$200 to play a console game on a different screen only within the same network is insane. You could spend $100 more and get a full blown handheld console. This is fucking stupid, Sony.
this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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Yeah, it's the price that bothers me the most about this. For the same amount, you can get a whole Switch Lite.
And I'm still salty about how they treated the Vita. This is what we get as the first handheld successor to the Vita? And the Vita didn't cost much more.
Yeah Sony is smoking some good shit these days thinking people will buy this
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You could likely get it to work outside of your network using a VPN, maybe.
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This thing is gonna flop hard.
Portal’s not so bad if you’re happy with just your PlayStation library and simply want something for your bedside stand.
I currently use a retroid pocket 3+ for almost only that purpose, and let me tell you, an 8 inch, 1080p screen + a full dualsense in my hands at night for just $200 seems like a really nice upgrade even if it means leaving my emulators on a different device.
(Too bad for Sony I’ll personally be spending a lot more to have a Steam Deck OLED though) (teehee)
I have a Steam Deck and I don't even own a PS5, so I'm probably way outside of the market for the Portal...
But I'm really finding it hard imagine this device finding a broad audience, since even in a hypothetical best case we're talking about a subset of a subset of PS5 owners. From what I understand the new PSVR sold pretty badly despite being a pretty solid piece of VR hardware, this feels like a very niche and underwhelming piece of hardware and so I really can't imagine it performing any better.
Someone will buy a PS Portal, and hopefully they like it, but when the smoke clears I don't see it being a big hit.
The Steam Deck OLED on the other hand, I suspect will sell out fast. It seems like there is a pretty big chunk of people who were interested in the first gen Steam Deck but opted for the wait and see approach, and I can imagine a lot of those people jumping on the Steam Deck OLED now that they know the device has lasting power. Personally I probably can't justify the cost of upgrading from the LCD model right now, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to...
I'll tell you a secret: if you have a steam deck, you have a Playstation portal as well. I beat days gone to platinum on steam deck... By streaming if from a ps4.
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The thing is there are a lot of devices that you can use to stream from you PS5 and also have other functionalities. Like playing games natively, or emulators.
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I still just do not understand who this is for. It seems extremely niche. I can’t see this selling all that well.
Hi. It's me. I'm the one it's for.
I have a den where my PlayStation is hooked up to the nice TV. I don't necessarily always want to be down there to play games, for any number of reasons. Sometimes my wife wants to watch TV while I want to play a game, and this allows us to be in the same room and do that.
I'm in the same boat with my PC. Bought a steam deck for the same reason.
Yeah, why wouldn't you spend $100 more and get a Switch or Steam Deck that can be played fully standalone, anywhere? This product is whack
Bought in heavy to the PS ecosystem already? Or just prefer it? Don't want to pay the extra $100 or $200 (steam deck)? It's not for me but I could see people doing it.
Just not many people.
Thing is, you can get a second hand Switch for about $200-220 as it is. So I really don't get it. Especially since every console has the ability to share to your phone or tablet already, and there are loads of controllers meant for phones or tablets that are less than $50.
I'm trying to defend here a product I don't really believe in, so bear with me.
The portal lets you play PS5 games, in PS5-ish quality (-ish because it's obviously not the same as a 4k TV). The best the switch can do is 7-year-old No Man's Sky, with no multiplayer. Recent Pokémon and Zelda (first party Nintendo games) can't even reach a constant 30 FPS in the whole of the game.
I don't think graphics are THAT important, but I know there are people who think that. And in that case, the PS5+Portal is going to beat a standalone steam deck or a switch. If you have a beefy PC maybe a steam deck can stream in better quality, but if you're in the PS5 ecosystem it's the best quality handheld gaming you can achieve.
Would I buy it? Absolutely not. 80% of the fun with my steam deck is taking it places. The airport, the plane, a hotel on a business trip, my partner's place, the dentist waiting room, the bus/train... All that's missing with the Portal, but that doesn't mean I can't see a (niche) market for it.
This is really my biggest issue with the device.
Yes, there’s a desire to game away from the sofa, which is why Steam Deck and Nvidia or even a phone with the PS app are all available. I can’t see the need to buy something like when there are better alternatives available for cheaper or even for free.
Remote play runs on just about anything though, you could use a phone, chromecast, computer. I bought a $15 phone mount that hooks onto my PS5 controller and it's essentially this device, but with the added benefit of using a device with more than one use.
