Sony’s making a handheld console to compete with Nintendo and Microsoft

Sony’s making a handheld console to compete with Nintendo and Microsoft

The new console will build on the Playstation Portal (pictured) which was reportedly originally intended to work as a standalone device. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Sony is currently making a new handheld gaming console that allows users to play PlayStation 5 games anywhere. According to Bloomberg, the console is being developed to compete against Nintendo and Microsoft in the portable gaming market, and is likely “years away from launch” — if Sony decides to release it at all.

Nintendo is a leading figure in the handheld gaming industry, with a next-generation successor to its popular Switch console expected to arrive next year. Microsoft is also developing its own handheld Xbox prototype, though Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has recently cautioned that the device is “a few years out.” The handheld gaming category has also benefitted from a PC-platform expansion in recent years thanks to new players like Valve’s Steam Deck and the ROG Ally lineup from Asus.

Sony’s efforts to not be left behind would build on the PlayStation Portal: the eight-inch gaming device it released last year that wirelessly streams PS5 games from the cloud — but, according to Bloomberg, was originally meant to function as a standalone device. The new device would allow games to be played natively rather than over Wi-Fi, potentially expanding Sony’s audience and making its games more accessible.

This isn’t completely new territory for Sony, having previously released portable gaming consoles like the PS Vita and PlayStation Portable — but these have long since been discontinued.