p.s. "I've done a hundred of these" consider making a gigantic 4+ hour themed compilation video covering a ton of these in one vid, it'd be pretty fun!
As evidenced in your video, my worry is that it lags a lot. The footage of Horizon FW was very jittery as well as Gran Turismo. It’s not good enough. Why they didn’t make it have a special connection with the PS5 (like the WiiU did) is beyond me…
I’m the target user for this thing (3 other people want my TV), but I just can’t see why I would pay $200 for this over remote play on my iPad. All they had to do was make it less laggy than remote play by directly connecting to the console (like the Wii U) but without that it’s just not worth it.
True. DF found that best case there is an additional 5 frames (80ms) or latency on top of system latency. That is REALLY bad. People don't even like frame gen because of 10-20ms of extra latency.
The fact that this product was sold out, shows for me that they knew exactly what they were doing, I will never buy this stuff, but totaly get it. They figure it out that people with money and kids, that don´t play their stuff because of lack of time, were going to buy it, because it is going to take less time to set this thing up then the other ways of remote play available, and they were right. That being said, I think their audience was specifically people who already owned the PlayStation 5, have the money to buy an expensive accessory and still don't do remote play in other ways, simply because they don't know the less official ways of doing it, or because they think is going to take longer than an official product to do so, i think you were not the target because you probably already know how to do it anyway, witch makes you smart buyer, I don't think they want that.😂 (Portal users I'm sorry for the end, It's supposed to be funny, no hate please!)
@@p.c.n.b.6112 sold out is not very informative. I'm sure Sony did their research and made sure they didn't make more than the anticipated demand. Sold out can be 10,000 units shipped or 1 million unit ships and I doubt it shipped a million units.
i personally think this is… a waste of money and resources for both the customer and sony themselves. i wish they had allocated said resources into a real, powerhouse, natively playing, beautiful handheld system.
But that would remove the game production resources from the PS5. Games are getting more and more expensive to make. Sony prefers to fully focus on the PS5, and I can understand that. Nintendo also figured out that problem, and they came with the Switch as a solution, but had to sacrifice power to do this. I recently got the Portal and I really love it. It so nice to easily pick up and play my PS5 games everywhere in my house. Or just on the couch when the TV is in use by someone else.
Sony is not capable of managing releases for a PS5, VR2 and a handheld. So a handheld will not happen. People say they want a handheld until one comes out and it fails like the Vita because Sony couldn’t keep up with the PC handhelds or Switch with software output
Its kinda mean but: - If we can run custom firmware - We can run Moonlight on it - If it ends up like Vita TV approx 99 bucks to clear it off shelves Then it would be perfect for me. 😁 In the meantime am glad the people that find the current usecase for this have this product.
This sure got me thinking about the Wii U, makes me wish more game kinds had the kind of ability to function between a handheld & a console by mode like PlayStation Portal could have
@@brandon_nope all the way up until more 5ghz wifi devices became more of a thing, sadly. I’ve been noticing more screen latency (not input lag), stutters and a little screen tearing recently
6:00 "I haven't had issues when it comes to streaming", as he's playing HFW inside, that's doing nothing but show that it's suffering from lag and tons of stuttering.
The Wii U gamepad was not a mistake. Unfortunately, this is not a Wii U. The best part of the Wii U was that it functioned as a separate display, which was perfect for designing multiplayer games. One player gets a private screen hidden to the view of the players on the TV. The only issue with the Wii U was true complete lack of adoption because the console wasn't powerful enough.
@@mmstick It was a good idea, but everything about the Wii U was, in fact, a mistake. Including its implementation of said gamepad. For one, it only came with the system, you couldn't buy another, so replacing it was a *nightmare.* Second, you couldn't pair two to the same system even just to use as a screen-less controller or for more basic menu implementation. Third, many games over-relied on the screen. Not third-party games, but first-party. Star Fox Zero was a nightmare on the platform because of it.
I think if the PS5 was the only platform I was looking to play remotely I'd be all over this device. But since I wanted a device that streams PlayStation/Xbox and PC, I opted for the G Cloud. Been pretty happy with it
@@I_Vented Steam does have remote play type streaming? You can play from any device that has Steam as long as its connected to your account, Steam Deck does it out of the box basically
You can cloud stream a significant portion of your Steam library by using NVIDIA GeForce Go. Yes, it plays over the internet rather than Local Area Network, but NVIDIA did the heavy lifting of creating optimal network conditions for the server, and the server plays like a really high end PC (I don’t even have a Windows PC). If you do just want local streaming, and you have a PC more powerful than a Steam Deck, then the “Moonlight” streaming app is your answer. If you’re trying to remote stream FROM a Steam Deck… why are you doing that? 😂 Just take the Steam Deck handheld with you!
You have to have more money than sense and a disinterest in every other platform to even consider buying this, I feel. It just doesn't make sense for anyone who can't blow money whenever they like. $200 is a lot of money. I don't fault people for wanting it if they can afford it, I just think Sony's gotten greedy and stupid. They could have expanded its features, included the PS4, maybe offered some form of streaming TV streaming to the device and upped the value a bit, but as predicted, they did the bare minimum and it's just not worth the asking price.