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I have an actual use case for this. It is kind of niche. I don’t personally have kids but I have friends over a lot to watch sports or BBQ or whatever. I have a PS5, a respectable desktop, and a Steam Deck. I prefer the portable option of the Steam Deck or, at worst, streaming to it. I don’t know why but that’s just what I enjoy.
As the kids have gotten older, they really want to play the PS5. But if the football game is on, they cannot have the TV. So, I was using Chiaki to let them stream from the PS5. So, all my PS5 game saves are basically fucked. The younger ones will use up any and all ammo or other in-game supplies and the older ones will make progress and I’ll just be lost next login. But the worst thing is when they exit Chiaki and play my PC version of a game. I specifically tell them not to do that but they aren’t my kids so I can’t backhand them.
So, now we have a solution. A thing like the Steam Deck that is limited to only fucking up PS5 game saves so if I really want to enjoy a game, I can get the Steam version. The kids can go hog wild on the PS5. They can get sticky shit on the PlayStation Portal — and they will if there is one ounce of sugar within 5 miles. My PC is in my office and my Steam Deck is going to be locked up. I’ll actually be able to enjoy a game again. And for only $200.
Dude, the kids must've love you. You basically bought a PS5, a PS Portal and a bunch of PS5 games (which usually more expensive than their PC counterparts) and perhaps a PS plus subscription just for your friends' kids.
I’m definitely the proverbial uncle who works for Nintendo to them. But in reality, I’m a boring, non-Nintendo software engineer who just didn’t want to have kids. I’m not rolling in dough but I could probably buy every video game system ever released and it’d be less than parents spend on day care. A lot of strollers cost more than a PS5.
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Sony is just so bad at this whole portable gaming thing, aren't they?
Classic case of design by committee.
Not only does the functionality seem almost completely unnecessary except for a limited use case here and there, but this thing is truly ugly. Who designed this travesty? How would you even store this bumpy hunk of plastic?
Sony used to have some of the most elegant and clean hardware aesthetics. Their designs were genuinely beautiful, simple, and practical. They used to ooze premium luxury. Now we get a screen with a sawed off controller stuck to the sides? Disappointing.
You know what? I take it back. The PS5 is shaped like a modem from 1999, it deserves this ugly step-cousin.
But it does look like more comfortable to hold than psvita. My hands hurt if I play my vita without a grip, which essentially turns the vita into a boomerang.
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As an owner of 2 Vita's that didn't use this feature on PS3, PS4, zero chance I'd buy this to do it on PS5.
Is this a batarang?
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This thing is terrible, who the fuck is buying shit like this? What a waste of electronic materials. They could've made a true handheld with the power of the steam deck that could run PS5 games at lower resolutions, but fuck no! Let's make some bullshit abomination of a Vita successor and give anyone who loves portable gaming the middle finger, especially since you can't use Bluetooth headphones. Fuck you Sony.
I still say it should have been called the "PSPiiU".
PiiU is exactly what I said when I saw this stank ass thing 🤢
Seems like it should’ve just been a thing you can connect your phone in the middle and it gives you the controls and a battery to remote play
Isn't that what PS Remote Play is for? Well I guess you can't just switch on the fly with that.... But there's no reason it couldn't be made to 🤷🏻♂️
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
It doesn’t do any kind of cloud streaming like Nvidia’s Geforce Now or Sony’s own PlayStation Plus Premium subscription, and it can’t run anything locally (not even YouTube or Netflix).
The Portal is purpose-built to use a singular feature Sony first debuted with the PS3 and PSP back in 2006 that’s also widely available on other devices you may already own, making me wonder: why does this exist?
Compared to a Switch with standard Joy-Con controllers, the tradeoff in weight is made up for by its large grips that are comfier to use for extended play sessions.
I’ve initially played a handful of hours with various PS5 games (Resident Evil 4, Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon, and Astro’s Playroom, to name a few) in my limited time with the PlayStation Portal so far.
At various points in the last two years, I’ve tinkered with using Remote Play to stream games from my PlayStation 5 to my PS4, my PC, various Android devices, an iPhone, an iPad Pro, and even a Steam Deck using open-source software Chiaki.
My first impression is that this device is primarily for PlayStation diehards who want a simple, dedicated tool for streaming games around their homes.
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What's the point in this thing if it's not an actual handheld console? What does it do that a playstation controller + smartphone/tablet can't do?
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How my console boys feelin? Where your games at?
I suspect I'm pretty much the only market for this thing. I can play while in bed, which is where most of switch gaming currently happens. The price is probably reasonable for what it cost them, but they need to explain why anyone besides me would want one.
Ok, I'll bite. What exactly makes you the only person in the world who can play a handheld in bed?
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