Nintendo have held the handheld market in their grasp since the dawn of time (or at least the dawn of the Game & Watch in 1980), but Sony have certainly left their mark on the scene over the years too.
The PSP was, and still is, a machine that handheld gamers hold dear to their hearts. It was incredibly ahead of its time, looking every but the part as I write this article today in 2024 and playing powerful games that had no right to look that good on a handheld.
Then there was the PS Vita… for which I can’t say as many good things. Hey, Sony started off well, but they couldn’t keep the same title release momentum that made the PSP so great.
But it’s been 13 long years (to quote Voldemort) since the Vita released in Japan, and while we’ve had the PlayStation Portal that essentially mirrors what’s happening on your PS5, there hasn’t been a new handheld from the company that could hope to challenge the might of Nintendo.
However, Nvidia Analyst and PS Handheld Leaker Moores Law Is Dead has recently reported that there’s a new AMD powered handheld on the way from Sony HQ, which means the woes of the Vita could soon be recompensed.
Hand To Handheld Combat
Of course, with the success of the Nintendo Switch and the fact that Nintendo have topped the console market since it’s release in 2017, Sony would be mad not to release another handheld.
Moores Law Is Dead stated that the handheld will be powered by an AMD APU custom made for the new Sony machine with the likelihood that it will run at 1.8GHz or slower to allow for playing PS5 and PS4 games on the go.
The video also states that this could be part of the new PS6 marketing plan, and according to Wccftech who have also analysed Moores Law Is Dead’s YouTube video, it could just be two years away from release.
Still, considering that we’ve only had the PS5 for less than 4 years now, I think that is highly unlikely, especially since the PS Portal just released. It’s more likely that we won’t be seeing this in physical form for another 4 years at least.
But the fact remains that if Sony wants to go hand to hand-held with Nintendo, they’re going to have to try and grab a slice of the handheld market… though I’m not sure they have a big enough plate anymore.
Did Someone Hear a Salt Shaker?
As journalists, it’s important that we report on every rumour, whisper, and crumb of information that drops across the internet, but we want our readers to remember that rumours are rumours, and while leakers get their information from their own sources, they should still be taken with a pinch of salt.
Moore’s Law Is Dead has some great points, and the methodology of this path does make sense, but as we’ve had nothing official from Sony yet, I think it might be a while before we actually see some cold-hard evidence of the PS Vita’s successor coming to light.
Still, as ever, we’ll let you know more as and when we hear it!
