On this week's episode, Wedbush Securities research analyst and host of the Pachter Factor, Michael Pachter, joins host Josiah Renaudin to discuss the business of making video game projections. Pachter explains why the Nintendo Switch might need a price cut, when we can expect to see the PlayStation 5, why Microsoft will always be second in the console race, the future of virtual reality, and why you don't need to worry about 4K until 2020.
Nintendo of America has posted a fascinating new job opening that could signal significant changes for the company’s future products.
Take-Two head Strauss Zelnick has denied closing Rollerdrome developer Roll7 or Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games.
That's hilarious because he did and said the same thing with 2K Marin who developed Bioshock 2
They've been closed since 2013 but not officially acknowledged
He just doesn't want the backlash so pretends there's no issue.
Another leaker has claimed that a PSP/PS Vita style PlayStation handheld is in the works, and it'll supposedly support PS4 games.
PS4 native with PS5 remote play capabilities. Would be sweet.
And let PS Portal support cloud streaming for all PS+ games.
Going off all the pricing behavior of Sony to this point. I'm willing to bet it will be cheaper than the Steam Deck. And when the price is revealed and I am right, send me a message.
Could be an attempt to counter switch 2 which will have PS4 power.
Imagine all the PS4 third party re releases switch 2 is going to get.. “PS4 portable” could get the exact same games once again and publishers can resell software ..
If this portable has provides PS5 remote play on top then it will have a nice argument and exclusive feature.
Cacabunga,
Possibly, though I think any attempt to win against Nintendo in the handheld space is hopeless.
I loved the PSP and I still enjoy my Vita, but there's something about a full scale Mario and Zelda in your hands that makes it clear Sony should share the space, but never dream of taking it.
It's a very safe bet from Sony to have it run PS4 games too because then neither you nor developers are on the hook to make dedicated games for it.
Time will tell. I hope it's real. I'm willing to bet that it is—this is an inevitable strategy for Nintendo and the Surface team is allegedly handling Microsoft's next hardware stint. Sony wouldn't be the only one without portable hardware.
$199 for a dedicated handheld when they are trying to sell that piece of shit streaming screen for the same price. Hilarious.
It would be a niche product like Portal. Not bad, but not mainstream. It's legacy PS4 right?
The switch 2 and next steam deck will be out by then and will likely be way more popular
The switch 2 will be a handheld Series S for kids and the next steam deck will be ridiculously over priced for a bunch of aging CRPGS and F2P mobile style games.
@Anast the switch 2 will Fortnite dance on the new Sony handhelds grave
Playstation can't compete with Nintendo there
With playstation porting all it's games to pc and by extension steam deck it pretty much makes the new pshandheld system irrelevant
Especially since all I ever hear from the Sony crowd is "I NEED graphics or I can't enjoy the game" a handheld PS4 is going the same way as Sony's handheld ps3
If the switch 2 isn't backwards compatible, it will fail.
If this is true, then it will already have a large of games to play from the start, add ps1,ps2,psp,vita games to the mix, and it can be massively popular.
The switch is a Mario machine and for kids, they have their own space. Tell me where I am wrong here.
The problem is that Sony isn't porting all of the games to the Steam Deck specifically. The Steam Deck can't play every game. It even has a verified category with games that run the best and a "playable" category that can barely run games. So, the best option to play would obviously be a Sony product.
The last point is inane. I can't respond to comments that use caps. the point should be able to stand on it's own
It doesn't matter hiw popular the Playstation handheld is if it shares the same library as the PS5. It just brings more people into the ecosystem and provides them with more ways to play their games.
@anast Nintendo is competing with Sony and no amount of backpedaling will change that
They were competing during the GameCube era and the Wii u era, coincidentally the 2 gens they lost to Sony, but we're suddenly not competing during the ds, Wii and 3ds era because they beat playstation, but of course we can't have that can we so "Nintendo isn't competition Sony auto wins"
The switch is more then a mario and even a first party machine these days as there are plenty of games, specifically Japanese and indi games that are doing better on switch then their ps counterpart
It's irrelevant that Sony isn't specifically porting to steam deck, the games will end up on there and people will wait for a pc port just like how playstation fans wait for a playstation port of games, you aren't unique
Playstation fans constantly brag on graphics, so a handheld that only plays PS4 games isn't going to entice a lot of them, like the vita before it, and Sony has a history of just dropping unsuccessful projects, the vita psvr and it looks like the portal isn't doing too hot either
They literally charged people $199 for a bottom-of-the-barrel tablet with a DualSense controller bolted on. So I really can't see them releasing a powerful yet affordable native handheld.