My biggest problem with the portal is actually its size. It doesn't fit in any of my purses and so it becomes a chore to take with me. There are other options that fit in even my small purses and even if it's not as deluxe that convenience is my primary concern.
This is absolutely a niche device. I get why for some people it will be incredible and I get why for others it would be a complete waste of $200. If it would work well on my network I would consider it for sure. There is a lot to be said about the convenience of being able to lay in bed with my wife and have a conversation while still playing games. It's why my Switch Lite gets so much love. My upload speeds are never above 10mbps, though, which makes it a bad use case for me. D/L speeds are perfectly acceptable, but when it's uploading at speeds 25-30 times slower than my download, it'll never be a good experience. For me it would be a great device, and it would get a lot of love, but not until I have better Internet service.
If you're using it within your local network, the quality of your internet service shouldn't matter at all, just the quality of your WiFi coverage in your home.
@@vdgcampos I have a mesh system that provides coverage all over my house with no dead zones or any other issues. Do you know if game streaming has issues with mesh systems? I've tried in the past and it's always been a latency nightmare. Previous efforts were made via Remote Play on a Galaxy S21 with a PS4 controller and a mounting clip that held the phone. Console hardwired, so it should have optimal speeds. It was frustrating enough that I didn't continue trying.
@@nickspeck I've never had a good connection with retail products marketed as mesh networks. You're almost always better off getting a single great access point (ie: Huawei AX3) instead of multiple okay access points. Especially if they are linked wirelessly, since the back and forth communication between mesh devices uses the same airwaves. If I had a house with multiple floors, I'd just get one good 802.11ac router per floor, and bridge them together with Ethernet. Most routers have convenient settings pages for bridging multiple devices of the same model. But either way, remote play requires an unsaturated 802.11ac (5 GHz) connection. You need to make sure to configure your network to split the 2.4G and 5G signals into two separate access points. Something like "MyNetwork" and "MyNetwork_2.4G". There's also one quirk with remote play on the PS5. You may need to physically unplug the HDMI cable to get near zero latency. If the PS5 detects a TV, it will attempt to render a 4K HDR screen to it.
@@nickspeckagreed, it's probably a hardware issue rather than an upload speed issue. If you haven't upgraded your router in the past few years, that'll do it. 10mbps should be enough headway that as long as your console is connected via ethernet, you can have a decent experience streaming to a handheld device.
Wifi 5, no cloud gaming, no bluetooth, and 200 bucks? If it came down to two useless accessories, the Playstation Portal or Nintendo's Power Glove, I'd take the power glove. Least I'd look pretty rad. ;)
I think your nontech friends keep very grounded. It's refreshing to see a tech tuber understand what a normal person may want and not just dismiss anything that doesn't push 1.21 gigawatts. The echo chamber in this space is real.
Facts. I have a Steam Deck OLED, ROG Ally, Switch OLED, backbone, etc. and I still want to get one of these because I do a lot of remote play and it has dual sense built in. Not everyone wants a handheld that can do everything. Then there are the people that just want a basic device that does one thing.
This is _not_ what a "normal person" would want and the issues with this device are beyond just what "gigawatts" it "pushes". The price is absurd. $150 would be pushing it, but it would at least make sense given the high cost of the PS5 controller (which is also overpriced and stocked with useless features no one actually gives a shit about; if you think I'm wrong about that, ask Nintendo how their HD Rumble feature is going because no one even remembered that was a thing on the Switch). There are *two things* gamers want. Games and a good way to play them. You can only milk them to a certain extent on those two before they get tired of spending money. Some will still blow their cash, but not enough to ensure the portal survives. Mark my fucking words, this will be considered a failure a decade from now.
@@Lucifronz Apple is a pretty big rip off and they seem to do well. There is value in an ecosystem and things just working seamlessly together. And it's really hard to say Sony is failing when the product literally cannot stay on the shelves.
They made a device that only does something that can already be done by many other devices and it is baffling. The only thing unique about it is the proprietary wireless audio which just makes it worse. This could have been an cool device.
Yep, they are basically asking for another for $200, if you want the privilege of using wireless earbuds with the Portal. Of course you can only use those expensive earbuds/headphones/speakers that are made by Sony. Sony really is fast catching up to Apple, when it comes to ensnaring you in their ecosystem and then shoehorning you into further buying several other of their proprietary products. Of course, all of which of are only compatible with their own products.
This is a great review. Yes, it’s a niche product and most people won’t ever need it. But also as a dad of three, the Portal comes in clutch. The haptics really do elevate it over streaming to a phone or tablet. Cheers!
It's worth mentioning tips for improving input latency with remote play on the PS5. To get the best input latency, you need to unplug the HDMI cable or change video/screen settings before switching to remote play. If the console outputs to a TV, it will cause significant input delay to your remote play connection. Hopefully this can be fixed by a firmware update. You must also configure your router to split the 2.4 and 5G signals into two SSIDs, as the 5GHz signal is low latency (1-3 ms). Most routers combine them together, which will cause sporadic stuttering. Games should be set to prefer performance over quality. You may also need to manually disable 120 Hz and HDR, as well as lower screen resolution to 1080p. The more resources the PlayStation has to spare for remote play, the better the latency. These are the difference between "only useful for single player games", and "perfect for online competitive play".
