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[Gaiff]

If so, wouldn't be wise for Sony not to put their games on a competing platform? One could always argue consoles and PCs are overlapping but separate markets, so Sony putting their games on PC does very little harm to their home console business. This isn't the case with the Steam Deck 2. They'll both be fighting for the same consumers.

Thoughts?

 

[reinking]

Why stick with Steam Deck 2? Why not say all PC handhelds since they will all run Steam?

Regardless, not directly competing. Same as it has always been with PC vs consoles. Why would it be any different? At least for the foreseeable future.

 

[nial]

Valve does not have the resources nor the interest on competing with Sony on the hardware front. The PS6 Portable will sell in one month what the Steam Deck 2 will sell in 7 years, and that's not a problem because it's a niche device sold at a profit with the goal of further engaging Steam users on the platform.

 

[Fabieter]

They'll both be fighting for the same consumers

Imo it depends on the price if this is the case. Welp if its somehow similar.

 

[ReBurn]

My guess is no, not really.

 

[ReasonBeing]

Won't the Steam Deck 2 be in direct competition with the Sony handheld?

 

[Ebrietas]

Yes. Along with any device running Steam OS.

 

[Durin]

More direct than it used to be, but still less direct than Nintendo is for Sony.

The real issue for Sony is how much of your existing library will transfer over and will it play every future game in its gen as well on this handheld?

Nintendo has nearly the entire Switch 1 library + new games, and the Steam Deck has most of the PC library + console/handheld emulation.

 

[Fake]

Probably. And even more dumb for Sony to give their games to the handheld competitor.

 

[tmlDan]

Nope, it sold what? 4 million units? Sony will do that in a year if they release a proper one at a good price in the PS6 gen

 

[Fbh]

I'd imagine their handheld will primarily target their current user base. The main sales point won't be exclusives but rather synergy with existing and upcoming Playstation hardware. (And probably a lower price and/or better performance)

Carry over all your digital PS4 and PS5 games (and some PS6 games too?), cross purchase and cross save with PS4,5,6, etc.

It's not going to do much to entice people who primarily play on PC. But that's a market they've basically already given up by bringing their games to Steam.

 

[nial]

Nope, it sold what? 4 million units? Sony will do that in a year if they release a proper one at a good price in the PS6 gen

If it's well-priced and well-supported, it will do 7M units at the absolute minimum in a year.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I'm not sure. Both of them will play PS games though.

 

[lh032]

there will not be any competition, the new PS handheld is going to destroy the steam deck 2, just like how switch is ripping steam deck apart

 

[Danjin44]

If Sony's handheld going to be like Steam Deck which will zero exclusives and only gets port of console versions then I have zero interest in that.

 

[Physiognomonics]

Yes and this is going to be really odd. The only reason for that is that they plan to focus on Steam sales and eventually ditch console business. What other reasons could explain it?

Because Steam Deck 2 is likely going to be a better machine than PS handheld, with better store (Steam). MS tried to compete against Steam for years and failed. The same thing will happen to Playstation Store. It sucks.

 

[Sintoid]

Yes
It's called competition

 

[Gaiff]

Why stick with Steam Deck 2? Why not say all PC handhelds since they will all run Steam?

Yes, them too.

Regardless, not directly competing. Same as it has always been with PC vs consoles. Why would it be any different? At least for the foreseeable future.

Because PCs and consoles still do different things. You cannot customize a console and a PC cannot have the convenience and consistency of a console. In the case of a Steam Deck 2 vs PS6 Portable, what does one do that the other does not? What sets them apart? I think they're in much, much closer competition than a PC and a console, especially given their potential prices.

Nope, it sold what? 4 million units? Sony will do that in a year if they release a proper one at a good price in the PS6 gen

I've been thinking about that as well. The Steam Deck only did 6 million in all those years despite a positive reception and a huge library of games. How well can the PS6 Portable do? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it does better than the Deck, but besides being a PlayStation platform, I'm not certain why it would sell so much better when they'll both be doing the exact same thing.

 

[Robb]

Eh, Switch 2 is expected to outsell the entire PC handheld market two time over within its first six months/by the end of this year.

