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[ArtHands]

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

 

[nial]

Absolutely no reason for them to care.

 

[Topher]

Handheld market is blowing up. Not just about Nintendo anymore.

 

[YCoCg]

This would make zero sense, I'd rather them just have a go at their own Switch like device to be the successor of the Vita, which can also play PS1, PS2, PSP and Vita games.

 

[MarkMe2525]

I mean they probably should not.... but yes, absolutely, please.

 

[kiphalfton]

They failed enough times with the PSP and PS Vita (and all the different revisions) that they probably know better now.

A portable console that isn't a Nintendo console is unlikely to happen again. Add on top of that pretty much everybody in the world has a smartphone, and there is no room for anymore portable consoles.

And besides, the steam deck is a completely niche product (which means Asus and Lenovo's stuff will fare even less favorably).

 

[BrunoCoel]

Nintendo is MUCH bigger than those. Have no idea why Sony should care.

 

[GHG]

No, it's actually Xbox that should.

 

[Topher]

I mean they probably should not.... but yes, absolutely, please.

 

[MarkMe2525]

No, it's actually Xbox that should.

This too. Never too many Handheld options.

 

[Topher]

I mean they probably should not.... but yes, absolutely, please.

Just like you, bro. Should they? Probably not. Do I want them to? Yeah...I really do.

 

[jshackles]

Why make a device that can play PC games with their own custom OS (like Steam Deck has), when they could make the same device a walled garden (like the PSP / Vita) and earn 30% revenue or more on the games they sell? Basically, what incentive would Sony have to want to make an open handheld device?

 

[Sleepwalker]

Day 0 for me but they won't.

Also $499 with better specs than rog ally? We are talking PSVR2 pricing for those specs at minimum.

 

[Fbh]

Why would they release new hardware with terrible profit margins (if you want better specs than the Ally for a significant lower price) all so people can go buy games on Steam where they get a 0% cut of the software sales?

 

[Vox Machina]

Handheld market is blowing up. Not just about Nintendo anymore.

Agreed. There's no doubt in my mind that all 3 hardware vendors are prototyping handhelds of some sort and will have them as native entries in their hardware lineup at some point.

Why would they release new hardware with terrible profit margins (if you want better specs than the Ally for a significant lower price) all so people can go buy games on Steam where get a 0% cut of the software sales?

There's no reason it would need to run Windows. Sony's stationary console doesn't run Windows and gets tons of software support.

No, it's actually Xbox that should.

There's no doubt in my mind that the Series S hardware gets shoved into a Handheld the very second that physics and materials science supports it.

 

[RoboFu]

Why ? They can just release the game on pc.
This way they get the sale but don’t have to invest in hardware.

 

[Fbh]

There's no reason it would need to run Windows. Sony's stationary console doesn't run Windows and gets tons of software support.

But OP didn't say he wants a portable console.
He literally asked for a portable PC that plays PC games and runs windows

 

[ArtHands]

This would make zero sense, I'd rather them just have a go at their own Switch like device to be the successor of the Vita, which can also play PS1, PS2, PSP and Vita games.

Why make a device that can play PC games with their own custom OS (like Steam Deck has), when they could make the same device a walled garden (like the PSP / Vita) and earn 30% revenue or more on the games they sell? Basically, what incentive would Sony have to want to make an open handheld device?

we already saw how Vita turned out.

 

[Vox Machina]

But OP didn't say he wants a portable console.
He literally asked for a portable PC that plays PC games and runs windows

customized OS instead of Windows

?????

To be fair a Playstation Handheld running Windows but with a custom launcher would work as well, but Sony would have to start supporting PC day-and-date for anyone to give half a shit about that proposition. The more likely route is they make a custom Playstation OS similar in architecture to their OS that runs on the stationary Playstation, that makes porting much easier to the hypothetical handheld.

 

[Clintizzle]

Oh fuck, i'm gonna cum.

edit - nvmd read the title wrong

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I'm down with PPP.

 

[Woopah]

Because its a small, niche market and their resources are probably better spent elsewhere.

 

[CamHostage]

Why make a device that can play PC games with their own custom OS (like Steam Deck has), when they could make the same device a walled garden (like the PSP / Vita) and earn 30% revenue or more on the games they sell?

Well, barring some miracle turn in the industry, they're not going to make another PSP/Vita with its own unique software library again, so that's out...

Also, this PS PC would have a walled garden. PlayStation classics from the PS-PS3/PSP/Vita eras would conceivably come through a PlayStation Store launcher, in emulation wrappers for running on PC hardware like this device.

There's problems or questions about this idea (including Sony backing out of the BC market with changes to the PS Store and delisting old hardware titles; only a small number of games have been re-released in PS4/PS5 format.) (Also, nothings stopping them from putting out a PS Launcher without dedicated hardware, aside from maybe some security concerns which they would have anyway. ) But there's reasons to consider it, given what else is going on in the market.