For PS Remote on my iPhone 15 PM (wifi6) and Backbone, I put in a LAN cable to my PS5 and not let it run on wifi. That seems to make a big difference eliminating latency both at home and via remote travelling.
Great video as always! You should consider at the end of the year doing a "Handheld of the Year" kind of video with various types of categories and rewards and ending it with the MVP reward!
It just seems like a very singular use case - for dads, who get little time in front of their TV but still haven't traded in their PS5. Super niche with crazy shortcomings such as no BT Audio.
It's not about the lack of access to a TV. It's about the flexibility to bring your games anywhere you want in a convenient handheld device. I live alone with my wife, but I don't always want to play games on the TV. Maybe I want to play from bed or the toilet, especially in winter. Or perhaps certain types of games look and play better on a handheld. Such as indie games.
I found it hilarious how everyone crapped on the Logitech G Cloud assuming the Playstation Portal would come with some magic sauce. Now that the Portal is in the wild, the G Cloud is obviously a pretty nice device. Yet, this is one of the only reviewers that even discussed the two devices comparatively in any detail.
I don't own a PS5, but still found this a really good, thorough video. Also, while it's a small (yet rare) thing these days, thank you for not joining the trend of doing clickbait titles/thumbnails.
Unfortunately you can’t take this to Starbucks because the device doesn’t have a web browser to accept terms and conditions for places like that to connect to their network.
I personally have no use for a PlayStation Portal as im using Chiaki on my Steam Deck has been flawless for me, I have played a good amount of Modern Warfare 2019 single player on it and it feels like its installed on the Deck itself.
I wish I could contact someone involved with making it to give suggestions: -add PS4 support, since it's Android-based and the Android app supported PS4 -add multiple user support, I handed it to my wife to use since I was using the TV but since it's a single-user device it was useless to her The lack of bluetooth and HDMI-out via USB-C is extremely annoying
It would be better to have a PlayStation TV stick so you don't have to plug in the Portal. As you're going to need a separate DualSense controller either way.
One thing you forgot that severely, severely limits its streaming ability (to the point it would be a deal breaker if I had a ps5) is that it lacks a browser, so you cannot log into practically any public wifi. At all. None. If it uses a web browser access for their EULA, like my university, every airport, every Starbucks, most hotels and motels, hospitals, restaurants, you literally can't sign the portal into their wifi, making it a complete paperweight at worse or wildly unreliable at best if traveling. That, and being forced to drop $150 or $200 on headphones that in all honestly will sound substantially worse than my high end TWS earbuds or headphones (they have LDAC and guess who made and owns the rights to that codec? Goddamn SONY.) The issue here is that they made a product that has deliberate design decisions made to limit users (guessing the browser is to prevent jailbreaking) or to pigeonhole people into buying more products (the headphones) and for that, the portal just come across as yet another transparently anticonsumer piece of e-waste.
I love my Logitech G Cloud and mostly use it for my PS5 so I'm very tempted to get the official offering with better controls. One TV with a wife and two kids means I never get to play the PS5 at a normal time. Streaming is fantastic
I find with my two kids (8 and 5) that it doesn't matter whether I try to play handheld or on the tv; whichever way I'm playing, whichever system I'm playing, they want in on it. We have two xbox's, a switch, a pocket flip and a 3ds xl but they are only interested in whichever one I'm currently using lol So single player games are just kind of out of the question for me during "normal" hours.
Fans of Sony have been asking for a new handheld for years, that they chose a hamstrung streaming device as the handheld is just confusing. That Microsoft has been smart enough to not go down this route is nice because this is a very niche accessory that offers very slight convenience over just using a device and controller. Hell, I kinda wonder if the fire tablet that is on sale right now can stream PS because that sounds like a sane idea. I won’t tell anyone what to buy, but a device that can only stream games from your PS5, not 4 and won’t stream any streaming services is friggin weird.
Well, you made the one point that I've been talking about all the time. This device is for us dads! YES! Finally. I'm SO stoked about the Swedish release (whenever that is) because I will be able to play wherever in my house because of all the kids. And besides that I can barely wrap my head around bringing just this device to my mums instead of the entire PS5. And yes I know I could already do all this with other devices but this one feels more premium and just.. better! Great review and great video! /Your fellow dad Jono in Sweden! ^_^
@@hotfuzz4416 not everybody want to sit in front of the couch just to game. i know my bro would prefer lounging on his bed with this on and just switch it off whenever he wants.
@@MuhammadKharismawan and this $200 LCD screen with half controllers glued to it is the best option you can run with? Or just trying to make excuses to spend $200+. The fact that Sony is trying to sell some shitty earbuds (same cost as the portal)with a shitty monitor is amazing and depressing at the same time.
All they had to do was make it play PS1/P/Vita games natively and it would be much more worth it. Like you said "I was doing this on an iPad 4 years ago". This is old functionality that they're peddling as a modern take when it's really not.
It's a modern take. The modern take here is the convenience. Instead of 10 step setting up before playing, just max 2 steps on portal and you already playing
@@ninetendopesaitama2107 i wouldnt point fingers at Russell and call this vid an ad... he reviews EVERY handhelds out there... good or bad. You must be new at this channel huh.