Sony has absolutely nothing to worry about. Their brand is infinitely stronger and they'll advertise and sell it in every store on the globe. Even at its worst they'd outperform SteamDeck by a huge margin.

 

[Ozzie666]

Without dedicated hand held games, it's just a small PC. It will play Sony PC ports. If they go this route, not interested. Their development pipeline already is shit, so it won't happen.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

It totally will be competition. Even though Steamdeck has a gamer's Steam library, PS game library will have similar kinds of games as a lot are crossplat.

PS handheld will likely be cheaper too, and combined with the brand and somehow linking it to a PS console (at least the profile at minimum), it should sell way more than Steamdecks.

 

[Gaiff]

It totally will be competition. Even though Steamdeck has a gamer's Steam library, PS game library will have similar kinds of games as a lot are crossplat.

PS handheld will likely be cheaper too, and combined with the brand and somehow linking it to a PS console (at least the profile at minimum), it should sell way more than Steamdecks.

I also just remembered that the Steam Deck is not sold in retail stores? That's quite stupid of Valve and partially explains the low market penetration.

 

[Davevil]

 

[Gaiff]

Who is this for?

 

[nial]

I also just remembered that the Steam Deck is not sold in retail stores? That's quite stupid of Valve and partially explains the low market penetration.

You think it's stupid because you're thinking of the device as something that it just isn't; a mass market device.
It's why the topic is inherently flawed. The Steam Deck isn't supposed to compete with actual handheld consoles from Nintendo and SIE (for many reasons, but Valve literally does not have the resources to do so, for starters), its entire purpose is to extract a lot of money from Valve's hardcore Steam fanbase.

 

[Skifi28]

Can't you play the majority of Switch games on the deck? How did these two compete?

 

[Gaiff]

Can't you play the majority of Switch games on the deck? How did these two compete?

You can't play Nintendo games, y'know, the ones that routinely sell 10M+ copies and make up the platform's entire identity.

If you removed them, how well would the Switch be selling?

 

[Zathalus]

I don't think so? Despite a lot of people trying to pretend the Steam Deck is close to the console experience, it really isn't. You still have to tweak settings, some games don't work, others don't work well, and the UI is not nearly as friendly or as simple as a console. If something goes wrong you might need to switch to the underlying Linux desktop, and most people will not want to do that.

Frankly, other than the Steam UI, the console is less simple and user friendly than a bog standard Windows Desktop.

So I don't think it will offer direct competition, and I think the PS6 handheld will outsell it 10-20 times over, as for most PC gamers these handhelds are a fun accessory, not a primary platform.

 

[Hudo]

Depends on what this handheld is. If it is really its own platform and not "just" a down-specced PS6/PS5, then Sony's handheld is dead before it even started because Sony can barely support Playstation as it is. Look at PSVR2, it's fucking dead.
If it is a down-specced PS6/PS5, Sony will have created their own Xbox Series S situation, where developers have to target the lowest-spec SKU in order to release games. I do remember quite a number of users on this forum crying like little bitches about the Series S holding back gaming. I wonder if they will cry about a such a handheld as well...

I do think Sony are better off refining PS Portal. This is the best thing Sony can do to have something handheld-like while also sticking to their messaging of Playstation being the "most power console" to play stuff on.

 

[Skifi28]

You can't play Nintendo games, y'know, the ones that routinely sell 10M+ copies and make up the platform's entire identity.

If you removed them, how well would the Switch be selling?

Pretty sure most Switch 1 "exclusives" are playable on the deck, often better than the Switch itself. But I don't think that triggered any mass migrations. I imagine the same will hold true for deck 2 Vs Playstation whatever. There's more to it than exclusives or specs when it comes to console vs PC.

 

[Gaiff]

Pretty sure most Switch 1 "exclusives" are playable on the deck, often better than the Switch itself.

They aren't. Yuzu emulation is hit or miss on the Deck. As is Ryujinx. Not terrible, but inconsistent and you're better off with a Switch.

