Reliable PS5 Pro Leaker Claims New Handheld Is In Development

Summary

• Earlier this year, YouTuber Moore's Law Is Dead claimed that PlayStation and AMD were partnering for a new handheld that could natively run PS4 games.
• As they are generally considered unreliable, this flew under the radar at the time.
• However, with their claims about the PS5 Pro specs being corroborated in today's reveal, perhaps there's more to this handheld report than first met the eye.

Seven months ago, YouTuber Moore's Law Is Dead, AKA Tom, claimed that Sony is paying AMD to make a new handheld console. Unlike the PlayStation Portable, he alleged that it would natively run PS4 games and possibly even select PS5 games should developers release a "Pro-like patch".

Tom is ranked "Tier 4" on the Gaming Leaks and Rumours subreddit, which for context means that he is considered "generally unreliable" by the community. However, today's showcase corroborated his claims about the PS5 Pro's specs, which IGN likewise backed up in March earlier this year.

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This added credibility lends more credence to his earlier claims about the new handheld, which flew mostly under the radar when it was reported in February (and has since resurfaced amidst today's showcase). But there are some caveats worth taking into consideration.

The New PS Vita Successor Hadn't Been Greenlit For Launch Yet In February

While The Reports May Be True, It Could Also Be Scrapped

Tom claimed at the time that the new handheld had not been greenlit for launch yet, which means that it could be abandoned completely without any announcement to the public. It was also in the 'High Level Design' phase when he discussed it in his video, which means that Sony had "not decided what it [looked] like".

Tom even clarified that he could not guarantee it would ever launch. If it does, however, it's at least two years out.

Anonymous developers who allegedly spoke to Tom about the console said that the new handheld "could utilise 18 CUs", which essentially means that it would be able to run all PS4 games you already own digitally from the handheld itself — no streaming and no Vita-style exclusives. Like the Steam Deck, you'd be able to download games you already own and get stuck in.

It makes sense given how Nintendo completely shifted the handheld market with the Switch, making a console powerful enough to mostly keep up with modern releases. But by the time the new PS handheld launches, it might be two generations out of date. Tom says that it has been suggested to him that the new PlayStation handheld will actually be part of the "PlayStation 6 family" as a weaker alternative in the Japanese market.

With Tom's claims of the PS5 Pro specs being verified in today's stream, it's interesting to look back on the alleged handheld, especially in liue of the Portal's success. Perhaps we'll see Sony take a note from Valve and Nintendo's book and break back into the world of handheld proper soon enough.

PS Vita