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Banned
Oh I can explain this, these Sony cultists believe that Sony products are like the Gucci of electronics, premium quality shit, things that will elevate your status in society
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Sony should release a Playstation Portable PC (PPP) to compete against other portable PCs like Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally
- Thread starter ArtHands
- Start date
Robb
Gold Member
What exactly is the “success” of the ASUS ROG? Did it break some kind of sales record or something?
Are any of these expected to even come close to PSP sales? If not, why would they bother?
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ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
I am suggesting a portable PC, not a portable console. Naturally they should follow portable PC business model. I see no worries PS console folks will buy games on Steam anyway, they are deeply invested in the PS ecosystem.
Sony can easily release a product better than Ally and have it cost $499 with some profit margin.
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
Of course not, that will be silly. ASUS didn’t need to spend million of money to make games specially for ROG Ally. let people install various existing PC launchers and tens of thousands of games available day one. ROI is going to significantly lower
Do Sony expect Project Q to sell as much as the PSP? Exactly.
Robb
Gold Member
Yeah that’s what I was thinking. In that case I’d say they won’t dip their toes in this.
Project Q is only a peripheral, not a standalone console. So no, I don’t think they’d expect PSP numbers.
Pasta la Vista
Member
Steam and Asus should make their own consoles to compete against Sony. Microsoft is obviously failing hard with Xbox.
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
True but the name won’t be PPP
portable PC. They do not need anyone to create bespoke games for it. PC players can just install GOG or Steam etc on it
THE DUCK
voted poster of the decade by bots
Yes, the market is large and being ignored by Sony and ms. Sell a lot better than psvr2 and they had time for that........
Those who say vita and psp failure means a new handheld would fail don't understand the dozen or so differences since those were released that would allow for success.
Those who say vita and psp failure means a new handheld would fail don't understand the dozen or so differences since those were released that would allow for success.
Mr Branding
Member
Too busy making streaming devices no one cares about.
THE DUCK
voted poster of the decade by bots
You touched on it a bit, but missed the key point that any portable they would launch now with similar architecture would be like series S, there would be no reason to have to make seperate games and you would see day and date ps5 releases on the new handheld.
This alone would have it succeed.
Pretty likely the switch 2 will be like this. I bet they will launch games with a switch 1 and 2 versions day and date. (With the switch 2 versions being prettier)
Aenima
Member
And what Sony has to gain when a player install GOG or Steam? Sony makes money by selling games not hardware, and most of the money making comes from sales done from the PS Store, especially money from DLCs.
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coffinbirth
Member
Make a portable PS4 that will play your entire digital library and sit back and watch the money roll right in.
Rykan
Member
But what you're suggesting is essentially proposing that Sony should compete with itself.
None of these “PC handhelds” consoles are successful in comparison to other video game hardware. They represent an incredibly small niche and are so marginal compared to regular consoles that even describing it as “peanuts” is too generous.
The overwhelming majority of a console's profits come from the licensing fee that is charged for every single game sold on that system. Hardware profits only make up a fraction of the total.
So when you say, “Well, Sony should launch a handheld PC that allows people to play PC games purchased from Steam or elsewhere,” you're essentially saying, “Sony should develop a handheld that encourages players to buy games from places where Sony can't charge licensing fees since a PC is an open platform.”
In other words, you're suggesting that Sony should encourage people to buy games elsewhere. Your point that “It should run low level PS4 games” isn't helping either. That's just not how it works. PS4 games are specifically designed to run on PS4 hardware. To make them work on a handheld PC would require significant porting efforts or emulation, neither of which is feasible on a PC handheld device.
Sorry, mate, but I don't think you have fully thought this concept through
You can't reasonably develop a handheld that is similar in specs towards a Series S for a reasonable price. That is not feasible.
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Dream-Knife
Banned
Sony made no money when you played non-sony tapes in your walkman.
