Following nearly a year of rumors, a major news publication has corroborated reports of a PlayStation handheld. This morning, Bloomberg claimed to have heard from its sources that Sony’s eyeing a slice of Nintendo’s market share in addition to competing with Microsoft, who is currently prototyping an Xbox handheld.
PlayStation handheld will reportedly play PS5 games
Previous rumors suggested that PlayStation’s upcoming handheld will be able to play PS4 games. Bloomberg has gone a step further to claim that the portable device will be able to play PS5 games. The article gives us the impression that the handheld will play PS5 games natively, setting it apart from PS5 remote player, PS Portal.
According to Bloomberg, the portable is in early stages of development, so it might be targeting the PS6 generation, as past leakers have claimed. However, Bloomberg’s sources have added that Sony may ultimately decide to shelf the idea rather than launching it.
The report further corroborates rumors that the upcoming PlayStation handheld draws inspiration from the successful PS Portal. A known leaker had previously claimed that PS Portal’s unexpected success resulted in a renewed interest in handhelds at Sony.
Bloomberg reports that Sony inititally planned for the PS Portal to be a standalone handheld as opposed to a remote player. Perhaps the company is planning to fill in that void.
Sony declined to comment on the report.