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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 to hit the 10% (currently 7%-ish) adoption rate among PS5 owners that would make it a bone fide hit gadget.   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 cool. Assuming the 120HZ streaming is solid, an OLED would be the more welcome addition, especially with the latest generation of technology offering QD-OLED (Quantum Dot-OLED), WOLED (White-OLED) and other buzzy titles for smarter display.  Whatever ...

Vita chart update, low-to-no sales?

Following on from this week's Japanese chart and UK retail sales, I had a look at Amazon's Hot New 100 (UK) chart, with exactly one Vita game in there. Clinging on at No. 94 Danganronpa 2 flies the flag for handheld gaming. To be fair there's only three 3DS games, so handheld gaming overall is looking pretty dicey. And with only a handful of upcoming Vita games listed on their store, casual buyers would wonder why on earth they'd want a Vita.

On Sony's own PSN (UK) chart, if a pretty obscure game like Real Boxing (admittedly on sale) can make it into the top five, then things are looking pretty weak. Although the rest of the chart looks high quality, but the number of reentries only highlights the lack of new titles.

UK PSN June chart (Vita)

Borderlands 2 (5)
Need for Speed Most Wanted (RE)
The Walking Dead: Season Two (10)
Real Boxing (RE)
Fez (RE)
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (RE)
Terraria (13)
Persona 4 Golden (RE)
LittleBigPlanet PlayStation Vita (RE)
The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season (RE)

US PSN June chart (Vita)

1 Rainbow Moon
2 Real Boxing
3 Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
4 Killzone: Mercenary
5 FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster
6 LUFTRAUSERS
7 Borderlands 2
8 Tearaway
9 Monster Monpiece
10 Soul Sacrifice

If Sony does want to continue promoting the Vita, it needs some more officially announced titles populating Amazon and other stores, and get some exciting pre-orders on the Vita PSN. But, with next to no marketing, weak point-of-sale efforts, it seems doubtful if anyone would notice.

Currently playing on my Vita/PS3/PS4/PS5


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