News Sony Building PlayStation Handheld Just for Remote Play, Report Says

[Admin]

Sony is rumored to be developing a handheld device, codenamed 'Q Lite,' for playing your PS5 library on the go. But it's not a streaming service, it's a dedicated device for the PS5's Remote Play feature — and it will require a constant internet connection.

Sony Building PlayStation Handheld Just for Remote Play, Report Says : Read more

 

[cyrusfox]

Was the PSP a commercial failure? Why did they ever exit the portable market? I guess piracy can kill these markets and pressure from mobile/cell phone gaming likely decreased exposure. Nintendo has maintained its presence with the switch lite.
For the IO alone I prefer dedicated Gaming device over using a phone. As a PS5 on the go device, I expect limited uptick but I am wrong about a lot of things.

 

[PlaneInTheSky]

A dedicated Remote Play handheld means the device could be cheap, light and have plenty of battery life. It has to do none of the calculations itself.

Sure, it has to decode the Remote Play stream, but a $5 chip can do this and Remote Play sips minuscule amounts of power when I use it on my mobile device.

Remote Play exists on other devices, but they're not dedicated devices, they still contain hardware to play locally, which means the devices are still loud, bulky and expensive.

 

[atomicWAR]

A dedicated Remote Play handheld means the device could be cheap, light and have plenty of battery life. It has to do none of the calculations itself.

Sure, it has to decode the Remote Play stream, but a $5 chip can do this and Remote Play sips minuscule amounts of power when I use it on my mobile device.

Remote Play exists on other devices, but they're not dedicated devices, they still contain hardware to play locally, which means the devices are still loud, bulky and expensive.

Every streaming device (cloud or local) device I have used is lacking in one fashion or another. I am not saying they aren't getting better but there are a lot of inherent issues with networking that lead to a less than ideal situation as it currently stands.

I would much rather see them drop a device that could play scaled up PS4 base model games in the say 2.7 TFLOP range OR scaled down PS5 games natively. With the Steam Deck out now running Sony games like Spider-Man remastered/Miles Morales, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn...and AAA titles like Hogwarts. And I am guessing a new Switch in the nearish future I see a solid market for a well priced high end hand held. I pray Sony doesn't drop a streaming device.

 

[PlaneInTheSky]

Every cloud device I have used is lacking in one fashion or another. I am not saying they aren't getting better but there are a lot of inherent issues with networking that lead to a less than ideal situation as it currently stands.

Like the article points out, this isn't a cloud device. It's a Remote Play device.

Most of the time you use Remote Play with WiFi when you're outside. You're not tied to any outside network that way and you don't even need a mobile plan to use it.

That's how Sony sees Remote Play. While you can use Remote Play when you're far away from your Playstation on a commercial network, it is largely meant to be used very locally where your Playstation is within a short distance.

 

[anonymousdude]

Was the PSP a commercial failure? Why did they ever exit the portable market? I guess piracy can kill these markets and pressure from mobile/cell phone gaming likely decreased exposure. Nintendo has maintained its presence with the switch lite.
For the IO alone I prefer dedicated Gaming device over using a phone. As a PS5 on the go device, I expect limited uptick but I am wrong about a lot of things.

PSP was successful. The PS Vita was not. Between lackluster sales after its first year, lack of AAA games, and stiff competition from the 3DS and smartphones it did not do well. After that Sony exited the market permanently.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Nobody asked for this.

People wanted a REAL portable successor, not a Streaming Hand Held.

 

[atomicWAR]

Like the article points out, this isn't a cloud device. It's a Remote Play device.

Most of the time you use Remote Play with WiFi when you're outside.

Wifi is networking not cloud but I was refering to "streaming" devices as a whole (will edit)...and wifi is networking and exactly what I meant by my comment. I get its remote play but your still streaming over your home networking equipment so networking is still an issue, even it its just your router.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

PSP was successful. The PS Vita was not. Between lackluster sales after its first year, lack of AAA games, and stiff competition from the 3DS and smartphones it did not do well. After that Sony exited the market permanently.

The PSP was successful because of piracy. Sony sold more consoles vs games, which caused the publishers threatening to leave.

The PS Vita was a disaster only because Sony priced everything wrong and did little marketing. They priced the Vita as much as a Playstation 4 and charged astronomical prices for proprietary memory cards.

 

[hotaru251]

and stiff competition from the 3DS

Nintendo basically uncontested forever in handheld area.

gameboy to ds to the switch.

they basically lead the way on handheld gaming and others follow. (especially true of Sony..they never lead & only follow & its why they rely on exclusives to sell consoles)


but to the topic of the article...if they make it they will likely sell extremely little.

if it needs internet connection...you arent playing it on the go.

and at that point why bother? Just get a steamdeck and use it to stream to your ps & not have a paper wight w/o internet.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

The PSP was successful because of piracy. Sony sold more consoles vs games, which caused the publishers threatening to leave.

The PS Vita was a disaster only because Sony priced everything wrong and did little marketing. They priced the Vita as much as a Playstation 4 and charged astronomical prices for proprietary memory cards.

That's because the idiots in charge can't give up on the idea of "Proprietary Media".

They're OBSESSED with that idea and think people will tolerate it.

They never can seem to read the long term writing on the wall.

 

[atomicWAR]

That's because the idiots in charge can't give up on the idea of "Proprietary Media".

They're OBSESSED with that idea and think people will tolerate it.

They never can seem to read the long term writing on the wall.

