Formerly known as Project Q, Sony has revealed that their new portable streaming device is called PlayStation Portal and will retail for a hefty $199.
Essentially, the Portal is a PlayStation Dualsense controller with an 8-inch LCD screen nestled in the middle. As I said before, Portal is not a sequel to the PSP – it is limited to streaming games directly from the PlayStation 5 using the Remote Play feature.
This streaming capability also comes with a few other caveats. First, you must have a PS5, and second, the game you want to stream must be installed on the console. This means you can’t subscribe to Portal and Playstation Premium and use them to play all the latest and greatest games.
However, you can use the portal outside of your home network. As long as your console is turned on and you can connect to the network, or perhaps through your phone’s hotspot feature, you can stream games. Of course, this greatly increases the likelihood that latency will become an issue.
IGN has been playing around with the portal a bit, and during the video it’s mentioned that it doesn’t support blu-tooth. Instead, Sony opted for a standard 3.5mm jack and their new PlayStation Link, which is a proper wireless connection. Currently, it’s only on Sony’s upcoming PlayStation headset and Pulse Elite headset, though they say other manufacturers will be able to support Link if they choose.
Maybe I’m just a cynical jerk, but I’m not sure the Portal should exist. For the most part, it’s for home use, perhaps because someone else wants to use the main TV. In that case, it would be cheaper for you to buy something like the Backbone, which turns your phone into a controller. Sure, the Portal boasts all the fancy Dualsense features, but $200 is a lot for a handheld that needs a PlayStation 5 to run.