this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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[–] thorbot@lemmy.world 91 points 1 year ago (2 children)

$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.

[–] ChronosWing@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 year ago

You could likely get it to work outside of your network using a VPN, maybe.

[–] ieightpi@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sony is just so bad at this whole portable gaming thing, aren't they?

[–] jay9@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

Classic case of design by committee.

[–] BertramDitore@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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.

[–] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 4 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] Pregnenolone@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I refused to buy a PS5 because of how ugly it is. My friends got one, but I chose an XB1X because of how much better it goes with my house.

[–] crawancon@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

you chose a gaming platform because of how it looks?

we are not the same

[–] dditty@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

I have a PS5 and I just do remote play to my Android tablet with the ps controller connected via Bluetooth and for most games it's acceptable; there is a little latency so it wouldn't be good enough for fps games however. I wouldn't buy this product but if the latency is improved I could see several of my friends getting one of these.

[–] sucricdrawkcab@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] SRo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 1 year ago

Is this a batarang?

[–] LWD@lemm.ee 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 11 months ago)
[–] Defaced@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] nix@merv.news 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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 🤷🏻‍♂️

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 8 points 1 year ago

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.


The original article contains 714 words, the summary contains 200 words. Saved 72%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

How my console boys feelin? Where your games at?

[–] DeathWearsANecktie@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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?

[–] rambaroo@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah I didn't understand why I'd do this instead of just using my PC with a controller. Wifi streaming sucks, I'm not paying $200 for it

[–] paultimate14@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Way better control experience, almost 2x the screen space, separate battery, and like a 5th the cost of a flagship smartphone.

Not for everyone, but still neat. This product makes me wonder if theh have other things in the works. I wouldn't be surprised if there is something 3 years from now that releases where we say "this is like if the Portal was good".

[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not drain my cell battery or get interrupted from a call or text, have a much bigger screen than a phone, save you from trying to balance a tablet around on a bed or chair or recliner.....

[–] DeathWearsANecktie@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

Those are incredibly small problems that are easily solved without having to spend $200

[–] donuts@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This thing is gonna flop hard.

[–] Eggyhead@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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)

[–] donuts@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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...

[–] schmidtster@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Tv with the ps5 is downstairs, wife wants me to hang out and not just watch me play games, I want to game. I grab the portal and sit on the couch next to wife while she watches tv. We all win.

[–] clgoh@lemmy.ca -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not useless. But it's not useful for a lot of people.

[–] schmidtster@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Huh, just like anything else on the market….

[–] clgoh@lemmy.ca -2 points 1 year ago

The question then is: is it useful for enough people?