The handheld gaming market has been booming lately, and it is largely thanks to the Nintendo Switch, as well as competitors such as the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. It is quite a lucrative market, and Xbox has seemingly confirmed its attempt to tap into it as well.
Now, it would appear that PlayStation wants its share of the pie, and has something quite special in store for handheld users – a PS6 portable. How it compares to a Steam Deck is also of interest, given the latter’s popularity in the space.
PlayStation rumored to launch a PlayStation 6 Portable in 2027
As detailed in an X post by user Shiina (@ShiinaBR), the PlayStation 6 is expected to have a surprise addition to its family of consoles. This surprise comes in the form of the PlayStation 6 Pro.
The PS5 is stronger than the PS6 Portable | Image Credits: PlayStation
This generation of consoles is expected to be released sometime between late 2027 to early 2028 and consists of two entries:
The base, PlayStation 6
The portable PlayStation 6
This technical info comes courtesy of KeplerL2. Interestingly, it would appear that Sony aims to skip the Pro’s launch with the next generation, although it could very well release it halfway through the PS6’s life cycle – much like what they did for the PS4 Pro and PS5 Pro.
While the PS6 is expected to be a more or less traditional upgrade over the PS5, the PS6 Portable is where things get a lot more interesting. For starters, the PS6 Portable will not be launched simultaneously with the base console – it might be delayed.
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Secondly, the portable version is expected to be far less powerful when compared to a PS5, which while unfortunate does make a lot of sense. These are, after all, portable machines which do not possess the thermal capacity to run stronger hardware – at least without sacrificing battery life.
The Steam Deck could face a serious rival | Image Credits: Valve
The reveal of the PS6 Portable is quite the curious addition, and perhaps a way for Sony to challenge the Steam Deck. Valve’s console is considered the gold standard for portables these days after all.
PlayStation also has a very rare and unique opportunity here – that is, to directly compete with the Nintendo Switch 2 in the handheld market. This wouldn’t be the first time Sony has gone toe-to-toe with Nintendo on handhelds, and if anything it would be refreshing to see them back reliving the glory days of the PSP.
Sony could have a winning formula on their hands here and perhaps a way to level the playing field against Valve. Most people would be more than willing to try out a next-gen PSP.
The PS6 Portable will likely never be top-tier in terms of performance, and that’s okay
Given its portable nature (and the fact that it is running off a battery), the PS6 Portable will likely never compete with the PS5 in terms of raw performance. This is to be expected though, and par for the course.
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A console stands out in the games and overall experience it offers, and the PS6 library is what should concern gamers regarding the overall value for the device, and not its horsepower.
As far as raw performance goes, it likely won’t compete with higher-end PC handhelds either.
After all, the Nintendo Switch managed to sell a ton of copies despite being criminally underpowered and still boasts a large player base to this very day.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
