For those old enough to remember, there was a point in time when Sony was pretty close to dethroning Nintendo as top dog in the portable gaming handheld scene, thanks to the launch of the much-impressive PlayStation Portable, which to be honest was ahead of its time in terms of hardware and software. With that said though, Sony was unable to continue its momentum, and the launch of hardware sequels such as the PSP Go and PS Vita weren’t enough to take the trophy away from the Nintendo DS and 3DS.
With that said though, Sony finally showed off the PlayStation Portal, its newest handheld gaming device to hit markets. We first got word of the device a few months back during a gaming showcase, when Sony first referred to the Portal as the “Project Q”. As such, we now have more information regarding this latest entry from the Japanese gaming giant, although it’s not in the same vein as the PSP, other than the fact that it can fit into your backpack.
So what do we get with the PlayStation Portal? Let’s take a look.
Design and Hardware
As seen back in May, Sony has integrated certain design elements seen on the PlayStation 5, which is pretty obvious at first sight. The PlayStation Portal comes with controller grips on the left and right, which greatly resemble the design of the PS5 Dualsense controller. In addition to the same array of buttons and control inputs, the handheld also features haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, which should be very familiar to PlayStation gamers.
The control grips are situated on the sides of the device’s screen, an LCD panel that measures 8 inches diagonally. It’s got decent sharpness thanks to a 1080p resolution, although it comes with a standard 60hz refresh rate. It does support touch input, which in this day and age has become a norm for handheld gaming devices.
Software
While it is technically a Sony handheld, one difference that the PS Portal will have versus older devices like the PSP and Vita is that it will not have an exclusive library of games. The device’s primary purpose will be to stream games from your PlayStation 5, and you’ll need to have both devices on the same Wifi network to be able to access your games and software. There are some caveats, as Sony says that PS VR2 software and games that are streamed through PlayStation Plus Premium are not supported on the PS Portal.
The device will also run with Android, so folks with a penchant for side-loading and mobile gaming definitely have something to play around with in addition to streaming their PS5 library. With that being said, it’s definitely a far cry from its predecessors, which come with their own proprietary OS and library of games. There’s also the fact that you can already set up an Android phone and third-party controller to use as a PlayStation remote play device, which does bring a bit of questioning to the Portal’s existence.
Should you Get One?
Given Sony’s focus on streaming games from your PS5, the Portal isn’t exactly meant to succeed the Vita or the PSP in any way, other than the fact that it is a portable PlayStation-branded gaming device. The reliance on streaming and the unconventional design show that Sony has a different objective in mind this time around, and it looks like the PlayStation Portal is something targeted more towards PS5 owners than regular handheld gamers.
Should you wish to pick one up either way, it will be available later this year for $199.99.