 

[Schmendrick]

We already have one crappy toaster level console making multiplat development a miserable experience with the Series S, we don't need another....

 

[iamvin22]

Lol No.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

No.

And the word success is being thrown around a lot these days.

The steam deck has sold like 1.6M units since launch. The PS Vita sold 16M units in its lifetime...and was considered a failure.

And if what we are asking is that they make a portable that can play the PS4/5 library? Then that is exactly what Project Q is supposed to be.

 

[adamsapple]

Project Q got you covered.

 

[CamHostage]

...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'

Remember that the original rumor before Project Q was that there was going to be a portable device made in partnership with ASUS.

Not sure how that all shook out (is Ally a device Sony at some point "On second thought, never mind..." to?), but it might make sense to just partner with one of these companies and brand somebody else's portable PC with PlayStation markings.

They already have a licensed controller with Backbone (and that's for the mobile market, where PS has little influence, ) and they wouldn't have to take on the inventory or really do anything. They would just endorse one of these many handhelds and put the □○☆^ on the buttons. Sony's own games are already on Steam to play on it, they could consider a PS Classics PC launcher with or without this thing, and if it's not a hit, it's just branding, not a "real" PlayStation.

 

[Killer8]

They failed enough times with the PSP and PS Vita (and all the different revisions) that they probably know better now.

A portable console that isn't a Nintendo console is unlikely to happen again. Add on top of that pretty much everybody in the world has a smartphone, and there is no room for anymore portable consoles.

And besides, the steam deck is a completely niche product (which means Asus and Lenovo's stuff will fare even less favorably).

The PSP was a success which sold 80 million units. That's in the ballpark of the GBA figures and is more than the 3DS.

 

[Fbh]

?????

To be fair a Playstation Handheld running Windows but with a custom launcher would work as well, but Sony would have to start supporting PC day-and-date for anyone to give half a shit about that proposition. The more likely route is they make a custom Playstation OS similar in architecture to their OS that runs on the stationary Playstation, that makes porting much easier to the hypothetical handheld.

You are right, I missread the part about Windows.
Either way if it's running PC games like OP wants it would still need some solution like what Steam is doing with proton and it would still need some storefront to buy PC games.
Is Sony going to make a completely new independed storefront to compete with Epic/Steam/GOG? Is it actually going to get any major third party support on it? Or are they just going to Allow Steam? (once again getting into the problem of no revenue from third party software).

A sort of portable Ps4 could work I guess, with a custom OS and using the regular PSN store. Except then it's no longer a portable PC, doesn't have PC games, doesn't have the same customization options, doesn't have emulation and might not get much in terms of future software support unless Sony decided to make all their games for it too like Nintendo (which would kinda suck for Ps5 owners)

 

[ArtHands]

You are right, I missread the part about Windows.
Either way if it's running PC games like OP wants it would still need some solution like what Steam is doing with proton and it would still need some storefront to buy PC games.
Is Sony going to make a completely new independed storefront to compete with Epic/Steam/GOG? Is it actually going to get any major third party support on it? Or are they just going to Allow Steam? (once again getting into the problem of no revenue from third party software).

A sort of portable Ps4 could work I guess, with a custom OS and using the regular PSN store. Except then it's no longer a portable PC, doesn't have PC games, doesn't have the same customization options, doesn't have emulation and might not get much in terms of future software support unless Sony decided to make all their games for it too like Nintendo (which would kinda suck for Ps5 owners)

It seems you don't understand what a PC means and can do. Let me help: You can install and launch various PC games launchers on it. Sony do not need to sell PC games themselves directly on it.
Let PC people install & run Steam on it and whatever PC launchers. Let console people stream PS games and run low end PS games on it. Let PC + PS people do both.

 

[kvltus lvlzvs]

But it should just be called a pp

Worked well for nintendo

 

[BrunoCoel]

Oh fuck, i'm gonna cum.

In my mouth pls.

 

[RedC]

But it should just be called a pp

Worked well for nintendo

Sony should release a PlayStation PortaPotty so PPP has a double meaning.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Imagine the PPP being able to play PC games

compatible with all PC peripherals in desktop mode

For that you need Windows.

 

[Fbh]

It seems you don't understand what a PC means and can do. Let me help: You can install and launch various PC games launchers on it. Sony do not need to sell PC games themselves directly on it.
Let PC people install & run Steam on it and whatever PC launchers. Let console people stream PS games and run low end PS games on it.

And it seems you don't understand the console business model.
The reason consoles are usually cheap and offer a good "bang for the buck" is because Sony (or another console maker) doesn't really make a lot of money selling cheap hardware with mediocre profit margins. What makes money for consoles is software and services. The reason products like the ROG ALLY or pre build PC's are expensive is because the manufacturer actually has to make money from the hardware as they have no consistent way to get money from the customer once they have bought the hardware.

