Should Xbox and PlayStation make a handheld console?

Uhh PSP was already a thing.

Point "e" in the article, we live in a different world now, where you can't have "handheld games" and "console games"; they need to be exactly the same games. I don't think Sony can pull off a portable PS5 at a price point that makes sense, and I think Microsoft can only get there by way of making a Windows PC.
- What doesn't get talked about enough in this conversation is how these devices are expected to be used and how that influences game design. Most crucially- exit points.
  I remember taking my Gameboy, GBA, and DS everywhere. The school bus, recess, boy scout meetings. Always in my backpack as I walked around campus in college. In my locker when I worked retail and got 15 minute breaks. It was part of my every day carry, and most of the games were designed with that in mind. Really short load times, plenty of check points or opportunities to save. Very rare to get into a battle or dungeon that would take more than 10 minutes to get to a spot where you can leave without losing progress. Very rare to have to hold ton of information in your brain's working memory for long periods of time to really enjoy it.
  Console games can have long build-ups. More complicated plots. Bigger dungeons. Long cutscenes. A wider range of pacing available. There are some truly great experiences that are possible if you can make the assumption that you have most of the player's attention for a solid 60 minutes or more.
  Imagine trying to play Death Stranding or Metal Gear Solid 4 on a 15 minute break at work and entering a cutscenes that is 25-30 minutes long, for example.
  That being said, the Switch really started the trend of handheld gaming in the home. Perhaps families where someone is is using the main TV. Dorms or small apartments where it's hard to get a good couch setup. Personally I love using the Deck to play in bed, or outside on my covered porch, or even just on the couch while my wife is using the main TV. Or sometimes I just don't want to put my glasses on because my eyes are tires. Those situations can easily lend themselves to longer playing sessions. This is where the PlayStation Portal falls, for example.
  So if Sony or Microsoft were to make a new handheld they would have to target one of those two use cases. Essentially, they would either be competing with Consoles/PC's in that space or the mobile gaming space.
  The retro handheld scene is still pretty niche, but most of them are small, cheap, and lightweight which makes them great for the mobile space. They can emulate games that were designed for handhelds, and even adding things like save states is at least a feasible workaround for some other games.
- PS4. It's that simple.
  That can absolutely be done, and has a huge library, including many current games that don't need the high power of current gen. It can also stream PS5 games. Just use the modern controller setup and you're good to go.

Given that most games are no longer exclusives or can be emulated, it really doesn't matter.

Steam lets you run on console, PC, custom, etc... hell even the same save file. Good times.

I don’t really care. Mostly bc they won’t do it right. The Vita was a travesty and corpos do not learn lessons.

I assume Xbox won’t do this. M$ will just join the handheld computer market which is the safer bet.

Anything they churn out could never match the steam deck because of the software limitations.

I think the Era of consoles needs to come to an end and we need to transition to exclusively open PC-based or PC-Like platforms with Dedicated UIs to replicate the console experience (like Steam's Big Picture) but on an open hardware and software platform.

Xbox and PlayStation should just stop existing. The only thing they do is market manipulation and limiting their user base.

Like together? Probably not