- PlayStation boss Hideaki Nishino says "pick up and play" is the most important quality for consoles nowadays
- He says Sony wants to leverage tech "that can be used in various forms and locations"
- The CEO's comments suggest that Sony is looking to rejoin the handheld market
A new PlayStation handheld could be on the table after comments from Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino suggest the company wants to create new hardware similar to the Nintendo Switch 2.
In an interview with Famitsu (translated by IGN), Nishino was asked whether PlayStation plans to continue focusing on consoles, following a past comment he made in 2024 about how hardware won't be disappearing any time soon.
The CEO confirmed it would, saying, "My belief that a console is necessary for playing games hasn’t changed," adding that Sony "wants to continue providing its own game consoles."
But what sort of consoles? Nishino went on to mention that "pick up and play" is the most important quality for consoles nowadays, which instantly makes one think of the Switch 2 or PlayStation Portal.
Nishino continued, saying that developing new consoles will mean Sony will be "leveraging technologies that can be used in various forms and locations" and that this would enable Sony "to create something exciting."
"For example, although the PlayStation brand is strongly associated with playing on the TV in the living room, we’re planning to release monitors and speakers so that people can play comfortably in other locations as well," Nishino said. "We developed the PlayStation Portal as part of this initiative."
The PlayStation Portal is a remote player, allowing PS5 users to play their PS5 games via their handheld device, a challenge Sony took on to create a new kind of gameplay experience, according to Nishino.
"We were thinking, 'Let’s try this, let’s try that,' and I’d like us to move forward with developing products while exploring various ideas in this way," he said.
While the PlayStation Portal is a handheld console, its purpose is built for streaming and cloud gaming, unlike the PSP and the PS Vita.
While the PSP took off and became Sony's biggest handheld ever, selling 70 million units, the PS Vita didn't fare too well, shifting an estimated 15 to 16 million units before it was discontinued in 2019.
If Sony plans to rejoin the handheld market, it will have tough competition if it goes against the Switch 2, which has officially sold almost 6 million units within its first year of release.
A PS6 handheld has been rumored for some time. According to a reliable insider and leaker, Moore's Law is Dead, Sony will launch its next-generation PlayStation with three devices in 2027, including two consoles and a companion handheld.
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