I love my portal I’m handicapped and the portal lets me play on days I’m not at my best. It’s great .and the screen is admazing even though it’s not oled
If you had every PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP and PSV game then sure but I mean if it's just the PS4 why not just get a Steam Deck?
You might be correct, but it depends on the price point. Also, most PC gamers wait years for Sony releases, so it might be better just to get the PS4 handheld.
I'd be surprised if Sony reversed course and continued to put new releases on PS4. It would cannibalize their PS5 sales
If it supports your library, some people own more ps4 games than steam games. I know I do.
I might buy something like this to play my old library but man those old games are cheap on steam. This console would have to be cheap to make sense. I don't see it happening
@CrazyCoconuts
I also think it sounds a little off. I would probably buy if it could run Ps5 games, but that sounds expensive. Being ps4 only is a little limiting I think.
But if it ran all ps4 titles and new stuff created for the handheld. then it could be interesting. Basically a Vita that just happened to come with a huge ass backlog of existing games.
My libraries are roughly equal in size for both, maybe if I could play more classics games on the Playstation one I could consider it. But it's a tough selling point for people who aren't already heavily invested in the Playstation ecosystem.
Deck is very viable option given how good PS3 and switch emulation have become. Even new releases are chugging along at 30fps.
To be fair, I have a lot of ps4 games I don’t have on steam that is can play on my ps5 but I choose to play ps5 games on my ps5.
I also haven’t rebought any of my PlayStation exclusives on PC because I own them on my ps4/5 and even the upgraded ways that rival the pc version. So, if I wanted to play them on my steam deck I would still have to buy them again which if I bought the 6 top games Spider-Man 1,2, mm, horizon, fw , GoW and ragnarok and GoT with LoU1,2. It would more then. Likely be the cost of this device.
So, instead of double dipping I would buy the handheld and if it has a playable sf6 that actually works online (steam deck is not functional) I think I would want it for myself
If you have them in digital form, for sure. Because I don't see Sony giving you a digital copy of your old physical PS4 games. That doesn't sound like them at all.
And also, Steam doesn't depend on PS4 games. PC got more games that generation than all the consoles combined. The ports of PlayStation games are just one of the cherries on top of the cake.
@vits I do have them in digital form which is why I said from my perspective. I also have a steam deck but that doesn’t mean everything runs on it which not everything is playable. And as I am also stating the perks of why people WOULD want them even while having a steam deck it’s weird to see people disagreeing purely because I wouldn’t want to double dip financially.
But even in the event you have physical copies of games, if you have ps plus most if not all of the ps4 games are there. So, it’s not like the options are non existent and people can’t find VIABLE reasons to purchase the device.
If people are justifying the portal, they can justify a dedicated portable. The desire to make it seem like people can only own one thing these days is an odd occurrence.
@Lexreborn2
Then for sure, if you already have your library in digital form, something that can tap into it is definitely a good deal. That's basically the same reason why the Steam Deck is popular with PC and Steam users in general, because their library is available on it.
PS Plus is an extra cost though, and those games aren't yours. So I get where you are coming from, but that is a different discussion. As for the Portal, I don't get how people justify that piece of crap either, but they sure did so I can see a PS Vita 2 being sucessful. I don't see it being cheap or better value than the Steam Deck or any Windows Handheld, unless Sony really makes some radical changes.
As for why people want one device to rule them all instead of a bunch of them, it's likely because most people here are adults. If I recall correctly, the N4G user base is around their mid-30s. At this point in life, the issue is not usually owning things but actually having time to use them.
@Vits,
I don't think a new PS handheld would be worth it for me after owning the Steamdeck, assuming there will probably be a lot of overlap of both libraries in my case, so just having the one device is fine for me (I don't need the clutter or devices with too much overlap). I'll probably just stream the PS4 games I don't have on Steam to the Steam Deck via Chiaki, I would probably need the PS handheld to have its own exclusives to entice me.
Because if you already have a large digital library of PS4 titles and this plays PS4 games you don't need much more than the system. It's also rumoured to play some ps5 games.
If you buy a steam deck you have to re buy your library.
If you are already in he PS ecosystem you probably have hundreds of digital PS4 games. Especially if you are on PSPlus Extra. These folks, of which there are millions upon millions would probably rater have access to the games they already own vs buying them all again on Steam.
This is the question, might be nice for the Playstation exclusive games from previous generations, but Sony's Playstation Classics lineup is seriously lacking, especially from their PS1 catalogue, I don't think the PS2/PS3 catalogue are that huge either.