After playing the first spiderman game with my steamdeck via chiaki I haven't used my ps5 controller to play games in months, now it feels too small in my hands😂
Hey Russ!, Thanks for this video. I do own a PS Portal on purpose for playing indie games. I never liked playing those types of games (for example Gris, Dordogne, Oxenfree, Somerville, binding of Isaac etc...) on the big screen and i was dreaming of playing them on a portable devise. I have tried remote play through my phone or tablet but i never liked the experience... This accessory is a dream come true for me and i love the feel and experience that i get from.
Except for indies, a SteamDeck would've been the best device ? You'd have all the indies before they even come to consoles, it's still in your Steam library so on any PC also. And you're not buying what is essentially an overpriced paperweight.
That's my issue too. This portal is only decent for people who already own PS5s. I don't own one, so I have no incentive to buy a portal. It just seems like a worse vita. And I loved the Vita. For now, I will stick to my PC and Steam deck. @@Allyouknow5820
I really don't understand why they couldn't fit a 8 gen 2 or 7+gen2 or really any good SOC on it. It would be amazing for Android games then, maybe Linux as well. It would cost more obviously but it would be a fully fledged consoled then. Even if it was 400usd, even though I think Sony could probably negotiate a really good deal with Qualcomm and get it out for 270 ish USD. Since it's replacing another SOC and they don't have to up the cooling, just underclock it. That would make it way more powerful than the switch for example, possibly close to the steam deck, although it can't do windows obviously. Really a missed opportunity
The most logical and safest bet, if we are talking about a dedicated handheld, would have been to work with AMD and create a portable PS4, that can both stream PS5 and also play your PS4 digital library.
@@RandomPlaceHolderName by comparinson to what? I said " dedicated handheld". I wouldn't see why they couldn't reach the same price as a steam deck, 399$
Looks good! - but they could've angled the screen up a bit - like on a laptop - so that you shouldn't tilt your wrists up to correct the viewing angle.
Appreciate your insights on this device, not a home run, maybe a single off of a bunt. I wonder if it was designed for Asian urban centers, places with super fast connections everywhere.
PS1 is my favorite PlayStation and it's not even close. The popular choice would be PS2 but I played my PS1 way more. Ended up with two of them: 1000 and 9000 models. Reason why PS2 isn't tops is probably because I was already working in my early 20s and wasn't at home a lot during the 6th gen and I had Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, and GameCube next to each other. Since I was mostly home during the 90s since I didn't drive yet, the 90s consoles are the ones that meant the most to me because I was stuck at home playing them. If I can include handhelds, then Vita and PSP would go 1-2. They truly are PlayStation portables. A PS1 is in both of them and Vita has some PS2 ports. My PSP 2000 was given to me by my brother back in 2019 and I still use it to this day. While my Vita 2000 is superior, PSP makes a nice backup and I like that you can still play it if charged with a dead battery. I prefer handhelds over any home console these days. I saw people comment their favorite PS4 game and I wasn't impressed. Home Consoles 1. PlayStation 2. Super NES 3. Dreamcast 4. PlayStation 2 5. Genesis 6. GameCube 7. NES 8. PlayStation 4 9. PlayStation 3 10. Nintendo 64 The generation I tend to revisit the most is the 4th gen. Super Nintendo has the most replayable library. But the ones I had the biggest library for were the PS1 and Dreamcast. Right now, my gaming devices are - PS Vita 2000 PSP 2000 Switch Lite Galaxy Z Flip3 Flip3 is mostly used for Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and GameCube emulation. I can do a few Wii games too but I'm not really into Wii games very much. Vita covers NES, Genesis, Super NES, 32X, PS1, PSP, some PS2, and their own Vita library. PSP does all that except Super NES, 32X, PS2, and Vita. Switch Lite covers whatever I missed from the Wii U era and then it has ports from the PS3/360 eras like Red Dead 1 and AC4: Black Flag. I'm really not tempted to buy a Steam Deck because I'm not into modern games. I really stopped caring by the 7th gen. I prefer simple 2D platformers and racing games. We tend to grow out of things we used to love. It's like Billy Mitchell. Yeah, he's a liar and cheater. But he still has amazing skills for a gamer and he seems to only stick to the 2nd gen. The ones he grew up playing. If I can only stick to playing 16-bit games for the rest of my life, I wouldn't mind it. I play Super Mario World and Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition constantly on my Vita and PSP. The 90s remains my favorite decade for gaming. Every pixel and improvement mattered. Every megabyte mattered. Video game magazines was in their heyday. I miss picking up EGM's Holiday Buyers Guide. The smell from EGM pages was great. I would read GamePro a lot in the early 90s. Arcades were still all the rage. Gaming got empty to me by the 2000s when the market was flooded with first person shooters. A lot of games are really interactive movies where we spend more time watching than playing. The 4th gen was the last time when a free pack-in game was common. While I'm aware the 6th gen is a lot of people's favorite, I think that was the beginning of the end for gaming for me thanks to the Internet which led to smartphones. More distractions from social media and RU-vid ruined our time to game. Super Nintendo is the GOAT to me. Had such a great, comfortable controller with a long cord. I'm perfectly content only emulating four consoles: NES, Genesis, Super NES, and PS1. That's it. I don't even need PSP and Dreamcast even though they emulate great these days. And I was never a fan of N64, GBA, and DS. Gawd, I miss the 90s. The last real decade before Internet and smartphones ruined it all for everyone. 