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The future of PlayStation may be portable, says Sony exec

According to PlayStation boss John Kodera, the possibility of PlayStation embracing portable games may again be a part of the company's future.

Bryant Francis, Senior Editor

May 23, 2018

1 Min Read
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Off the heels of the news that the next PlayStation might be as little as three years away, Sony's new PlayStation chief John Kodera has hinted at the possibility of Sony re-entering the portable games market, according to a report in Bloomberg news.

What that portable game console might look like is still shrouded in secrecy, but it appears that Sony's upper management has shifted its stance from Andrew House's analysis of the portable games market last September. At the time, House said Sony would not be chasing the success of the Nintendo Switch, because he didn't see an "opportunity" for portable video game platforms. 

Whether it's the profits of the Switch or the rollout of PlayStation's PlayLink technology, Kodera's interest seems to indicate that console PlayStation games may have some mobile format or interactivity in the future.

At a roundtable interview attended by Bloomberg on Wednesday, Kodera stated that in his opinion, "rather than separating portable gaming from consoles, it’s necessary to continue thinking of [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.”

Despite the struggling success of PlayStation's previous mobile efforts, its indie support team has won fans among developers for shepherding independent games onto the PlayStation Vita. Those games buoyed a platform that, while not seeing blockbuster success, created an expectation for indie developers that their console and PC-focused games might be enjoyable on the go. 

About the Author

Bryant Francis

Senior Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Bryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios' upcoming 4X strategy game Zephon and Amplitude Studio's 2017 game Endless Space 2.

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