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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 ...

PS Vita store saved from closure

Sony has just backtracked on the PS blog over the Vita's store closure. The PS3 and Vita stores will continue to operate beyond 2021, although the PSP store will close as planned. The fact it took them three weeks to realise how bone-headed a decision it was just demonstrates corporate leadership at its finest. 

What the piece doesn't say is if new games will be allowed on the stores, from the few developers who were rushing to finish them off. I'm guessing not, but at least new Vita owners can still buy classic titles. Except all the delisted ones, wonder what happens to those? Will they be allowed back? 

UPDATE: Early word indicates no new games will be published, but we wait to get an official view. 

Jim Ryan says, through gritted teeth I'd guess: "Upon further reflection, however, it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here. So today I’m happy to say that we will be keeping the PlayStation Store operational for PS3 and PS Vita devices. PSP commerce functionality will retire on July 2, 2021 as planned."

A little more from Sony here. To highlight how much better the Vita store is/was for smaller developers. The latest Astro Aqua Kitty game is front and center on the "Latest" tab, and God knows what miracles it took to get that little update made. 

On my PS5, you have to go to PSN, find the PS4 Games option, change the filter to Latest games and even then, the brand new TikiPod title is off the front page already. How are smaller devs supposed to compete or get noticed by casual gamers who rarely stray off the front page? 



Currently playing on my Vita/PS3/PS4/PS5


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