A Steam Deck is already somewhere between a PS4 and a PS4 Pro in terms of power. Without those exclusive games from Sony's previous consoles, I don't see how you could convince anyone a new Playstation handheld to be better value than a Steam Deck. I can also literally put previous Playstation's libraries onto it without too much trouble.
“ Without those exclusive games from Sony's previous consoles, I don't see how you could convince anyone a new Playstation handheld to be better value than a Steam Deck.”
Exactly and this is a prime example of why exclusives matter
Without them Steamdeck just looks like the better choice overall
I still play my vita. The oled screen was too good for it's time. I obviously had to home brew it but playing my old snes/ps1 games on it is so good.
So many times I've been tempted to hack my Vita but I just can't bring myself to do it. I kind of want it to be as originalas possible. Also, for emulation I have my steam deck.
I was tempted to hack my Vita, but I couldn't bear to risk it, something about having the original software/experience on the handheld.
I'll happily emulate on the Steam Deck, especially the games that weren't available on the Aussie store or ones I just missed out on.
How many people will buy this at launch? As a Vita owner, I'd definitely hold back after how Sony's support for that turned out.
Also, PSP played near PS2 quality games, PS Vita played near PS3 quality games, shouldn't the next Playstation handheld be aiming for near PS5 quality?
the sadest thing on vita support for me was the removal of Close? The app that let you see local players and what they were playing. i made friends back in the day for co op that way lol.
I think it was privacy breaching? such a shame.
Vita had so much promise, I wonder what it would have taken for Sony to have been more supportive. GTA: San Andreas Stories would have probably brought more sales alone, if they could have gotten that. I was disappointed we never really got anything on the same level as Killzone: Mercenary after that game, which looked amazing running on the Killzone 3 engine. Would have loved to see new entries of PS IP like Infamous, God of War etc, Sony really dropped the ball and using proprietary memory cards that were ridiculously priced didn't help, if they were smart, they'd have sold them cheaper since they were mainly being used to store stuff people were paying for in their store anyway, lol.
The point would be that it plays PS4 games, PS4 is still getting games constantly.
Everyone here including yourself presumably already has a library of games to play on this.
The success of the Portal shows the value of not needing to have a separate game library.
@Skuletor,
Why not? The PS5 plays PS4 games fine (because the tech is similar), one could assume that if Sony is using AMD hardware, then they will probably have native PS4 support.
Honestly the amount of games you could get on these cards was better value than what the switch was offering per cartidge. Cartridges got no slack from these same people.
The games for vita were very cheap, 30 dollars on average in store.
I'm still salty about the proprietary memory card prices, I don't remember those ever getting cheap.
I mean how mich more support does the PS4 really need. It's not a new system... just a portable PS4. There are over 10 000 PS4 games available. Sony doesn't need to support it.
There are some crazy rumors out there but we don't have the technology to run a Series S in Portal mode let alone a PS5.
How many people that have a physical PS4 library will be willing to buy their games again to download these rumoured PS4 games to this rumoured portable? Until it gets officially revealed, none of us really know how this thing will operate but I will point out, Sony usually sell their consoles at low profit with the intention of making more money later in software sales. People that will be mostly playing games they already own, won't be their largest target market, most likely.
Also, hopefully it would have it's own exclusives to highlight the portables strengths too and not just games from a last gen system
Even if we did have the technology, imagine how terrible the battery life would be! You'd have to be more tethered to a power outlet than any of the other PC handhelds.
Yeah same here. The way they handled the Vita has left me burned. I don't trust them to give a handheld the support it needs and so I'll not buy it at launch. I need to see their commitment first.
No, I don't think the technology would be near enough to give us PS5 quality, not unless you're okay with 20 mins battery life (then there's heat dissipation and weight to think of too). I feel like that's the mistakes PC handhelds like Rog Ally, MSI Claw and Lenovo Legion Go make, they over power the Steam Deck, but you pay for it in battery life, I'd rather have more battery life when I'm using a handheld.
To be fair though, with the race to beat climate change/reach net-zero, they're developing new battery tech all the time, maybe in a few years we could have a battery that adds a stupid amount of playtime to a powerful handheld.
Smart man that Michael Pachter.
Lol, 2020? Patcher so far away from the reality...
Scorpio is much more powerful than the PS4 pro so we will see.
I agree with him on quite a few things in particular the 4K broadcasting as I have dish and there are only a few PPV channels that do 1080P most are 1080i or 720P. I love my 4K tv though and do look forward to more content. As it is right now the Pro is good enough and the games that are out or are coming while they may not be native 4K they look absolutely beautiful, Horizon, Nioh, Mass Effect, God of War, Uncharted 4, Days Gone and so on. The buffer between gens seems smart as well.