It's hard to believe, but there hasn’t been a true portable PlayStation since Sony launched the PS Vita all the way back in ye olden times of late 2011. And before you query that statement; no, the weirdly popular yet extremely divisive PlayStation Portal doesn’t really count. It's a streaming device, after all. Sony’s stance on native handhelds could change going forwards, though, if a new rumor is on the money.
According to well-regarded leaker Tom Henderson, the Japanese games giant may be considering getting back into the portable market (thanks, TechRadar).
Though there’s nothing concrete to go on at the minute, fans of both the Vita and its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), should at least be semi-encouraged Sony handheld rumors are popping up. With the obvious caveat their pockets are stuffed full of salt so they can pinch a large amount of sodium chloride at a moment’s notice.
The PlayStation Portal was very successful and they are paying very close attention to the current handheld market :)August 25, 2024
As Tom points out, the PlayStation Portal has indeed proven to be a sales success. The attractive streaming device has frequently been out of stock since it launched last November, despite the fact the quality of the experience you may have with it is massively dependent on having a good internet connection.
Even if your internet is faster than The Flash, playing the best PS5 games on what's essentially a DualSense controller split in half by an 8-inch LCD screen can still be an artifact-ridden, laggy mess.
As I said months after its release: I finally got a PlayStation Portal — don’t make the same mistake I did. In my experience, the streaming experiences on the gizmo can massively vary in quality, even on strong fiber optic connection.
That’s why I’m (mostly) for the idea of Sony contemplating making another proper handheld for the first time in 13 years. Yet there's no denying I'm also torn on the matter. Even months after returning it, getting badly burnt by the Portal still stings.
Could Sony release PS Vita 2?
While there’s every possibility Sony could be playing with the idea of releasing another portable console — especially when you consider the Nintendo Switch 2 will likely launch in 2025 and rumors persist Microsoft is making a handheld Xbox — I’d be amazed if the firm stuck with the Vita name.
To be quite frank, despite its fantastic OLED screen and occasional gems like Tearaway and Uncharted: Golden Abyss, the PS Vita was a borderline failure. Total lifetime sales are largely acknowledged as floating around the 10-15 million mark. While that may not sound immediately awful on paper, its direct rival, the Nintendo 3DS, sold north of 75 million units.
Even in a best case scenario where Sony launched a handheld that was on par power-wise with the astonishingly good Steam Deck OLED, the company has a shaky record when it comes to supporting devices outside of its mainline PlayStation consoles. Just look at how quickly software support has dried up for its excellent PSVR 2 headset.
On the flipside to that argument, reports of a 19% price hike for the PS5 in Japan (thanks, Bloomberg) perhaps suggest that the PlayStation division could use a new income stream.
The handheld PC market is booming at the moment, not only thanks to Steam Deck, but also due to the likes of the Windows-powered Asus ROG Ally X. Considering PS5 has already won this generation's console war against the Xbox Series X — even before the long-rumored, potentially imminent launch of the PS5 Pro — I have little doubt there would be a lot of appetite for a new portable PlayStation.
Right now, any talk of a follow-up to the PS Vita is exactly that: talk. Until we hear anything directly from Sony on its intentions for the handheld market, I suggest keeping your expectations low for the time being.