IAmRei
Member
while PSP is far from failures in term of hardware sales. the software part said so. there are lot of issues, according to devs, such as piracy, weird distribution formats, etc.
psp vita left sour in devs, also not marketed well. beside at the time of release was rising of mobile games, which is cheaper and enough for casual gamers to hit with. and thus affect all handheld industry including 3DS.
the case is different side by side, especially if you try to apply here nowadays with rise of handheld in niche market. But again, portable, handheld market nowadays is like different in approach.
Maybe it could be interesting if Xbox try to enter for now.
i personally dont think sony needs to do portable anymore. but if they did, it's still welcoming one for me.
psp vita left sour in devs, also not marketed well. beside at the time of release was rising of mobile games, which is cheaper and enough for casual gamers to hit with. and thus affect all handheld industry including 3DS.
the case is different side by side, especially if you try to apply here nowadays with rise of handheld in niche market. But again, portable, handheld market nowadays is like different in approach.
Maybe it could be interesting if Xbox try to enter for now.
i personally dont think sony needs to do portable anymore. but if they did, it's still welcoming one for me.
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
They gain by hardware sales profit just like almost every portable PC, like ROG Ally or Win GPD.
With additional profit from console players buying selected (low end) PS4/PS5 games from PS Store to play on it (or free if console players already have these games on Ps5)
Rykan
Member
That comparison doesn't work. The Walkman sold way more than any of these handheld PC's ever will, Sony did manufacture tapes themselves and the Walkman didn't result in Sony competing with itself.
And then they lose profit when people purchase their games on a PC storefront instead of their Playstation console.
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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
OLED display + highest end AMD chipset + discounted games + imaginary chipset able to deliver 8-12 hrs battery life while PC gaming.
Did I sleep and wake up on April 1st?
Where’s the profit at $499?
Most people will just go buy the games on Steam.
Rac3r
Member
Sony missed the window to launch a PSP/Vita successor once the Switch took off. They can also forget trying to compete in the new portable PC space unless they make drastic moves. For Sony to develop something like the Steam Deck, they would need to ensure feature parity between the PS5 and their handheld. A portable PS5 would be extremely costly. They would also need to buy an existing PC storefront. Only way I could see a future PlayStation handheld is if Sony bought someone like CDPR and leveraged GOG.
Dream-Knife
Banned
Ok, sony made the disc walkman at the same time they made mini disc, competing with themselves.
Sony also manufacturers PC games, so your counterpoint doesn't work.
FingerBang
Member
So spend a ton on research and production to create hardware that most likely won't make you much money so that people can play games they won't profit on? It would only make sense if Sony had their own store/launcher and you were locked into that... but then what kind of shitty experience would that be?
How in hell can they sell it for $499 with those specs and expect to make money on it? Not anytime soon.
The only way I can see Sony getting into some kind of mobile development is releasing some kind of PS4 Portable. Something similar to a Steam Deck able to play all the PS4 games natively, on the go. I think devices like the ROG Ally are basically it, but again, is there really demand for it now that the gen is over?
Even better, it'd be great to have a console that runs PS5 games scaled down to a mobile device, but do you really want a Series S kind of scenario? I don't
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
we can play every PS4 games on a PS5 without significant effort or emulations, no reason to think all of them can’t be played on another modified PS machine. But if they do, don’t let it playable natively on this machine, that simple. Tell the console folks to stream it. At the end of the day the playable PS games is just a side feature. The main show is it being a portable PC.
PSVR and Project Q are very niche too and they exist.
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
I am sure they can since they are Sony. Many people were disappointed SD doesn’t have battery life matching that of a Nintendo Switch or OLED. No way Sony can’t match these simple expectations. With Playstation branding they can easily sell this portable PC more than all other competitors in the market.
A PPP is greater than a portable PS5 or PS4 console.
CrustyBritches
Gold Member
They could call it the Little Big PP.
IlGialloMondadori
Member
This is a real dumb idea. Why would they release PC hardware when the market is tight as it is, and likely would struggle to make money/fail outright.
