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[Zuzu]

Sony PlayStation Portal Review

The Sony PlayStation Portal is a limited gaming handheld that's solely designed for remotely playing games from your PS5.

www.pcmag.com

PC Mag review:
2.5 / 5 Fair

The LCD screen is the biggest negative about this device for me. It’s just not good enough in this day and age.

 

[64bitbros]

Just got the email it has been send. Woop woop.

 

[Kindjal]

I'm guessing that this device will probably be as successful as the PSTV, but who knows...

 

[midnightAI]

The LCD screen is the biggest negative about this device for me. It’s just not good enough in this day and age.

Even if every other outlet except for PC Mag says its great, with some saying its the best LCD on any handheld they have used?

I get it, OLED is better (for the most part, OLED still has its issues, especially cheap ones), but its also more costly. (dont be surprised if a Pro version of this comes out in the next 12 months with OLED and some other features)

 

[Closer]

Hey if the lag isnt and issue im in. Can play games on it while I watch shit on tv.

You could also play on the TV while watch shit on phone or tablet!

 

[ArtHands]

Why are people hung up on a remote play device only being able to do PS5 remote play. It does exactly what it's designed to do so of course you need a PS5. What a dumb 'review'.

(And this is the first one to say it has a mediocre screen all others said it's an excellent screen, is it as good as OLED? Maybe not but it's by no means bad or mediocre)

Edit: oooh, actually, this is by PC Mag, I think they owned Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine back in the day. In 2007 we won the best mobile Shoot Em Up category for that years awards. I take back the 'dumb review' comment (not really)

People's standard and expectation for things evolve and change over time. Just because Sony said it can only do PS5 remote play doesn't make anything better.

 

[ArtHands]

PlayStation Portal review: A baffling handheld for no one but Sony diehards

The Portal is a handheld meant for the PlayStation 5 faithful. It can only stream games from your PS5, and your experience with it is entirely determined by your network connection.

www.engadget.com

Engadget review

The PlayStation Portal is a fine device for a bizarrely narrow audience

Sony’s dedicated remote device is a comfortable option for a problem that’s largely already been solved

www.polygon.com

Polygon review

PlayStation Portal Review: An Awkward Way to Game

The PlayStation Portal is like a Nintendo Switch — but you’re chained to your desk. Read our review.

www.inverse.com

Inverse review

PlayStation Portal review: PS5 streaming handheld cuts a lot of corners

The PlayStation Portal is a serviceable option for handheld PS5 streaming. Just don't expect more than the bare minimum.

www.digitaltrends.com

Digital trend review

 

[midnightAI]

PlayStation Portal review: A baffling handheld for no one but Sony diehards

The Portal is a handheld meant for the PlayStation 5 faithful. It can only stream games from your PS5, and your experience with it is entirely determined by your network connection.

www.engadget.com

Engadget review

The PlayStation Portal is a fine device for a bizarrely narrow audience

Sony’s dedicated remote device is a comfortable option for a problem that’s largely already been solved

www.polygon.com

Polygon review

PlayStation Portal Review: An Awkward Way to Game

The PlayStation Portal is like a Nintendo Switch — but you’re chained to your desk. Read our review.

www.inverse.com

Inverse review

PlayStation Portal review: PS5 streaming handheld cuts a lot of corners

The PlayStation Portal is a serviceable option for handheld PS5 streaming. Just don't expect more than the bare minimum.

www.digitaltrends.com

Digital trend review

I see a pattern in your posts, keep on warring son

 

[midnightAI]

People's standard and expectation for things evolve and change over time. Just because Sony said it can only do PS5 remote play doesn't make anything better.

Its a Remote Play device, what people expect is irrelevant, its for, you know, Playing.... Remotely (which it does very well, better than anything else out there for PS5 Remote Play)

 

[ArtHands]

Its a Remote Play device, what people expect is irrelevant, its for, you know, Playing.... Remotely (which it does very well, better than anything else out there for PS5 Remote Play)

if you don’t want it to be more useful, then ok i guess.

 

[midnightAI]

if you don’t want it to be more useful, then ok i guess.

Good, glad we are in agreement that a PS5 Remote Play device can play the PS5 Remotely, well done

(why on earth anyone expects it to do more when we have known this for months is beyond me)

I think techradar sums it up best:

Buy it if...​

You need a convenient way to play your PS5 game library
Knocking all other Remote Play options out of the park, if you’re looking for an extra way to play your PS5 then the Portal’s performance and functionality offer the best way to do just that.

You want an ergonomic handheld gaming device
By virtue of being based on the DualSense, the PlayStation Portal is one of the most ergonomic and accessible handheld gaming consoles you can get right now.