1. Super Mario World (the perfect game) 2. Tekken 3 3. Street Fighter II (SCE or Super) 4. Ridge Racer (PSP) 5. NBA Street Vol. 2 6. Final Fantasy VII 7. Shenmue II 8. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 9. Super Mario All-Stars 10. Oddmar 11. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 12. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 13. F-Zero GX 14. Final Fantasy X 15. Tekken 5 16. Mortal Kombat II 17. Super Mario Bros. 3 18. Super Mario Bros. 2 19. Super Mario Bros. 20. Sonic the Hedgehog 21. Plants vs. Zombies 22. Super Mario Kart 23. Super Mario 3D World 24. NBA 2K23 25. Sonic Adventure 26. Sonic Adventure 2 27. NBA Jam 28. Horizon Chase 29. Top Gear 30. Metal Gear Solid 3 31. Metal Gear Solid 2 32. Metal Gear Solid 33. Xenogears 34. Parasite Eve 35. Final Fantasy Tactics 36. Final Fantasy VIII 37. Final Fantasy IX 38. Grandia II 39. Dead or Alive 5 (Vita) 40. Dead or Alive 2 Yeah, it looks like classic PS1 for me. Most of my favorites came from that console. And I played it the longest. When I got Dreamcast in Dec 2001, I continued to play PS1 another year after that. I played PS1 for 6 years (1996-2002) and Tekken 3 helped adding extra years (1998-2001). The 1001 model was from 1996-1999 and the 9001 was from 1999-2002. It's weird because I think Gen 5 aged the worst. But then it holds the strongest nostalgia for me and it was the most progressive era thanks to the shift from 2D to 3D, cartridge to CD-ROM, and to analog sticks and rumble. It was also the most competitive gen with 3DO and Jag starting it. I'll be turning 43 next week, so my video gaming mind only likes shifting left and right. I never liked 3D platformers. I hated the bad camera angles from Super Mario 64 and Sonic Adventure. So while my favorite era that I lived in was Gen 5, my favorite to revisit is Gen 4. PlayStation had the GOAT RPG library. We got FFIV through IX and Tactics. Then Grandia, Suikoden, Wild Arms, Parasite Eve, Xenogears, Crono Cross, etc. While Super Nintendo probably had the GOAT 2D platformers next to Genesis and was generally excellent in most genres except sports which the Genesis excelled at. Hardware: Sony > Nintendo Software: Sony < Nintendo Although the latter may not be the case. It seems I grew up loving the PlayStation library more. I owned every PlayStation except PSP Go and PS5 and I enjoyed all of them. My least favorite is my PS3 phat and I still like it very much. I did not list Gran Turismo, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, original Ridge Racer, Bust-A-Groove, Tekken 2, and WipEout in my top 40. I enjoyed all those games. PS1 rocks! The only thing I hated from it was when it would erase my memory card. This usually happened during a blackout. While I do love the PS1, I still didn't bother getting the mini one of it. Why bother? I can play any PS1 game on a hacked PSP and Vita or any affordable Chinese handheld and Android smartphone that runs emulators. Playing any PS1 and PSP game on a handheld is pretty easy these days. I recently started replaying MGS3 after I beat Uncharted: Golden Abyss a second time on my Vita, and NGL, I think MGS1 is the easier one to get back into even with far worse graphics. I don't remember the menu options being that confusing in MGS3 when I beat it over 16 years ago. That's what I hate with all these modern games. The confusing menu options. And a lot games don't age that well. You're only into it when you play it. But when years pass, you never have the urge to replay them. This is why I love Super Mario World. It was a free pack-in game and it's the game I keep returning to play after 30 years. It's the greatest Nintendo game ever made. I find the ones like Breath of the Wild to be a CHORE to play.
As always, really appreciate the time and thought you put into this. I don't think I'm going to pay the asking price for one, but if somebody handed me one? I'd absolutely use it. Like you, I've got a backlog of PS5 games (or cross-gen games that I can access on it digitally) that I'd love to have an easier way to stream, inside and outside the house. Not that I can't do it with other devices, but it'd be nice to have a fit-to-purpose solution that just did that really well. .....just not for hundreds of dollars. Maybe when it's half off, someday.
Here's a reason why it doesn't support ps4: they're still trying really really really really really hard to sell ps5s for which there's not a lot of reasons to buy one still. I was looking at black friday deals and there were some for ps5s but i still can't justify the cost when there are other hardware priorities that would supercede it and sony has made some effort but either not the right or enough effort in the directions that would convince me buying one would be worthwhile.
I dont think anyone asked for this or wanted this. Had they just made a modern psp that could do this on top of regular native gameplay, everyone would've celebrated Sony, but no, here we are. Why would i downgrade my 4K tv with native play for a laggy artifact 1080 resolution on a lcd display? Thats what Playstation 5 was made? To play a sloppy version of it in 1080p? Does that make sense at all?
If the steam deck was 1080p and PS Remote play supported like 90FPS i think it'd be amazing. Unfortunately it looks kind of muddy even with the oled. Local installed games is the way to go.
The only draw backs of the steam deck OLED in this instance are; smaller screen, lower resolution screen, doesn’t have all the dualsense capabilities built-in (so emulating things like the touch pad can be difficult) and it only works when you’re on the same local network.
