Digital Foundry thinks that Sony's new Eco Mode isn't necessarily being used in the new PlayStation handheld.
Reports indicate that Sony is working on a new dedicated PlayStation handheld that can play PS4 and PS5 games. Unlike the PS Portal, this new handheld will natively run games right on the machine itself, and the PS5's new Eco Mode is believed to be a kind of compatibility testing ground to ensure console games can run on the lower-powered handheld.
But Digital Foundry has cast doubt on that theory. The tech experts still believe Sony is making a new PlayStation handheld, but they're not so sure Eco Mode is involved.
"The extent to which there's going to be massive efficiency gains via RDNA 5 and this new process...is it enough to deliver a PlayStation 5-level experience? I'm not sure. There's been lots of discussions about the handheld configuration kind of like being trialed with the PlayStation 5's Eco Mode," Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter said in a recent episode of DF Direct.
"Our sources suggest that they are two very different things and shouldn't be confused with one another."
DF's John Linneman goes on to say that Eco Mode was a way for Sony to meet EU power regulations and wasn't designed specifically to test out the handheld.
"The Eco Mode, as I understand it, was more of like an EU-friendly move. It was originally Media Mode, or something like that. It was not specifically architected for this. It may have some utility with it, possibly, but I don't think that was the point originally."
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Sony has yet to announce or confirm plans for a new PlayStation handheld. Last year, I predicted that this new handheld could natively target full PS4 game compatibility in a bid to keep that generation alive and bring content libraries forward into a new form factor. While specifics haven't been ironed out, this new PlayStation portable is believed to have enough power to play PS4 at high performance, and, to a lesser extent, PS5 games as well.
