Sony develops successor to PS Vita and PSP

Now it's happening after all. After years of Playstation fans demanding a successor to the beloved PSP and PS Vita, the signs are good that their wish will come true. According to Bloomberg, Sony is developing a new Playstation handheld. Unlike the Playstation Portal, which was released a year ago, the new device will be standalone. This means it will play PS5 games locally. The project is still in the early stages and is not expected to be released for several years.

With the new handheld, Sony is responding - somewhat belatedly - to the immense success of the Nintendo Switch and probably also Valve's Steam Deck. Microsoft's upcoming handheld would also have something to offer.

PS Portal should also be standalone

The handheld is based on the idea of the Playstation Portal, writes Bloomberg. The 8-inch handheld is selling better than expected, although it only streams games from the local PS5. Although it has recently been able to stream games from the cloud, its main use is likely to remain within your own four walls. Originally, the PS Portal was also supposed to be a standalone device. However, these plans were scrapped.

This is set to change with the new device. This would make it a direct successor to the PSP and PS Vita. However, these do not support console games but, like the Nintendo DS, have their own game library. In contrast to Nintendo's folding handheld, Sony was unable to reproduce the success of the PSP. Its successor, the PS Vita, fell short of expectations despite its technical superiority. It sold just under 16 million units worldwide. The PSP sold over 82 million units

Sony wants to reach new customer groups with the new Playstation handheld. Similar efforts are already underway with an increased focus on the PC and mobile market.

Find out more about the topic in the current episode of the Tech Affair podcast.