Don't buy it if...​

You're looking for a cloud streaming or native handheld
The Portal is not for cloud streaming or playing games natively; it is only for mirroring and streaming your PS5.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Sony PlayStation Portal Review

The Sony PlayStation Portal is a limited gaming handheld that's solely designed for remotely playing games from your PS5.

www.pcmag.com

PC Mag review:
2.5 / 5 Fair

So it does exactly what Sony said it would do (and seems to do it fairly well) and is only $200 but getting bashed by several reviewers because it can't do more?

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Can anyone tell me what 10 - 15 year old kid (who owned a PS5) wouldn't want one?

It’s pretty clear from other posts itt that if you have kids around, they own and use every TV in your house at the same time to watch Spongebob and the adult in the house can only play on a Portal while Spongebob is airing.
So what kid would want a Portal if they can have the TV anytime? It’s a dad’s product.

 

[DrFigs]

So some of the reviews are saying as a con that it is expensive. like endgadget. They mention that you can get a backbone for 100 dollars and use your phone as a screen. But doesn't that go to show how inexpensive the product is? if the next best alternative is 100 dollars cheaper but doesn't come with a screen?

 

[ozz ex machina]

It’s pretty clear from other posts itt that if you have kids around, they own and use every TV in your house at the same time to watch Spongebob and the adult in the house can only play on a Portal while Spongebob is airing.
So what kid would want a Portal if they can have the TV anytime? It’s a dad’s product.

My kid is 1 years old currently but they can fucking dream on. The OLED is daddies and they can fuck off.

I hate handhold gaming but to me this product is so very underwhelming. If this was a third party device doing the exact same thing. NOBODY would be talking about it.

 

[ArtHands]

Tomsguide

PlayStation Portal hands-on: the worst PS5 accessory?

A game-streaming future we’re just not ready for

www.tomsguide.com

wccftech

PlayStation Portal Review - If You Only Have One Job, Do It Right

Sony's PlayStation Portal does one job and does it exceedingly well. If you're not interested in the remote play experience, it's not for you

wccftech.com

BGR

PlayStation Portal reviews: Great for some, but not for everyone

The PlayStation Portal reviews are in and the general consensous appears to be that this is a very niche product for only some PS5 owners.

bgr.com

Pushsquare

Hardware Review: PS Portal Is the Perfect PS5 Companion (For Some)

A great product at the mercy of your Internet connection

www.pushsquare.com

 

[GermanZepp]

So it does exactly what Sony said it would do (and seems to do it fairly well) and is only $200 but getting bashed by several reviewers because it can't do more?

Yeah, it's like "Thumbs down to this Proyector because is not a Smart TV" kinda thing. Weird.

 

[Panajev2001a]

For most games you probably won't even notice, twitch shooters are probably not ideal though. I haven't really heard many reviewers complain about it so I don't think it's a big deal. Probably down to the individual though and what type of games they are playing. But if you are a COD player for example you'd probably play on the big screen anyway as a small screen wouldn't be ideal for competitive play anyway. (Doesn't affect me personally as I don't tend to like those types of games anyway but for those that are it's probably a valid concern)

It is still very disappointing from a device that is tied to the PS5 and we should demand more.

 

[ManaByte]

The Intellivision Amico was a better investment than this.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Got charged, guess I'll see for myself and return if its not up to par.

Remote play is kinda hit and miss around my house and I have a 3gbps fiber connection lol.

 

[FrankWza]

Got charged, guess I'll see for myself and return if its not up to par.

Theyre charging 110% restocking fee so you might as well keep it

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Got charged, guess I'll see for myself and return if its not up to par.

Remote play is kinda hit and miss around my house and I have a 3gbps fiber connection lol.

Then you need a better router or if your house is large then a mesh system

 

[Sleepwalker]

Theyre charging 110% restocking fee so you might as well keep it

That doesn't sound right?

Then you need a better router or if your house is large then a mesh system

Probably the router is the culprit, I'll see how this thing does before I go out investing more $

 

[64bitbros]

if you don’t want it to be more useful, then ok i guess.

Fuck my car. Why can't it fly like a plane?

 

[FrankWza]

That doesn't sound right?

I checked. You get a full refund. I was going by the comments so I figured a worst case scenario. We dodged a bullet.

 

[Zheph]

It seems the main issue a few people have is the fact that is says "playstation" on it, got it

 

[ChoosableOne]

I watched gameplay videos of Spider-Man 2. Beyond the latency issues(which is not that bad for single player games), the graphics didn't look great, and the performance seemed quite low. Considering that the quality is expected to drop further away from the router, it appears that they have produced a device worse than I expected. The fact that it can't stream videos and PS cloud games is a significant drawback too. If the price were between 100-150 dollars, it could have been a good alternative to dualsense+dobe stand(which is heavier but costs 60 dolars in total).

 

[Sleepwalker]

I checked. You get a full refund. I was going by the comments so I figured a worst case scenario. We dodged a bullet.

Yeah I was going to say 110% restocking fee is nuts haha. I am hoping I don't have to return anyway so fingers crossed!

