Could Sony return to the handheld market? | Opinion

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When talking about the very different philosophies that Sony and Microsoft have brought to this generation of console hardware – and consequently, to their very different visions for the industry's future – it's often argued that where Microsoft sees Xbox as a software and services platform for which consoles are just one possible access device, Sony sees consoles in a more traditional sense, as a monolithic platform whose software and services orbit a singular piece of hardware.

That's more or less true, although the lines are more blurred than these definitions suggest; Sony definitely sees PlayStation as a generation-spanning digital platform to some extent, while Microsoft is clearly invested in the fortunes of the Xbox Series X/S consoles as hardware platforms. The biggest thing missing from this way of conceptualising the companies' strategies, though, isn't their overlapping aspects; it's that Sony doesn't just view each PlayStation as a monolithic console, but rather as the central component in a wider network of products, be they software, services, or hardware.

This is a concept that has its roots right back in the earliest days of the PlayStation line, and is deeply interconnected with the nature of Sony's broader business. Successful companies evolve and change in many ways over time, but path dependence remains a powerful force, so their original DNA persists in their decision making and values.

Nintendo, founded as a card and toy company, thinks of its consoles as advanced toys, making it an easy decision to take creative punts on hardware launches because it will be quick to drop low-performing devices, just as a toy company