With a closed system like the Ps5 Sony takes a cut from every single game sold on Ps5, they take a cut from every single DLC or microtransaction sold on PSN, they get $45-60 a year from everyone who wants to play online on PSN. They can afford to sell the Ps5 for cheap because every active PS5 user is constantly generating revenue for them.

What you want is Sony to apply the same logic and sell something stronger than the ALLY for a much lower price. probably at a loss. But then give people the option to go buy games on Steam or Epic where they get a 0% cut (and also where people can play online for free).

You think I'd buy anything (except maybe the occasional exclusive) on PSN if Steam was available on Ps5 with cheaper games, free multiplayer, all PC/XBOX exclusives and a more consumer friendly return policy?

 

[leo-j]

They failed enough times with the PSP and PS Vita (and all the different revisions) that they probably know better now.

A portable console that isn't a Nintendo console is unlikely to happen again. Add on top of that pretty much everybody in the world has a smartphone, and there is no room for anymore portable consoles.

And besides, the steam deck is a completely niche product (which means Asus and Lenovo's stuff will fare even less favorably).

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 .

 

[JordiENP]

"Successful" Steam Deck and Asus ROG is not really that successful when it comes to real sales. It's more noise than anything if you really see the numbers and you compare Nintendo sales and what Sony would like to sell.

People that want a portable PlayStation could buy one of those and emulate every PS console from PSX to PS3 and play the pc ports... Plus the thousands of playable pc games that aren't not going to be available on a PlayStation portable.

 

[Dream-Knife]

No need to brand it playstation. Call it the Vaio whatever.

 

[StereoVsn]

If they managed to make a device that could play PS1, PS2, PSP, Vita, PS3 and PS4 games and stream PS5 (maybe natively play lighter ones), I would pony up $600-700 for sure.

 

[Gojiira]

That naming convention is godawful OP…It would be and should be the PSPC, it sounds way better than PPP…
I agree with the sentiments of others though that if Sony are going to have a handheld again it should be more like the Switch, if ‘docked’ offered the ordinary Playstation experience and ‘handheld’ was say 1440p 60fps and it played PS1,2,3,4,5 and PSP/Vita games it would be perfect.
Short of buying Valve and thus giving Sony the largest PC games marketplace I really cant see PS releasing a PC centric handheld.

 

[Puscifer]

If they managed to make a device that could play PS1, PS2, PSP, Vita, PS3 and PS4 games and stream PS5 (maybe natively play lighter ones), I would pony up $600-700 for sure.

Steam deck is like 399 already

 

[Aenima]

The problem is they already have PSVR2. So if they created a portable console to run games offline, they would want some studios making a few exclusives for it. And the more studios spread out the less the PS5 gets. So no thanks. I dont like streaming but i think the Project Q is a better solution for Sony.
Nintendo (hybrid) path is the way to go if u want a home console and a native portable console.

 

[jroc74]

I guess, but Sony sold their PC division years ago.

Cant see them getting back into PC hardware.

No need to brand it playstation. Call it the Vaio whatever.

Exactly, lol.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

They failed enough times with the PSP and PS Vita (and all the different revisions) that they probably know better now.

A portable console that isn't a Nintendo console is unlikely to happen again. Add on top of that pretty much everybody in the world has a smartphone, and there is no room for anymore portable consoles.

And besides, the steam deck is a completely niche product (which means Asus and Lenovo's stuff will fare even less favorably).

The notion that the PSP was in any way a failure is laughable. One of the best-selling systems of all time.

Sony's biggest failure with the Vita was that they were struggling to create software for both it and the PS3 at the same time. This isn't unique though. Nintendo struggled to support the Wii U and the 3DS at the same time as well, and ultimately unified their handheld and console into a hybrid system.

The lesson the Switch has taught us and why a PC portable wouldn't work for Sony is that to be really successful you need to sell at scale and you need to make royalties off of software.

Sony could look for a middle ground where a Portable PS4 sold at a profit could extend the sale of PS4 games throughout the generation, but the existing software would cannibalize new software sales.

There probably isn't room for a bespoke handheld system in the modern era.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I guess, but Sony sold their PC division years ago.

Cant see them getting back into PC hardware.


Exactly, lol.

Selling the Vaio was a huge mistake. Enterprise is DYING for a premium build PC to compete with Mac and there just is nothing there.

Sony has made mistake after mistake with PC, mobile, and music.

 

[Guilty_AI]

As long as its an actual PC

 

[64bitmodels]

They failed enough times with the PSP

that was a failure?

 

[64bitmodels]

Selling the Vaio was a huge mistake. Enterprise is DYING for a premium build PC to compete with Mac and there just is nothing there.

Whut?

there are plenty of premium built PCs out there. Vaio was not much more than another PC manufacturer company. WDYM by premium built PC?

 

[L*][*N*K]

Maybe they should buy a football team too, and a food truck