Nintendo's Switch console has seen a lot of success since launch, and it's record breaking launch and consistently high sales are making the console harder to ignore amoung third party publishers, and Nintendo's contemporaries. Not too long ago, Sony mentioned that <link=http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/12/we_cant_ignore_the_switch_says_sonys_head_of_corporate_planning>they can no longer afford to ignore the Switch. Newly apointed Sony Interactive CEO, John Kodera also talked about being interested in <link=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-23/sony-s-new-playstation-chief-hints-at-portable-gaming-revival>another mobile PlayStation device.
Now I love the Switch, but I don't the hybrid home console market to be a Nintendo monopoly. I think the Switch needs a direct competitor or two, to benefit. Of the big two, Sony was always the hardest to predict in terms of how they would respond to the Switch's success. Microsoft could at least make a gaming focused Windows 10 tablet that could dock to a desktop monitor, but Sony is more of a wild card since they don't really have that kind of synergy and infrastructure. So why don't we speculate about how Sony will approach the next generation.
In my opinion, I think Sony is going to go into next gen with two consoles, rather than one. The first console, will be PlayStation 5 with all the next gen specs and features that gamers and third parties are looking for in a new console. The second console, will be a Switch-style hybrid with detachable controllers that we'll for now, call PlayStation Snap. It'd be similar to when Sony had the PSP and PS3, and PS Vita and PS4 where Sony offered two platforms, but it'll work a little different this time. Rather than aim at the PlayStation gamers who want something to accompany their PS5, PS Snap will be targeting a completely different audience. Sony will position this device at more casual gamers used to mobile games, lapsed gamers who want something convenient, or simply newcomers who want a cheaper, more user friendly alternative to next gen consoles. Similar to the Switch's target audience.
At home, the PS Snap "Go Unit" console rests in the "TV Unit" dock. When the player is ready to go, they simply take the Go Unit out of the TV Unit, and snap on the "Play Unit" Controllers, which connect via some ultra-force magnet technology. At a table, you can pop open the kick-stand, and snap off the Play Units for some tabletop gameplay, with each controller containing a Sixaxis accelerometer and gyroscope. You can even pass a Play Unit to a friend for out of the box multiplayer, and connect multiple Go units together via Wireless ad-hoc. Sounds familiar right? And it should, but there are a few key difference here.
The Play Units themselves mimic the layout of the typical PlayStation DualShock controller (And yes, DualShock 4 and 5 controllers will be fully compatible), but with a twist, a rotating mecanism lets you swap the positions of the analog stick and face buttons. This comes in handy when you're sharing a Play Unit with a friend, but it's also useful for deciding a good control layout. A 2D game may make you want to use the controllers with the default layout, but in a FPS, you might want to prioritize the analog sticks over the face buttons.
The TV Unit also has a few tricks up its sleeve. In addition to a Tegra X2 processor powering the main Go Unit console, the TV Unit will also contain an x86 co-processor, along with an extra GB of RAM. This allows TV performance to match the PlayStation 4 as closely as possible.
Now, you won't be playing too many AAA games on this thing, for obvious reasons, but there should be plenty of stuff regarding software. On Sony's side, a new Horizon game will release exclusively on PS Snap, ports of some of the best, and less demanding fist party games will also arrive, and a new multiplayer IP from Japan Studio will release on PS Snap, PS4, and PS5 with cross-play. Because they all use the same development environment, tools, OS and hardware, porting between the three systems is near instantaneous, which should reduce software droughts. For third parties, indie games will be all on board, and Japanese developers will support it with the same kinds of games found on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Western Developers will use it as an entry point for casual gamers to get into AAA franchises with remasters, as well as ports of less demanding titles like Doom.
In the end, this is all speculation, much of this will likely be false, and Sony can do something completely different for all we know. Still, it's fun to speculate as to what a Switch alternative could potentially be like.
Now I love the Switch, but I don't the hybrid home console market to be a Nintendo monopoly. I think the Switch needs a direct competitor or two, to benefit. Of the big two, Sony was always the hardest to predict in terms of how they would respond to the Switch's success. Microsoft could at least make a gaming focused Windows 10 tablet that could dock to a desktop monitor, but Sony is more of a wild card since they don't really have that kind of synergy and infrastructure. So why don't we speculate about how Sony will approach the next generation.
In my opinion, I think Sony is going to go into next gen with two consoles, rather than one. The first console, will be PlayStation 5 with all the next gen specs and features that gamers and third parties are looking for in a new console. The second console, will be a Switch-style hybrid with detachable controllers that we'll for now, call PlayStation Snap. It'd be similar to when Sony had the PSP and PS3, and PS Vita and PS4 where Sony offered two platforms, but it'll work a little different this time. Rather than aim at the PlayStation gamers who want something to accompany their PS5, PS Snap will be targeting a completely different audience. Sony will position this device at more casual gamers used to mobile games, lapsed gamers who want something convenient, or simply newcomers who want a cheaper, more user friendly alternative to next gen consoles. Similar to the Switch's target audience.
At home, the PS Snap "Go Unit" console rests in the "TV Unit" dock. When the player is ready to go, they simply take the Go Unit out of the TV Unit, and snap on the "Play Unit" Controllers, which connect via some ultra-force magnet technology. At a table, you can pop open the kick-stand, and snap off the Play Units for some tabletop gameplay, with each controller containing a Sixaxis accelerometer and gyroscope. You can even pass a Play Unit to a friend for out of the box multiplayer, and connect multiple Go units together via Wireless ad-hoc. Sounds familiar right? And it should, but there are a few key difference here.
The Play Units themselves mimic the layout of the typical PlayStation DualShock controller (And yes, DualShock 4 and 5 controllers will be fully compatible), but with a twist, a rotating mecanism lets you swap the positions of the analog stick and face buttons. This comes in handy when you're sharing a Play Unit with a friend, but it's also useful for deciding a good control layout. A 2D game may make you want to use the controllers with the default layout, but in a FPS, you might want to prioritize the analog sticks over the face buttons.
The TV Unit also has a few tricks up its sleeve. In addition to a Tegra X2 processor powering the main Go Unit console, the TV Unit will also contain an x86 co-processor, along with an extra GB of RAM. This allows TV performance to match the PlayStation 4 as closely as possible.
Now, you won't be playing too many AAA games on this thing, for obvious reasons, but there should be plenty of stuff regarding software. On Sony's side, a new Horizon game will release exclusively on PS Snap, ports of some of the best, and less demanding fist party games will also arrive, and a new multiplayer IP from Japan Studio will release on PS Snap, PS4, and PS5 with cross-play. Because they all use the same development environment, tools, OS and hardware, porting between the three systems is near instantaneous, which should reduce software droughts. For third parties, indie games will be all on board, and Japanese developers will support it with the same kinds of games found on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Western Developers will use it as an entry point for casual gamers to get into AAA franchises with remasters, as well as ports of less demanding titles like Doom.
In the end, this is all speculation, much of this will likely be false, and Sony can do something completely different for all we know. Still, it's fun to speculate as to what a Switch alternative could potentially be like.
