Sony hasn’t officially unveiled the next generation of PlayStation hardware yet, but the Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO may have just dropped a hint that handheld gaming is a part of the strategy.
‘Technologies That can be used in Various Forms and Locations’
Despite the ongoing component crisis and rising prices for current generation console hardware, it does seem like both Microsoft and Sony are still preparing for the next-generation of consoles to arrive sometime in the next few years.
The PlayStation 6 hasn’t been officially revealed yet, but they have been lots of hints that SIE is hard at work on the generation of Sony hardware. During a recent interview with Famitsu Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino spent some time discussing the importance of Sony providing its own hardware:
“My belief that a console is necessary for playing games hasn’t changed. He also added that Sony “wants to continue providing its own game consoles.”
In an even more interesting part of the discussion, Nishino went on to talk about something that sounds a lot like portable gaming or gaming on the go:
“… Leveraging technologies that can be used in various forms and locations” would enable Sony “to create something exciting.”
Sony obviously already has the PlayStation Portal, which has been a successful affordable handheld. That hardware got a lot more useful once it enabled cloud streaming and has been a very useful tool. It’s even affectionately earned the “DadStation” nickname with gamers who are parents competing for their living room television.
It’s also worth noting that Nishino went on to talk more about the PlayStation monitor and the Pulse portable speakers, so it’s possible the references to different locations were with those products in mind.
After the success of the PlayStation Portal, it will be very interesting to see if the next generation of hardware includes a more central portal gaming offering to its ecosystem. There are no confirmed release dates for the next generation of Sony hardware, but some industry insiders believe the new hardware could be officially revealed in early 2027 and on sale by the 2027 holiday season.
Some recent reports suggest that Sony may be waiting until 2028 or 2029 to launch the next generation of hardware, due to the component cost crisis, but other industry insiders believe the PS6 is on track for a 2027 release.
The PlayStation 6 has not been officially revealed at this point and there is no concrete release date for the next generation of hardware.
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