Are We Really Doing Handhelds Again?

Remember the PlayStation Vita? That was an awesome little device. Nobody bought it. Sony didn’t support it. Now Sony and Microsoft are working on new handhelds. We’re supposed to be excited. 

This time it’ll be different, we’re told. There won’t be any dedicated software. It’ll all be stuff you can play just fine from the comfort of your home. Hell, most of it will be on the Switch 2, if that isn’t just a myth at this point. But THESE ones will be branded with Xbox and PlayStation logos.

It won’t be like the Steam Deck, which lets you shop from multiple stores and is pretty open in terms of OS. No. It’ll be a closed ecosystem and locked down tighter than a PS4 with PT on it.

You will have access to your backlog, which is good news. All those hundreds of games that up until this point you have opted not to try will now be able to follow you around in your pocket. You still won’t play them, but the crippling guilt will add a sense of fun to your $500 purchase.

And if all this isn’t enough, at a time when developers are struggling to get their releases out on time and on a sensible budget, they’ll now have to make sure these games are as enjoyable on a 7-inch screen as they are on a 70-inch screen.

And why is it that both Sony and Microsoft are looking into handhelds? Because it’s the current in-thing. It’s an area of growth that people seem really excited about. Not enough to buy a Steam Deck or any of the other PC-based handhelds on the market. We’re talking millions of units sold, not tens of millions. But there is a buzz.

Handhelds: Chasing the Switch

In fact, the only truly mainstream example of what we’re talking about here is the Switch. And boy is it successful. But Nintendo approached it from the opposite direction of Microsoft and Sony.

Nintendo saw that its home consoles were not guaranteed successes. The N64, the Gamecube and the Wii U were each outsold by more popular devices, even when generation defining games were on offer. Their handhelds were always a major winner, with nobody else even coming close. They made a decision – baffling to many at the time, but genius in hindsight – to focus on portability above power. It has done them well.

Sony and Microsoft aren’t putting portability on top of power. They’re putting portability on a checklist of cool features people like. That’s fine, and I have no doubt it’ll shift some units. A Steam Deck but readily available in shops, and branded with a logo I like and trust? Fine.

But without dedicated software, there’s no way it hits the numbers of anything Nintendo puts out.

Here’s the thing: it doesn’t need to sell Nintendo numbers to be a success. Sony and Microsoft are diversifying, and handhelds have a place. That’s not really a problem. The problem is this: the industry needs things to be simpler, and cheaper. Adding two portable SKUs isn’t simpler.

It’s a gamble of two companies who aren’t really sure what the console business is going to be in ten years. All they know is they need to adapt, and fast.