Never within the history of game consoles has a hardware manufacturer bundled a house console with a handheld device. Sure, home consoles can interact with handhelds in limited ways, but they’ve always been sold as separate experiences. Sony could be rethinking that unspoken rule.

Official PlayStation Magazine U.K. recently had a possibility to sit with Sony UK boss Fergal Gara to speak about a possible PS4/PS Vita combo. The excellent news is that it’s something Sony is now considering. The bad news is that there probably won’t be the sort of bundle at launch.

So, what was the instant that made Sony consider bundling its hardware together? At Gamescom, it showed off the remote play functionality of the PS Vita by playing the PS4 version of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag at the device. That functionality alone received this sort of positive reaction that Sony is now looking into methods to market the PS4 and PS Vita as complementary devices.

Of course, you shouldn’t expect a combo pack anytime soon. Sony will continue selling them separately for now, and it’ll probably remain that way until Sony can sell both a PS4 and a Vita within the same box for under $500. That being said, Gara says that it’d be incredibly easy to slap a PS4 and PS Vita into the identical box and ship it to retail. He concludes by saying any future bundle could be constructed in a fashion that’s best for his or her retail partners.

It’s not exactly a confirmation or denial, but it surely certainly does appear that Sony is taking this concept very seriously. That’s just a great point as remote play could become among the strongest selling points for the Vita and the imminent Vita TV. The power to stream full console titles to a handheld device via a web connection isn’t exactly a unique idea, but it surely feels like the PS4/PS Vita combo nails the execution better than any of its predecessors. There’s real value in that, and Sony will definitely pursue that during future marketing and/or bundles.

[Image: PlayStation/YouTube]