PlayStation Portal’s Latest Update Proves Sony Needs a Real Handheld Console Again
Another year, another update to Sony’s PlayStation Portal. The latest tweak to the hardware considerably expands the roster of games playable on the device—but the end result only highlights how urgently PlayStation needs to re-enter the gaming handheld market for real.
Launched November 2023, Portal was intended as a mere accessory for PlayStation 5. It had no native processing abilities, simply using Sony’s Remote Play technology to stream whatever happened on players’ personal PS5 to the portable’s screen.
However, the Portal has been a surprise hit for Sony—but it was never intended to be a standalone gaming handheld.
Clearer Skies?
Enter the newest update to PlayStation Portal. It takes Cloud Streaming out of its beta phase, expanding the streamable library from only those titles included in the PS Plus selection to many games digitally owned by players.
Until now, if you didn’t have a game installed locally on your PS5 or it wasn’t included in that cloud catalog, too bad, no Portal play for you. Going forwards, you’ll be able to cloud stream many titles if they’re tied to your PlayStation account through purchase on the PlayStation Store—although you will still need to be subscribed at the PS Plus Premium tier to use the feature.
Moreover, the assortment available is already vast—more than 3,000 games at time of writing. On the face of it, this should be a transformative development for not just the Portal, but PlayStation as a gaming ecosystem.
Failure to Launch
I was cautiously excited at the overhaul’s potential, thinking it might help me tackle my ever-growing backlog of unfinished games. However, given all the features Sony has added to Portal and the overall catalog it has access to, it is still fatally stymied by being a streaming-only piece of hardware.
Unfortunately, wrong. For all the features Sony has added to Portal and the overall catalog it has access to, it is still fatally stymied by being a streaming-only piece of hardware. Sony officially states that “PlayStation Portal Remote Player requires broadband internet Wi-Fi with at least 5 Mbps for use.
Consequently, trying to connect to Sony’s servers and stream a game on anything but a lightning-fast connection remains an exercise in frustration, and makes out-of-home play nigh-impossible.
The Verdict
While the Portal has been a surprise hit for Sony, it was never intended to be a standalone gaming handheld. The latest update to the hardware only highlights how urgently PlayStation needs to re-enter the gaming handheld market for real.
Therefore, until then, we’re stuck with a streaming-only device that’s more of a tease than a true gaming experience.
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