It's a fake portable for those that worship Sony but want to get into the portable game. It's comical that people will spend the same amount of money on this lil streaming screen, as a mini pc that can emulate EVERYTHING. I guess it's okay for streaming the like...2 games PS5 has. Not for $700 though, get a PC and free yourself from this dying console generation. They even wanna charge extra just to get you DECENT audio, so put that to at least $800. I spent less than $500 getting everything on a mini PC.
Hey Russ! I would like to watch a video about the PSP. Never had it as a child but as an adult I bought one, put CFW on it and it became my most used device for NES, GBA PS1 and PSP games. Since I bought it my Switch and PS4 collect dust. To this day it is a great device for retro gaming!
My gripe with PS5 is that there are no good games on it that aren't on my PC, Steam Deck, or Switch...what's even the point? I actually play my Evercade and Hyper MegaTech Super Pocket more than I play any of these "next gen" handhelds.
What really killed it for me is the insanely low bitrate. A device exclusively designed around remote play... and your only option is a extremely compressed image? Insane
One big limitation people have been complaining about is trying to use it on public wifi that requires a browser to sign your life away before using their free wifi. It doesn't have a browser. Paid hotspots will also be an issue, like on planes and such.Also need a browser for that.
Thing is do you want PS5 games anywhere around your house or possibly away for £200 with dual sense vibration controller attached or a PSP with a completely new software line up without dual sense costing £400 n to start again buying new games. If you can’t afford either then the portal isn’t for you. I know Sony were going to add rumble to the screen but decided to keep the costs down
I got the ROG Ally for this use case + emulation. I’ve been pondering the portal - because it wouldn’t feel as third party as you say + maybe the latency is better? Was the experience on portal substantially better than chiaki on Ally? If latency exists on both / feels the same - I suppose I’d stick with that!
As someone who has a ROG/Chiaki and tried out the Portal, I don't think it's worth it. In fact, video quality seemed better to me with a maxed out bitrate and hardware decoding on ROG/Chiaki.
I have both screen is much bigger and crisper on the portal and the controls are miles better. Battery also lasts longer and its lighter to use comfortably in bed. I only use the ally for dedicated pc games.
any chance they’ll end up going the Wii U route and using the screen for in-game maps and inventory menus etc? Seems like a missed marketing opportunity to not have a game that utilizes the device this way.
It's funny I actually am the opposite... I got a Backbone and I actually use it more than my dedicated handhelds (Odin Lite etc) with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and a Samsung S20 FE (I got for $50). But this might all change once I get my Odin 2 and SteamDeck. As for the PS Portal... I was going to grab one for my son for Christmas but they are sold out everywhere. I, myself, don't particularly see the value in the Portal but my son would use it a lot.
Hey Russ, just want to say that I appreciate you recognizing that there are a lot of similar reviews out there already and so instead you focus on your own personal thoughts and opinions. It's refreshing to jump right into it rather than watching the same regurgitated review of a device when I've already watched a lot of other reviews. Your thoughts and opinions are what we come to watch your videos for in the first place!
No PS4 compatibility?! This is madness. Kind of feels like PlayStation is slowly losing its way. Had they brought out a Steamdeck competitor, basically a new PSP, that would have been a far better move in my opinion.
Sony should have gone with an honest to goodness next Gen PSP handheld. The original PSP changed the gaming experience and made Nintendo step up their game
@@solkalibri1376 if I remember correctly the original psp was independent of its generation’s PlayStation consoles. The PlayStation portal is dependent on this generation’s PlayStation console
I bought one around launch, but ONLY because my wife was also interested after I explained the use-cases to her. If it were just me, I feel like I couldn't justify the cost. But having it for a bit now, I am really liking being able to easily get to a few games that I've been meaning to play for a long time, but I have trouble getting around to on the TV. Not only that, but I HAVE played via Remote Play sporadically in the past on my phone or tablet or Steam Deck, but none of them felt comfortable (or "right") enough to keep doing it regularly. The Portal makes it comfortable enough to where it's actually regularly picked up by either of us (mostly me) on an (almost) daily basis.
I would buy a PlayStation handheld that can play PS4/5 games locally at 1080p/30fps/no ray tracing in a heartbeat. I want to be able to bring my PlayStation library on a plane/hotel room/summer house/wherever I don’t have a strong internet connection. I would happily pay $550 for this.
One thing I’ve noticed with the PlayStation portal is that the joysticks on the portal have way less resistance than the actual controller. Big bummer for me.
"Doesn't run games natively; therefore NOT a handheld, but an accessory" ~ THAT PART That was the deal breaker, right off Nice try, Sony Come back when a truly portable PS4 / PS5, exists - then we'll talk
Hi Russ. As usual a great honest video. I fall into the 5%. I'm pretty sure it's far more than 5% mind. Firstly the price in the scheme of things is a bargain at £199 UK. Why? Well already in a short time has had me kicking up my feet, laying back and playing my games. I've even upgraded to PS Plus Extra. Personally I feel this is what Sony are aiming for. Loads if games in there I've never played and don't have to buy them. I'm a physical games man. I have so many to wade through and already I've finished two games. I guess at heart I prefer gaming on a handheld. Yes I've tried Backbone but after an hour or so of play my hands hurt. I don't want to play on my phone. I certainly won't now I've had Portal. I'd never go back and that speaks volumes. To anyone on the fence, it's simple. Got $199 or £199 and love playing games anywhere in the house or at a friend's while they hog the PS5? This is for you. Thanks Russ.😊
From the outside in, why would I want to buy this if I don't own a ps5? This seems like a lot of extra finances just to be able to stream a few games that are already on PC.
