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Possible new PlayStation Portal model pays homage to the Vita's OLED

While much of the focus on PlayStation's next steps is the PS6 and PS6 Portable , the two-year old PlayStation Portal could be getting a revamp according to those pesky internet rumours.  Update : Hints at pricing are around £/$250-299 for the new model, but everything remains deeply in rumours territory. Presumably the goal is to hit the 10% (currently 7%-ish) adoption rate among PS5 owners, something that would make it a bone fide hit gadget.   The recent February  PlayStation State of Play  saw no announcement. But, PlayStation needs to make Portal more a core member of the PS5 family, rather than the distant cousin that most of its appearances suggest.  As the improvement in connectivity and streaming tech, proven by many gamers enjoying their PS5 or PlayStation Plus streamed content from around the world, an updated Portal Pro could be on the cards.  Possibly featuring a 120Hz display and an OLED screen in honour of the mighty Vita, that'd be coo...

So, is Gaikai the end for the PS Vita and a way out for Sony?

Lots of tech and big-name sites are doing "yippees" at the prospect of a load of big-name PS games appearing on other formats through Sony's acquired Gaikai service. With the company hiring for Android and iPhone developers, that's pretty much a guarantee that the service will soon be on all mobiles and tablets.

While it opens up huge subscription revenue opportunities for Sony, it means that if Vita doesn't show signs of life in the next year, it can be quietly retired and all dedicated handheld gaming will be in Nintendo's court. All Sony has to do is claim lack of support (which is true) and Vita will quietly retreat to the back of the company's gaming drawer.

The likes of LBP, Uncharted, Killzone and others are splashed across the Gaikai site, suggesting Sony would go full bore with the service, and why not with hundreds of millions of Android and iPhone users out there? Going where the money is makes pure sense.

Hopefully, the Vita will perk up over Christmas and into 2013, but the release list isn't exactly looking healthy despite Yoshida's promise of more unannounced games to come. Ironically, today, Sony is celebrating 5 million PS3 sales in the UK. With the best will in the world, the Vita will probably struggle to reach one million and has only just crept over that mark in Japan.

With gamers holding out for one game to boost the Vita. If Capcom won't play ball, then why would Sony bother to drag out its lifespan beyond next Christmas? Sony will deny any end-of-life until the Vita's dying day, but the gloom is very much in the air.

Currently playing on my Vita/PS3/PS4/PS5


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