 

[Skifi28]

They aren't. Yuzu emulation is hit or miss on the Deck. As is Ryujinx. Not terrible, but inconsistent and you're better off with a Switch.

I haven't tried it myself mind you, just what I've been reading. I'll take your word for it.

 

[PlayStaytion]

The only advantage the Steam deck 2 has is having more choices on graphics settings cause you need it to push more fps. Haven't seen that on consoles yet unfortunately.

 

[Felessan]

I'm not certain why it would sell so much better when they'll both be doing the exact same thing.

Not quite
Handheld presumably will play PS5/PS6 already owned library, while PC cant.
It will be portable addition to current ecosystem and Steam portable requite to switch ecosystem that mass market kinda unwilling

 

[Cakeboxer]

A PS6 handheld shouldn't try to outmatch the Steam Deck on exclusives - that's a battle it would lose anyways. Its real strength could lie in seamless cross-save and PS Plus integration, hardware and software optimized for PlayStation games with full DualSense support, effortless plug-and-play simplicity without the need for tweaks, and portable access to your entire PS library through Remote Play and cloud gaming. It'smore about convenience, integration, and delivering a polished experience.

So i don't see a problem with PS games on Steam Deck.

 

[nial]

If it is a down-specced PS6/PS5, Sony will have created their own Xbox Series S situation, where developers have to target the lowest-spec SKU in order to release games. I do remember quite a number of users on this forum crying like little bitches about the Series S holding back gaming. I wonder if they will cry about a such a handheld as well...

It is a down-specced PS6, but we have no idea, right now, if support will be mandated.
And actually, if we look at past history, Sony doesn't usually mandate support for specific PlayStation SKUs with different hardware configurations; there's PS Vita TV, PS4 Pro, and PS5 Pro.

 

[VolticArchangel]

That's quite stupid of Valve and partially explains the low market penetration.

The volume they manufacture (low), would be far better and efficient for their lown logistics teams to handle it, than retail channels for consumer electronics.

 

[Hudo]

It is a down-specced PS6, but we have no idea, right now, if support will be mandated.
And actually, if we look at past history, Sony doesn't usually mandate support for specific PlayStation SKUs with different hardware configurations; there's PS Vita TV, PS4 Pro, and PS5 Pro.

If no games are running on this thing because devs won't make it hard on themselves, then what is the point of having a portable? If you can't sell your customer the promise of "playing PS6 on the go", then what is the point?

 

[nial]

If no games are running on this thing because devs won't make it hard on themselves, then what is the point of having a portable? If you can't sell your customer the promise of "playing PS6 on the go", then what is the point?

Because not every game (the vast majority of them, I would say) will be a burden to develop for it.
And even then, I don't think you will have many stuff skipping it on the early years when AAA developers will still be targeting the Xbox Series S (which is just a few steps from the PS6P), and afterwards devs would have to make a decision between supporting the device, or missing out on a large chunk of the PS6 userbase. Plenty will not want the latter, for sure.

 

[playbignbox]

If Sony's handheld going to be like Steam Deck which will zero exclusives and only gets port of console versions then I have zero interest in that.

Of course there won't be any exclusives, Sony barely makes exclusives for its home console which sells well, imagine for a portable console after the PS Vita flop.

 

[saintjules]

Same as it has always been with PC vs consoles. Why would it be any different?

 

[Little Mac]

I own a PS5 Pro and a Steam Deck OLED. All I really play nowadays is my Steam Deck. I absolutely adore it. I'd sell my Pro if it wasn't for GTA6 coming out next year or the few announced Sony first-party titles like Wolverine, Saros, or that rumored 2D God of War game. If I had a choice between a Steam Deck 2 and a PS Handheld, the choice is easy for me. The games are usually cheaper on Steam and there are no cloud save or multiplayer subscription bullshit. I do wish the Steam Deck UI was more streamlined and provided a more console like experience though. Maybe that will come in time. Regardless the Steam Deck OLED and like 5 indie games I've played since grabbing it have provided me such immense enjoyment that it's hard for me to see myself not picking the Steam deck 2 over any other option going forward. I know I'm probably in the minority though.