I don’t comment a lot but I’ve really been enjoying your videos and wanted to let you know. This video in particular - the reason why I absolutely love the ps portal is b/c it gives me the ps5 controllers (and it’s haptic feedback) in a portable form and as you mentioned as your own biggest benefit, I have two kids and it allows me to be in the same room as them which makes all the difference. I have a 4090 super PC that I built that could play these games top notch but it puts me in the basement and therefore isolated from the fam. That alone, being with my kids is worth the price of admission. Keep up the great vids.
Thank you, your reviews in my option are the best especially because you compare the device to other options. Other reviewers rarely do this.The PSPLAY app looks better than the official remote play from Sony. The reduce lag is noticeable. How can they create this device without even trying to improve the app.
My issues with the Portal: - no secret sauce to make it better than PS Remote Play (no direct connection, no higher bitrate, etc) - lack of Bluetooth is some straight up anti-consumer bullshit - no PS Cloud streaming - no WiFi 6 - no PS4 Remote Play - can’t even play Vita games on it
The ROG Ally was just too small, had too little battery life, and in the end too expensive for what I would use it for. So I returned it. The PS Portal makes much more sense to me. It has a bigger screen, great controller, 4-5 hours battery life, and I can chill in the sofa/bed/wherever and play my whole PS4/PS5 collection, for a fraction of the price of an Ally. I like it!
Then you really didnt need a device like the Ally afterall. This niche streaming device is what you needed and that just fine, it good you found your true lane. The Ally and similar devices is a totally different device for a different demographic.
with portal you just need to pick it up and press a button. for some people. just those extra step of strapping on an accessory and then opening an app make the activity as taking more effort than you want for a quick 10 minutes of gaming before bed. people kinda underestimate the convenience of handheld form factor and only wish for something that's never gonna come out. Sony wont have the motivation to support another device that needs 3rd party software support for its usability, they already have ps5 and psvr. adding a true vita successor where they need developer to adapt ps5 and older games to is kinda throwing money to the fire.. just play around with linux and windows for people who want that.
at first I thought it was cool it works really well when you're at home but playing it outside of your house is absolutely no different than using your phone or steamdeck, I returned mine after a few days.
I dont understand the argument of "now I can play my ps5 backlog". Thats not a positive point as literally any other device does this, be it your phone or another handheld with good controls. Its not a reason to buy this thing. This is such a limited device you can almost call it a scam This device deserves being bashed so that they actually use the hardware and resources they already have to make it better, such as PS4 streaming, netflix etc. Come on man
How this project wasn't cut at its inception is beyond me. How anyone at Sony or their investors thought this was a good investment of time and resources is upsetting.
It probably took next to no resources, and they don’t have to develop games for it. And considering how it is a hot item, looks like it was a good idea for them
It wasn't cut because a room full of beancounters way smarter than you or me ran market analyses and focus groups to determine the market viability of this product. Looks like they guessed right considering it's sold out everywhere in the US and going on eBay for 50% or higher markups.
Sony saw the success of the Switch, Steam Deck and dozens of othwr handhelds and said "Let's rip off the WiiU Gamepad! That's what people want!" I'm glad Jim Ryan got the boot.
I like the aggressive price and the large screen. Those were my two main gripes with the G Cloud and hopefully the Portal can affect the streaming handheld scene a bit.
My main gripe with this is Sony's usual proprietary tech. I've owned every PlayStation console, including handhelds, since PS2. I love Sony audio too, and currently own the Sony wf-1000xm4 and LinkBuds S wireless buds. The fact that I can't use either of these Sony products with the Playstation Portal is disgraceful. Sony gets enough of my money Ty 😅 big NO. lol
I've been playing my ps5 with my STeam Deck for months, so don't really see the appeal of this outside of the ignorant masses that just don't know any better (as Russ detailed himself), and $200 is nuts of a controller with a screen.
This thing is stupid pointless. Why would I use this over a 65 inch oled in my home and then on the road I'm gonna leave my PS5 on to have a laggy experience outside where the screen is really bad in sunlight?! Just another overpriced Sony product.
I agree. This is an accessory and not a handheld. That is exactly how i have always thought of it. I think its fairly priced personally. The steamdeck is just so incredibly priced. I love my portal and steam deck. I just view them completely different.
@@ralex3697 Hmmm!!.. The portal is £200 here in the UK, while the 64GB LCD Steam Deck is now only £309. £109 more is not exactly a huge price difference or really breaking the bank, especially when you consider all of the bonuses and extras that you get with a Steam Deck. Just gaming wise, you'd not only get access to Remote Play but also gain access to XBox Game Pass, Cloud gaming, Native PC gaming, Android games and Emulation up to the PS3 (Including Nintendo Switch). The Portal is just to expensive for what it offers (which really isn't much), especially when there is a far better and more versatile alternative, that is easily within reach for many.
