As of right now, we already know that we can expect PlayStation 4 Slim and a PlayStation 4 NEO announcements at the upcoming PlayStation Meeting- but if nebulous rumors are to be believed, then Sony may be preparing a third hardware announcement for the event- a new PlayStation handheld.
Rumors for this new handheld are actually associated directly with rumors about the PlayStation 4 revisions- for instance, as NeoGAF are pointing out, months ago in June, a Foxconn worker, presumably working at the assembly lines manufacturing the device, leaked the PlayStation 4 Slim. This, of course, gives him credence, which is why we must take him seriously when he says that there is also a portable device being manufactured alongside, a ‘PSP-like’ device.
Now, before we jump to conclusions, let’s at least assess the other possibilities- could this not just be Nintendo’s NX, instead of being a PlayStation portable? There would be a case to be made for that if a) Nintendo’s NX were not launching in March 2017 (meaning that production for it is completely unlikely to have begun as far back as June 2016), and b) if leaks and patents hadn’t already confirmed that the NX portable takes on a flatter, more tablet-like look.
This lends credence to it being a PlayStation handheld. And then there is more evidence to add to the fire. For instance, Japanese blog Hakanko is reporting that Sony have registered two wireless modules with the FCC in the United States. The module numbers are AW-CB262 and J20H091, which correspond, respectively, with the model numbers for the modules in the PS4 and the PS Vita.
The PS4 wireless module being there makes sense- we already know of new PS4 models incoming. but what is the PS Vita doing there at all?
Where there is smoke, there is likely to be fire, and for now, it appears that there may be a new PlayStation handheld announcement of some kind incoming at the PlayStation Meeting, too. Whether that is a PS Vita successor, or just a slimmer revision, remains to be seen. But whatever it is, a small but loyal band of PlayStation handheld loyalists are doubtless going to be happy at the notion that Sony have not yet exited the handheld market completely.
