Sony unveils PlayStation Portal remote play handheld, and it’s still dumb

Sony has officially unveiled a dedicated remote play handheld. Dubbed the PlayStation Portal, the device will allow players to connect to their PlayStation 5 over WiFi, and stream games locally stored on the console. It features a 1080p display, supports all features from the DualSense 5 controller, and will be capable of streaming at up to 60fps. Sony is marketing the Portal as something that allows households to share a TV, or simply play in another room, while still offering a high quality PlayStation experience. The company says it will retail at $199.99, but did not provide a release date, only saying it would launch sometime “later this year”.

So far the Portal has received mixed reactions online, to put it mildly. For starters, it’s incapable of streaming games from the cloud via PlayStation Plus Premium. It can only play games that are installed locally on the user’s PlayStation 5, despite seemingly being able to connect to the internet. Furthermore, it does not support Bluetooth, instead requiring the use of proprietary PlayStation Link devices. Sony claims this will provide high definition, low latency audio. However, it conveniently requires the use of new headsets and headphones specifically supporting the technology. Even Sony’s own existing Bluetooth cans will not work with the device, let alone those from other brands.

A lot of commenters online expressed bewilderment with the Portal, noting its goofy look and limited use cases. Many compared it to the Wii U. Though it is worth pointing out that the Wii U’s touch pad was heavily used as a second screen device, with the intent of bringing the Nintendo DS experience to the TV. Meanwhile, the Portal is just a passive remote play box with a rather limited feature set. Others compared it to smartphones and other devices that already support remote play. Many have also noted that it’s not a particularly great value either, considering the Portal costs the exact same as the Switch Lite, a dedicated handheld that can play games offline.

With the recent resurgence of the handheld market, many PlayStation fans had hoped that Sony would at least consider releasing a new PSP. Both it and even the PS Vita are still held in high regard by the broader gaming community. It’s fair to say nobody really wanted a dedicated remote play device that absolutely requires ownership of an already pricey console. Especially when both combined are already well into Steam Deck and ROG Ally territory. For Sony though, another dedicated handheld just not something that’s in the cards.

Supporting two separate ecosystems is just not viable for game companies anymore. Nintendo was the first to learn this the hard way. Following years of declining sales, they finally exited the console business in 2017 to focus entirely on handhelds. For Sony, the main reason the PS Vita failed was from a lack of support, as the PS4 was by and far the more profitable platform for them. So it made sense to put their resources into the money-maker than try and gamble on a floundering handheld.

Companies like Valve have gotten around this by basing their portable on existing PC hardware. So there really is one ecosystem for both of their platforms. Sony could take a similar approach, by building a new portable around existing PS5 hardware and software, then scaling games down. But then you have the same issue Microsoft has with the Xbox Series S. Developers just don’t like scaling games to run on weaker hardware, or multiple devices, since it costs money, talent, and time to do so.

The Portal may be Sony’s attempt to dip into the handheld waters without actually fully committing to it. Right now though, they’re more than content putting older PlayStation titles to Steam and letting the PC handheld market fill the void. Though I’m still trying to figure out just who the heck the Portal is for.