Sony PlayStation again becomes portable with Portal handheld; to launch later this year

The competition in the handheld gaming device section is going to become tough as Sony is officially getting into the ring with its portable PlayStation Portal remote player later this year.

The handheld device, which features an eight-inch LCD screen with 1080p resolution at 60fps, will be able to stream PS5 games over Wi-Fi. As per the company, the launch price of PlayStation Portal will be $199.99, around Rs 16,500.

“PlayStation Portal will connect remotely to your PS5 over Wi-Fi, so you’ll be able to swiftly jump from playing on your PS5 to your PlayStation Portal,” said Hideaki Nishino, senior vice president of platform experience at Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Nishino said that PlayStation Portal can play supported games that are installed on your PS5 console and use the Dualsense controller.

But what does he mean by “supported games”, won’t it support all PS5 games? Well, the short answer is no.

The almost $ 200 device won’t be able to work with Sony’s upcoming cloud streaming for PS5 games.

“Games that must be streamed on PS5 using a PS Plus Premium membership are not compatible,” the company said.

There are some further limitations with the PlayStation Portal.

The device will work as an extension of your existing PS5 console on the same network, which means it won’t be able to store or run anything locally, games or media.

If you go deeper into it, it simply means PlayStation Portal is a remote player within the confines of your home which is a huge setback against the likes of Nintendo Switch.

Simply put, the PlayStation Portal is a way to stream PS5 games you have installed on your own PS5 console. Also, you will need an internet connection of at least 5Mbps, but for the best experience, Sony recommends a speed of 15Mbps.

Looks-wise, the PlayStation Portal appears to be a version of the DualSense controllers but with a display in the middle. The design looks inspired by Switch. Thankfully, the Portal supports adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, similar to the original PS5 DualSense controllers.

Another technological decision that doesn’t make sense is the absence of Bluetooth, which means you won’t be able to connect to wireless headphones. However, it uses a PlayStation Link wireless technology — a new proprietary standard for PlayStation devices.

Sony will also launch a wireless headset and buds to support PlayStation Link technology.

However, all hope is not lost with PlayStation Portal as it comes with a 3.5mm audio jack for wired audio.

While there is no word on the PlayStation Portal’s battery life, it is expected to be similar to the DualSense battery life, which is about seven to nine hours.