I've been a huge PlayStation fan since pretty much the beginning. I'm also a huge handheld fanatic but can safely say that this product focuses on the opposite of what I would want something like this to be and would sooner buy a secondhand PS Vita. Every choice they have made with this device completely baffles me.
I don't know why anyone would buy this, there are so many better options that can do the same thing and so many other things as well. It's obvious how little they really care about what their customers want and always prioritize making money. They're worse than Nintendo when it comes to taking advantage of their fanboys.
I don't have one yet but I'll probably get one eventually, even though I have a Steam Deck. I'm not likely to spend $200 on a pro controller unless it has a screen on it. I basically consider this a pro controller since I probably won't be taking it anywhere. Second reason I'm going to get it is because I really hope Sony makes an actual handheld and that's not gonna happen if the Portal flops.
You can't connect the Portal to an ISP wifi(Charter, Xfinity etc) or to wfi in places like Starbucks because of the splash pages. The device does not have a browser.
Something worth noting is that right now, most major retailers have holiday return policies, meaning if you get this now, you can return it open-box to Best Buy in mid-January. I’m hoping that the Odin 2 will be a satisfying way to stream my ps5, but I got a portal on a whim to try out during that holiday return window and I have to say, it’s been really awesome! Like it’s a major bummer that it does just this one thing and it would be so much better if they just opened up access to android on it, so you could add some simple emulators and stream Xbox too, but it is so much better than taking my phone out of the case, uttung it into the backbone, turning off my notifications, opening up the remote play app and then finally connecting and barely being able to read anything because my phone screen is too small for games designed for a tv. The portal is ready to stream between the moment I pick it up and the time I sit down to play it. Like I said, still planning to return it in January, but grateful for it now!
I am a casual gamer. I just don't need the additional capabilities of the steam deck though. Nothing against it. Dedicated portal has been great for me. The steam deck is also 2 to 3 times the price of this right I think 😮
@@tafb94force29 that's fine. You were aware, and you made a choice. I'm talking more about the casuals that don't even know about handhelds because of poor awareness, like Russ was saying near the end of his video. People that don't really know or understand about handhelds, and instead ask questions about the Portal simply because it has a lot of Sony marketing hype around it.
I do this exactly (remote play from outside my house) with my XBOX series X. exactly as you shared when my living room TV is busy. I do it with Backbone, iPad with xbox controller, the Retroid pocket flip-my favorite device. I am waiting for something like the Retroid pocket flip with a bigger screen and stronger internals 😁 Keep up the good work.
i use Remote play often its pretty awesome. 5gh wifi, Ps5 controller and galaxy tab S7+. i have to prop up the tablet and get my game on. i will skip the portal. waiting for a real handheld.
Although it does contain a variant of a SD662 SoC that's found in older smartphones (2018-2019), there's only a very small amount of onboard memory and storage. All of which is being reserved for a very basic Android based UI (we are talking just Megabytes in size). With a lack of storage and no spare RAM onboard, it simply means there's no easy way to hack it (ie. turn it into a Emulation or Android device). It might have been slightly easier if their was some spare RAM (if it's even unlockable) and the USB port allowed you to transfer data. Then you could then have simply used a flash drive for storage. However, even the USB port looks like its missing any internal links for data transfer and is likely just restricted to only power for charging purposes. It would require one hell of a hacking job with a lot of modification, tinkering and soldering, to change it into something else. However, knowing the hardware modding community, there's absolutely no doubt that someone will try (and undoubtedly using a lot of unnecessary time, effort and money to do so). However, online game streaming just might just be possible on it, since it does at least have a Wi-fi connection. Although though even there, any results would likely be far from stellar, due to latency issues (it only uses Wi-fi 5)
@@Markeplier23 BTW, it's also pointless to do so, since most peoples smartphone is likely more powerful than the SD662 SoC that's found inside it. Plus it can emulate more systems on it, can play Android or iOS games natively, can access any game Steaming service and can also use Remote Play. Just couple that to a controller and you've basically got something similar that would be even more capable and flexible (and possibly on a OLED display). Either that or just buy one of the cheap Chinese retro handheld for $50-$100 that comes with 1000's of pre-loaded retro games already on it (Some really aren't that bad, TBH)
Just find it absurd that some think $200 is too much for this and think it should be $100, but will tell you to buy a backbone which is also $100 but doesn’t have a screen or an attached dualsense.
I like this for the fact that I can play current gen games on a handheld with a really nice 8" screen. You can catagorize it as not a handheld, that's fine. But I am now playing every one of my PS4 and PS5 games with this thing, from now on.
There really aren't enough games for the PS5. I only got one for FF16. In the past 5 months all of the games I've bought have been PS4 games with a PS5 upgrade.
Russel, watching this video made me think that you might only like this device because you basically have every handheld and 200 USD isn't that much to you. However that is not the case for most people. And this is not a negative comment, it's just a thought I had. On that note, I would love for you to make a video where you pick which handhelds would you personally buy if you only had a limited budget, and it would be really interesting if you made this for different budgets. Eg: with only 100$/250$/500$/750$/1000$/1500$, which handheld(s) would you pick? It's interesting because it doesn't mean you always pick the same ones, because if you have a bigger bidget, you can pick different handhelds/accessories to play different games, like with the PS portal here.
