If some recent rumors are to be believed, the upcoming PlayStation 6 will reportedly feature a handheld, hybrid-style design similar to the Nintendo Switch. This latest rumor comes from YouTube channel “Moore’s Law is Dead,” a channel that has previously leaked information on Sony’s PlayStation consoles well in advance of their official announcements. While everything stated in the video should be taken with a grain of salt, the picture painted by the video does make some real-world sense.
Sony has had an incredible run with the PlayStation 5 ever since it was released in November 2020. While the COVID-19 pandemic did stall sales for a bit, the platform recovered well and has been exceeding the sales rate of the PS4 during the same points in its lifecycle. The console currently rests at around 80 million units sold, putting it within spitting distance of crossing 100 million and making it dangerously close to outselling the PS4. You cannot state that Sony has bombed out this generation, though sticking with exclusively home hardware might not work in the long run.
While the technical information that Moore’s Law is Dead shares is kind of dry and mostly based on speculation rather than concrete data, the video’s theory about a docking system and a portable version of the platform does seem feasible. We already know that Microsoft is leveraging the Xbox brand to Asus to create an officially licensed handheld PC. Valve has also seen success with the Steam Deck, which offers capabilities similar to the Switch. Sony would likely want to get in on that market, especially since handhelds play a bigger role in Japan.
Sony’s last dedicated handheld console was the PlayStation Vita from back in 2011. While it started off strong, the company abandoned it within a year and let it linger on as a third-party and indie device. The only concession Sony has made for handheld players is the PlayStation Portal, which is a streaming device that will stream PS5 games from the console to the handheld. Cutting that out and creating a PS6 with a hybrid design would kill two birds with one stone, so even I could see this happening.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
