Sony might be bringing a portable device to their upcoming PlayStation 5 next-generation console.

But just what kind of portable device could it be?

Nintendo has had great success with their Switch, a game console that itself can become a handheld device so it can be taken virtually anywhere. We’re not sure if that’s what Sony has in mind as well, but according to a new article from The Financial Times, the next PlayStation just might have a portable element to it as well.

Sony is no stranger to portable devices. Although Nintendo has been seen as the dominant force in handheld gaming, the PlayStation Vita has a core audience of hardcore fans since the very beginning. It has never sold quite as well as either the Nintendo 3DS or subsequent Switch, but it’s still considered to have been a profitable venture for Sony.

After 2013, Sony revitalized the PS Vita by providing it with Remote Play, a service that allows PlayStation 4 games to be remotely played on the PS Vita over your home’s wifi. It can even allow games to be played remotely over the internet, although a relatively fast connection is required.

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However, Sony might have bigger plans than just game streaming. As per The Financial Times, "Sony might be planning a tablet that would connect to multiple devices as online streaming of games becomes more widespread and the company seeks to derive ever greater synergies between its games and movie divisions."

The key word here is “tablet” rather than a handheld gaming device. This could mean that rather than just streaming games, you could perform a number of functions from a multi-purpose device. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu come to mind, as does streaming videos.

Game streaming is considered a next “big thing” in the games industry, with Sony, Microsoft, and even Google testing out prototypes. Google recently began testing of their streaming service, allowing players to get their hands on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and play it through the Chrome web browser.

Historically, these sorts of streaming services have always fallen flat as North American internet providers don’t have the bandwidth and speed necessary to remotely play games. But with Microsoft, Sony, and now Google taking a crack at it, we’re sure that one of them will get it right this time.

NEXT: SONY WILL END PRODUCTION OF THE PS VITA IN JAPAN NEXT YEAR