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Probably the router is the culprit, I'll see how this thing does before I go out investing more $

Yeah if the remote play is spotty around your house its the router since remote play is relying 100% on your own wifi

A free way to try to boost your own wifi is change channels in your router and not let it auto select or download a free wifi analyzer tool and get away from channels being used by your neighbors

 

[Sleepwalker]

Yeah if the remote play is spotty around your house its the router since remote play is relying 100% on your own wifi

A free way to try to boost your own wifi is change channels in your router and not let it auto select or download a free wifi analyzer tool and get away from channels being used by your neighbors

To be fair I only tried it on the steam deck a couple times and the wifi on that thing is not great, I was hoping the Portal was Wifi 6 compatible but alas.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

The OLED is daddies and they can fuck off.

 

[midnightAI]

It is still very disappointing from a device that is tied to the PS5 and we should demand more.

Demand? why? It's very purpose is to be a remote play device, nothing more, nothing less.

I think you want something that this is not, and thats fine, don't buy it, hassle them to make a proper handheld then complain that resources are taken away from first party PS5 development to make handheld games, do what you like, but this device just isnt for you so why complain about it?

 

[Killjoy-NL]

if you don’t want it to be more useful, then ok i guess.

It's not meant to do more than Remote Play.
It's a niche product for people that are interested in it's convenience.

 

[THE DUCK]

Ooof, that's harsh, isn't sending something like that via snail mail unusual? (for insurance reasons etc)

It's canada post expedited (via the mail system, still has insurrance) vs courier next day. I guess I should just be happy it wasn't regular ground, that's like 10 business days.
Weird though since like thr last 10 packages have been courier for the "free shipping".
Must be due to which warehouse it ships out of.

 

[Shifty1897]

It's now sold out on the US PS Direct Site:

 

[FrankWza]

It's now sold out on the US PS Direct Site:

Wow. I didn't think that was going to happen. Shifty1897
Just usually direct is the last resort because there's no brick and mortar or easy Amazon returns. Impressive that it sold out even on direct.

 

[midnightAI]

Most places in UK out of stock

Stock Checker
UK Direct is the same

 

[midnightAI]

It's canada post expedited (via the mail system, still has insurrance) vs courier next day. I guess I should just be happy it wasn't regular ground, that's like 10 business days.
Weird though since like thr last 10 packages have been courier for the "free shipping".
Must be due to which warehouse it ships out of.

Well in that case Friday isnt too bad, better than waiting over a week

 

[Panajev2001a]

Demand? why?

Having standards? Expecting corps not to phone it in?

 

[schaft0620]

My review is going live like Saturday or Sunday. Was super busy and I want to try it with 802.11ac and 802.11ax.

 

[midnightAI]

Having standards? Expecting corps not to phone it in?

So you'd complain if your hammer doesnt saw wood? that's not phoning it in, that's doing exactly what its supposed to do, sometimes its better to focus on a single thing and do it to the best of your ability than do lots of things and do none exceptionally well.

(and as you can see from everywhere going out of stock, you might not want it but seems plenty of others do)

 

[FrankWza]

My review is going live like Saturday or Sunday. Was super busy and I want to try it with 802.11ac and 802.11ax.

Can you answer this for th4tguy
Multiple user profiles and portal

Playstation Portal reviews

They're both being paid though... Both being paid? Both as in who?

www.neogaf.com

 

[Certinty]

£200 with an OLED screen, bluetooth and better battery life and I would have taken the risk.

But given the way it is, I can’t see any reason to choose this over remote play on the Deck given the limitations and price.

 

[LordBritish]

So you can't play this from an airport or hotel rooms wifi (unless you do a hotspot from your laptop or phone)????

 

[Mortisfacio]

You could pay me $200 and I still wouldn't play this thing.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

So you can't play this from an airport or hotel rooms wifi (unless you do a hotspot from your laptop or phone)????

Any wifi works if its strong enough

 

[LordBritish]

Any wifi works if its strong enough

Yea, but most wifi's have a pop-up screen that requires a browser to authenticate... pretty much every hotel wifi and airport wifi... the Portal does not have a browser

 

[diffusionx]

Yea, but most wifi's have a pop-up screen that requires a browser to authenticate... pretty much every hotel wifi and airport wifi... the Portal does not have a browser

yea, exactly. i wonder if Sony is going to put a browser in. Probably not, because of security fears. Again, what a stupid system.

 

[FrankWza]

Yea, but most wifi's have a pop-up screen that requires a browser to authenticate... pretty much every hotel wifi and airport wifi... the Portal does not have a browser

Yeah I don't use public wifi but I could see this being an issue for those that don't have cell plans that allow hotspot and are fast enough. Hopefully they patch in a solution. Isn't it possible to tether to your phone when it's connected to wifi? That would be a simple workaround

 

[Kenneth Haight]

You could pay me $200 and I still wouldn't play this thing.