PlayStation gamers divided over Nintendo Switch 2 rival

According to sources in a recent Bloomberg article, Sony is working on a PlayStation handheld that aims to rival both the Nintendo Switch and Valve’s Steam Deck.

Shout out to both Takashi Mochizuki and Debby Wu over at Bloomberg for the original story.

As stated in their article, sources revealed to Bloomberg that the unannounced handheld “is aimed at expanding Sony’s reach and contending with Nintendo Co. for the portable gaming market.”

They also stated that Sony wants the device to either directly play or otherwise emulate PlayStation 5 games, so that the handheld can “function as a standalone device like Valve Corp.’s Steam Deck.”

However, Bloomberg’s sources (who wished to remain anonymous) noted that “Sony’s portable device is likely years away from launch” and that nothing is set in stone, as “the company could still decide against bringing it to market.”

Sony declined to comment on the story.

This follows a recent announcement from Microsoft’s CEO Phil Spencer that the company are in the early stages of developing an Xbox handheld, but that such a device is still “a few years out.”

Over in a thread on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit detailing Bloomberg’s report, commenters discussed what they’d want to see from a PlayStation handheld.

“This would be pretty amazing but I doubt anyone can dethrone Nintendo especially with the Switch 2 launching in 2025,” commented user LinkedInParkPremium, “Though I would love to see Sony launch a service on their new portable which includes games, anime and movies.”

“If Sony can pull off something like the Steam Deck where I can download and play PS5 games on the go I’d definitely pick it up,” replied user Issyv00.

Honestly, unless this device’s release is closer to 2040 than 2030, I can’t see Sony managing to produce a handheld capable of playing PlayStation 5 games (without having to stream them) for anything under £600.

Alright, let’s start taking bets. Which announcement will we get first: the PlayStation 6, or the PlayStation 5 Vita?