I can deal with proprietary media on a console but the PSP had issues with disks scratching, the mini disk drives breaking (I went through 3 of them). If Sony does release a native rendering console and not a remote play device...they would be smart to go all digital at this point. Your not wrong Sony needs to see the writing on the wall.

I think as much as I like to own cartridges, disks etc...I get tired of breakage and wear out. That is my weak spot for digital even if I prefer media in hand. I wish we as consumers would get more protection on digital game purchases. We should own titles and be able to pass them on if we die or sell them when we are tired of them. This digital license scheme at present is a scam.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I can deal with proprietary media on a console but the PSP had issues with disks scratching, the mini disk drives breaking (I went through 3 of them). If Sony does release a native rendering console and not a remote play device...they would be smart to go all digital at this point. Your not wrong Sony needs to see the writing on the wall.

I think as much as I like to own cartridges, disks etc...I get tired of breakage and wear out. That is my weak spot for digital even if I prefer media in hand. I wish we as consumers would get more protection on digital game purchases. We should own titles and be able to pass them on if we die or sell them when we are tired of them. This digital license scheme at present is a scam.

Here's the kicker, before the PSP came out, they designed their own MiniDisc format that was STURDY as eff for music use, not some fragile stupid thing like the UMD.
The UMD is literally a crappier MiniDisc with better data density.

Why Sony felt the need to come up with ANOTHER Media Format instead of using the other format that they already invented/owned (MiniDisc) with a different disc inside is beyond me.

That literally would've solved your durability issue.

Literally, go read up on MiniDisc, it is the best compromise between a protected Optical Disc and a Teeny Flopy Disk body.

I concur on the Digital License BS, that's why I hate it and prefer GoG over Steam if I can buy the game on GoG.

 

[anonymousdude]

The PSP was successful because of piracy. Sony sold more consoles vs games, which caused the publishers threatening to leave.

The PS Vita was a disaster only because Sony priced everything wrong and did little marketing. They priced the Vita as much as a Playstation 4 and charged astronomical prices for proprietary memory cards.

That's not an accurate statement about the PSP with regards to consoles vs games. Sony sold roughly 80 million PSPs and like 320 million games. What I will concede is that's a fairly poor attach rate with it being a shade under 4, but also not out of line with other portable consoles. Nintendo handhelds have attach rates of around 4-5.

Your memory of the console pricing is off too. The Vita when it came out was in end of 2011/early 2012 at $250. A PS4 didn't come out till end of 2013 at $400. The Vita also got a price cut to $200 even before the PS4 came out. So no it did not cost as much as a PS4. You know what else debuted at $250. The 3DS, granted it's price cut was to $170 and happened less than half a year after its release. Then they released a 3DS XL and New 3DS for $200. That family of consoles performed fine.

Vita memory card were the worst though. I remember that a 32GB card was $120, which already ridiculous at the time.

 

[TerryLaze]

I can deal with proprietary media on a console but the PSP had issues with disks scratching, the mini disk drives breaking (I went through 3 of them). If Sony does release a native rendering console and not a remote play device...they would be smart to go all digital at this point. Your not wrong Sony needs to see the writing on the wall.

They had the PSPgo even back then that was all digital, no drive.

Why Sony felt the need to come up with ANOTHER Media Format instead of using the other format that they already invented/owned (MiniDisc) with a different disc inside is beyond me.

Minidisc ironically was too big for the PSP, it would have made the size of the PSP bigger than pocket fittable.

 

[anonymousdude]

That's because the idiots in charge can't give up on the idea of "Proprietary Media".

They're OBSESSED with that idea and think people will tolerate it.

They never can seem to read the long term writing on the wall.

Part of that has to do with developers as well. Everyone wants some kind of assurance that their game won't be easily pirated. Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and others have gone through basically every method under the sun and none have worked. From Sony's memory sticks and ps vita memory cards, to Nintendo's cartridges and GameCube mini discs, to Microsoft trying to force always online. Now to the current latest digital licensing model.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

They had the PSPgo even back then that was all digital, no drive.

True, but the only good thing about that was the physical size and curvature of the device.

My roomie had one, while I have the vanilla PSP.

It's literally the perfect device for on the go "Retro Gaming"

Minidisc ironically was too big for the PSP, it would have made the size of the PSP bigger than pocket fittable.

Really, because I find the final generation of Mini-Disc Readers/Players to be quite tiny, barely larger than the disc itself

 

[atomicWAR]

They had the PSPgo even back then that was all digital...

Aware but had 3 drives tank before the pspgo released at which point I was over it lol.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Part of that has to do with developers as well. Everyone wants some kind of assurance that their game won't be easily pirated. Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and others have gone through basically every method under the sun and none have worked. From Sony's memory sticks and ps vita memory cards, to Nintendo's cartridges and GameCube mini discs, to Microsoft trying to force always online. Now to the current latest digital licensing model.

Except right now, with modern Encrypted Memory & Encrypted Private Encryption Key stores in the PSP (Platform Security Processor) and Encrypted Containers for game files.

You literally can have "End to End" Encryption that locks away the core Game contents behind a Encrypted Container, that loads the contents into Encrypted Memory Space that can't be easily deciphered and the Encryption Keys locked away in their own tiny specialized processor that you can lock behind Biometrics & Passcode just to use the key to access the software in perpetuity.

 

[TerryLaze]

Really, because I find the final generation of Mini-Disc Readers/Players to be quite tiny, barely larger than the disc itself

So is the reader for the PSP discs, still smaller.
Anyway, it's just my guess.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

This cheeses me off. I bought my son a PSP a long time ago and there was no support for it. It was a commercial failure because Sony made it a commercial failure.