The Nintendo Switch reignited the dying embers of portable gaming with its massive success since it launched last year. With recent news revealing that Sony has stopped production of physical PlayStation Vita games, it looks like the company is leaving behind portable gaming for good. However, the current PlayStation CEO reassures that it’s not giving up on portable gaming anytime soon.
Speaking with Bloomberg, PlayStation chief John Kodera believes that there remains a future for portable gaming in Sony. He confirms that the company is still carrying out research and experiments, with the successor to the PS4 possibly being more closely integrated with portable devices. Without revealing too much, he adds that it is currently “not yet the right stage to discuss specific hardware plans.”
Kodera said: “In my opinion, rather than separating portable gaming from consoles, it’s necessary to continue thinking of it (portable gaming) as one method to deliver more gaming experiences and exploring what our customers want from portable. We want to think about many options.”
We reported last week that the Sony’s final and most recent attempt at portable gaming, the PlayStation Vita, is officially dead. The company is halting production of all physical PS Vita games in the west. However, it seems that the demise of Sony’s handheld was premature at best, with later reports clarifying that digital games will still be sold in the west while production of physical games continues in Japan.
What could the future of portable gaming for the home of the PS4? Perhaps the company will further develop the PlayLink project, which currently allows PS4 players to use their smartphones to play certain games. The most recent example would be Supermassive Games’ 2017 title, Hidden Agenda. Kodera only has this to say: “We’ll be leveraging the knowledge and experience of having built four generations of consoles.”