Why not just port their games and sell them on PC stores and stay out of a completely new market?
Why not just port their games and sell them on PC stores and stay out of a completely new market?
Rykan
Member
You can play PS4 games on PS5 because the PS5 is capable of downclocking nearly all of its specs to PS4 levels. It has to be designed that way right from the start. However, achieving the same capability for a handheld design is nowhere near as easy or feasible. You're right, PSVR and Project Q are also very niche. But the point is that neither of those systems encourages consumers to buy games outside of the PlayStation ecosystem, which means Sony won't receive licensing fees for those games, unlike your plan does.
Now you're just shifting from one bad example to another. Discman and Minidisc are two different products, but the point is that you wouldn't be encouraging consumers to buy products from a storefront where you can't charge licensing fees. That's the issue with the concept of a "Playstation Portable PC."
My counterpoint still holds true; you're just using another flawed example. If Sony were to launch a handheld PC, they would be encouraging people to buy games from a storefront that cuts them out of their main source of revenue: licensing fees on every single game sold on PlayStation. Releasing software on PC (which they typically do a year later or even longer) doesn't have the same impact. The only thing they miss out on is a licensing fee, but they still make a profit because it's their own title.
People aren't holding off on buying a PS5 just because a few Sony Playstation games appear on Steam one or two years after release, but releasing a PC handheld specifically designed for third party storefronts will certainly result it lost profits. It's a counterproductive idea.
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DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
They wouldn't stand a chance. Could sell a few million. Would need to play ps5 games then they would have to sacrifice ps5 games to run on it.
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VolticArchangel
Member
Stopped reading right there. That's some straight up 2000 IQ big brain move to ask a console manufacturer who almost (they don't but close to BoM) takes losses on every console of their are sold on the market, to first invest upwards of $5 billion USD into R&D and logistics, on a new open source handheld PC, completely circumvent the 30% royalty fee that third party has to pay up for every software sold on Sony's proprietary storefront, making it redundant for Sony already at it's hypothetical launch, just because your "feelings" are hurt by Valve and Nintendo having incompetent hardware by your standards?
Boys, should we tell him about VAIO and why Sony spun the business off, or let him stumble upon it later in his incoherent ramblings?
Listen OP. I want to have sex with Margot Robbie, ScarJo, Marion Cotillard, Eva Green and other hot Hollywood baddies, simultaneously, in a 15-hooker gangbang. Unfortunately for me, the reality is that they don't want to, and would call me everything misandrist under the sun for wanting that. That's life.
Sony, are a publicly traded corporation that operates it's businesses with the sole purpose of short/long-term profit. They don't give a flying wu-tang fuck about your feelings. Fuck your feelings.
GreatnessRD
Member
Sony likes abandon the mobile scene, so this wouldn't make sense for them. What would make sense for this is to ramp up the PC titles because I want them! HURRY UP, JIMMY! Whore!
FingerBang
Member
It's not a matter of technology, all that you're asking for is possible. The issue is the price. It can't be done for 499.
Sony doesn't have magic factories that produce all of the above at a lower cost
LazyParrot
Member
Wouldn't that kind of clash with their current strategy of delaying and withholding ports to ensure PC always plays second fiddle to their consoles?
Imagine buying Sony branded gaming hardware and then having to wait years to play the latest Sony games.
Imagine buying Sony branded gaming hardware and then having to wait years to play the latest Sony games.
I'm not sure you're aware of this, but adding more features and higher quality components tends to make hardware cost more, not less.
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RagnarokIV
Member
I'd prefer if they have actual backwards compatibility before wasting money.
Mibu no ookami
Member
There is no portable that would have the power of the series s, decent size, decent battery, and not be extremely expensive. It would not sell 10s of millions of units.
Mibu no ookami
Member
Yeah, actually there isn't.
