4 portable sell? Well, nobody knows.
Is Sony willing to spend millions to develop a new portable device? I doubt it.
Is this ever going to happen? Well, maybe in the future. If Sony can shrink PS4 architecture down to tablet size (with a less powerful GPU) and make most/every PS4 game compatible then yes. As long as they can sell it for less than 300$.
But it should be compatible out of the box, and that is hard since Sony can't possibly test every single game (don't expect developers to do it without a gun at their head). Plus, the size of current gen games is getting out of hand, good luck putting you 60GB+ games in an SD card.
I wish it was true, but it probably won't happen.
If that's possible, I would buy it immediately.
(Switch owner here).
The whole reason I got the PSV day1 was 'cause I was expecting it to be a portable ps3 (sharing the titles).
How naive I was...
(Switch owner here).
The whole reason I got the PSV day1 was 'cause I was expecting it to be a portable ps3 (sharing the titles).
How naive I was...
I own a vita love it. I owned a switch and I sold it. Nothing against Nintendo but there games dont mesh with me. I would love a vita 2 or an xbox portable due to the fact im not home a lot. I hope ms and sony make this happen
Agree.
Nintendo didn't answer Sony or MS, they answered themselves.
There is no need for Sony to do this. Another handheld, maybe. And I'm starting to doubt that will happen.
Nintendo found it's thing. They did since the Gameboy and Wii. The Wii U was just a misstep for them. But that was still their thing even tho it didn't sell good.
I don't think Sony should concern themselves with Nintendo's success with the Switch. Sony is at their best when they are busy maintaining and expanding their own identity rather than trying to emulate Nintendo or chasing market trends. Now, I'm going to contradict myself immediately...Sony should follow Nintendo's example and release a PSX Classic and PS2 classic with 100-200 games pre-loaded onto it with a cost of $100-$150. I think that's an endeavor worth taking and would really be an attractive item to enthusiasts and casuals.
Why does sony need to compete with nintendo? Did you all see what happened when the Wii was a smash success and virtually no one inside the industry cared? Sony/MS and all the 3rd parties kept going business as usual and tons of huge games came out and sold on those platforms. Sony is fine where they are now, they serve a massive part of the market that nintendo does not and hasn't in over 20 years. They're not going to be able to get the vast majority of 3rd party games due to the neutered power of the switch so all sony needs to do is keep their eye on what MS is doing.
Does Sony really have to have a response to the Switch? I'm not sure they really are competing directly against each other? They seem more to compliment each other. The PS4 for games you want to play at home with better graphics and the Switch for Nintendo games and games you want to play on the go. I mean are they even losing sales to the Switch?
The future of games is gaas. Even sony is looking into it . So to make gaas effective a portable or a hybrid is a much better product for it can be accessed anywhere , anytime . Sony isnt shy from pressing the reset button in a new generation . Cerny already mentioned Ps5 will be a clean break from ps4. Moving to powerful ARM cores could be the way sony go , switch has proved that it's CPU is perfectly capable to handle AAA games like Doom. So 8 ARM cores @2ghz for the hybrid sku with navi or beyond 14-18 CU Gpu will be doable for ps5 . They could also launch a ps5 4K machine with Psvr 2 .
I would rather expect them to add emulation in PS4 than milking fans using classic devices which is just not worth it than being a collector of that device rather playing games in it (as there many ways you can play classic games these days without these also). PS4 already at $199 and adding PSX library emulation can give them huge user base to sell those games along users get more values out of their existing hardware to play games.
I really like what MS doing with their backwards compatibility using emulation and I think thats worth it.