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A patent recently discovered by Sony could indicate the development of another handheld computer intended for gaming by the Japanese tech giant.
As stated by the Dutch website TechTastic, Sony has filed a patent in South Korea for an electronic game cartridge that is now public.
The patent does not reveal any other details, but its very existence suggests that Sony is considering taking over from its besieged PlayStation Vita.
Since its release in Japan in December 2011, Vita has always struggled to find a wide audience, especially compared to the popular Nintendo 3DS handheld, released earlier that year.
Although Sony has not disclosed official Vita sales figures, it is estimated that around 16 million units worldwide are sold to date, down significantly from the lifetime sales of its predecessor PlayStation Portable. about 83 million. According to Nintendo, more than 73 million 3DS systems have already been sold as of September 2018. Sony will cease production of Vita in Japan by 2019.
If Vita's lack of success suggests that Sony would no longer be interested in gaming systems, the statements of the leaders of the company sent a message much more mixed.
In May, the new head of PlayStation, John Kodera, hinted Bloomberg the next PlayStation console could integrate a tight integration with the portable games, although it does not discuss specific hardware plans. "Rather than separating handheld games from consoles, it's necessary to keep thinking about [portable gaming] as a method to deliver more gaming experiences and explore what our customers expect from their laptops, "said Kodera Bloomberg. "We want to think of many options."
The compatibility of handheld consoles would not be new to Sony. The company's newest generation, the PlayStation 4, supports the Vita Remote Playback feature, which allows players to play console titles on their handhelds over a wireless Internet connection.
Kodera's comments are vague, however, it is unclear whether it refers to a new dedicated PlayStation handheld or simply to the possibility of streaming games on smartphones and other devices, as Microsoft does with its Project xCloud technology.
This last scenario is more likely, especially since the gaming console market is already dominated by mobile devices (and, not to mention, the Nintendo Switch), and that Sony already has its own PlayStation Now streaming service, to start. In addition, Hiroyuki Oda, executive vice president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said Famitsu in September, the company "currently has no plans for a new pocket device".
It is important to remember that companies often file patents for designs that may never see the light of day. Therefore, it is likely that the game cartridge does not turn into a real commercial product.
In any case, would you even want to see another dedicated Sony game handheld? Let us know in the comments.
The Verge
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