For enterprise, there is nothing that competes directly with a macbook air for PC and there is nothing that competes with a Macbook Pro at the same price point.
kubricks
Member
Make one that plays all Sony games up to PS4, re-sell these old games at FULL PRICE via PS store to recoup the cost, don't ever bother making exclusive games for it since it clashes with their business model. That might work? Though I don't really know what's the purpose of it all.
I mean... If Toyota sells a car that accelerate faster than a McLaren, has 7 seats and good boot space, looks better than a Ferrari and drives better than an Lotus Elise, with a price tag of a Corolla they could easily outsell other vehicles in the existing market. I will definitely buy a bunch for myself and friends.
It's also unrealistic so to speak.
I mean... If Toyota sells a car that accelerate faster than a McLaren, has 7 seats and good boot space, looks better than a Ferrari and drives better than an Lotus Elise, with a price tag of a Corolla they could easily outsell other vehicles in the existing market. I will definitely buy a bunch for myself and friends.
It's also unrealistic so to speak.
Games Bookstore
Member
I'm gonna entertain this idea for a minute, but there is really little to no incentive for Sony to do this.
1. They will not be making royalties on games sold. So no 30% kick back. This would also mean.
2. Hardware would absolutely have to sell for a profit, no loss leader approach like for their consoles. That $499USD you speak of is not achievable unless the hardware going into is low end.
Remember it's PC gaming we are talking about. Hardware needs to be decent enough to still be able to run games releasing years from now.
1. They will not be making royalties on games sold. So no 30% kick back. This would also mean.
2. Hardware would absolutely have to sell for a profit, no loss leader approach like for their consoles. That $499USD you speak of is not achievable unless the hardware going into is low end.
Remember it's PC gaming we are talking about. Hardware needs to be decent enough to still be able to run games releasing years from now.
Hugare
Member
They're already selling their games on Steam, so every other portable can play PS games
So they would be selling their hardware at a loss in order to be competitive, and wouldnt even earn their 30% tax from their walled garden fee
I want a PSP that can run PS1/PS2/PS3 and 4 on the go
So they could keep their own OS/walled garden fee and it would be its own thing
So they would be selling their hardware at a loss in order to be competitive, and wouldnt even earn their 30% tax from their walled garden fee
I want a PSP that can run PS1/PS2/PS3 and 4 on the go
So they could keep their own OS/walled garden fee and it would be its own thing
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
& you think VAIO would be able to do that over some other company like Dell or HP.... because?
Oof85
Member
PSP was a failure, at least in the sense of it's aims and achievements.
PSP was supposed to be the finisher for Nintendo, the razing of their final stronghold which was their handheld business line.
It did not do that. It was outdone twice over, first in hardware sales and then most importantly in software sales.
Psp was a software black hole.
It had it's successes(MH came alive on the platform, and MH-likes) like some jrpgs and visual novels but the piracy was everywhere and the actual software sales didn't offset it the way DS software sales did.
PSP wasn't an embarrassment the way something like the WiiU was, but it definitely can be considered a failure for what it was meant to do in the overall market.
Mibu no ookami
Member
VAIO was always a stylish premium brand, likely best suited to compete directly with Apple on PC. Apple famously reached out to Sony to put MacOS on VAIO.
No one is buying HP laptops in an enterprise setting, it's primarily Dell and Lenovo and they're both struggling to make premium build devices, which VAIO thrived in making, but at which time was not a primary market segment given that most enterprises were still on desktops at the time.
Sony just missed the window.
Mibu no ookami
Member
That's just a laughable and naive interpretation of business.
The PSP was a rounding success including extremely high selling games like GTA and Gran Turismo, but again, is one of the best selling game systems of all time.
That it didn't outsell the DS doesn't make it a failure, that's just a failure in your console warring narrative.
It sold more units than the 3DS, NES, SNES, Genesis, Xbox One, and N64. Sold nearly as much as the GBA.
That it sold as much as the SNES and Genesis combined should give you pause to claim such an absurd statement.