PS Portal Proving More Popular Than Sony Expected

I bought one last month off ebay for £250 brand new. So far its been great playing whilst the TV is occupied especially so with JRPG's but I wouldn't recommend it to play fast paced shooting games like call of duty and apex legends as its harder to aim, for HellDivers 2 though it's pretty decent.

No hollow ‘console’ for me, thanks.

Finally got my hands on one and it's a phenomenal device. Feels so good in my hands. And the screen is so good and so defined, when I played Cult of the Lamb on it, the title screen practically looked 3D. HIGHLY recommend for anyone who needs the TV for multiple family members. People call it a dad device for a reason 😂

@UltimateOtaku91 I agree to a degree. When I had my PS5 connected to Wi-Fi, fast action games would stutter. But using an ethernet cable is a literal game changer.

HOWEVER, still wouldn't use it with online multi-player games though 😂

Loving my Portal playing Cyberpunk, Xeno Crisis, Doom Eternal and lots more. It feels native

@Brydontk I agree, it really needs to be hardwired into your router to get the best experience.

I’m keen to see how Sony make improvements via software updates. Maybe higher bitrates, video streaming etc…

I just don’t understand why this thing exists. I can connect my iPad and controller and have the same experience. You get the rumble on the controller and adaptive triggers still. And you can connect to public WiFi… the portal can’t… I just really really don’t understand the need for this product. Use your phone or a tablet…

It's an awesome little device. I'd say 40ish% of my PS5 gaming is on it! Not for everyone of course but I love it!

Have no need for it as I have a Steam Deck, that said if Sony get's in the portable gaming race like Microsoft probably will then I will happily sell off the Deck and more!

Won’t work for me and my WiFi setup.

@Luigia or you can be “hardwired” to a powerline plug. Did the trick for me but also I freed up the 2.4Ghz band for it and let all else at the 5Ghz because it wasn’t going too smooth on that. An amicable agreement everything else will attest !

I absolutely love my PS5 Portal! I can watch a Hockey Game on the TV and play Persona 3 Reload on PS5 Portal at the same time! Or my wife hijacks my office TV and I can play any PS5 game on my Portal and still be in the same room together.

We got a lot of TV hoggers out there.

Loving mine. Been using it for online tekken 8 multiplayer lately and moving up the ranks. Great device.

I’ve been looking for one for months… it’s like they’re merely myth or something.

@TwoDents you should feel sick to the stomach with shame

I remember playing Xenoblade Chronicles X while pooping. But I'm not paying the price of a Wii U for a simple controller with a screen. I can pause my game and play something else on my Switch instead... Or simply spend a little less time in the loo.

I’ve had mine for two months and have played it every day. It’s been a fantastic device, and has really given me the desire to play various games I wouldn’t otherwise play on a big television. It is also perfect for me when I like watching football and basketball during its respective seasons.

I would definitely get one….if I didn’t have a Switch, Steam Deck and dedicated TV for gaming. I just have too many devices. Plus, I am seriously considering a PSVR2.

I LOVE MY PS PORTAL ❤️❤️❤️ hopefully the popularity will help them decide if they should make an OLED model in the future.

@DNortonX
You can't lay back in bed or on the sofa with a dualsense and an ipad in your hands....you have to prop the pad up somewhere.

I debated even getting a Portal, but I like it more than I ever thought I would. Thing is badass.

It’s a great device. Using it now while in bed to play infinite Wealth, and it’s doing so flawlessly as always. Sony definitely need to make more.

LOVE my Portal. After that last update a few months back, performance is fantastic. So nice to be able to play my PS5 while the lady watches a show. Glad to hear it’s selling well!

@jolteon23 Shut it down by holding the power button. Holds a charge for much longer!

@DNortonX

For some reason remote play never worked well on my phone, but it does with the Portal!

@rockodoodle Same and I feel like I'd not give my Steam Deck or Switch the parental attention they deserve if I bring another portable device into the house.

"PS Portal Proving More Popular Than Sony Expected"

Not sure why - for what it costs it's a sub-par experience because Sony didn't bother to optimise Remote Play as a service so it carries all the same input lag/frame pacing issues the service does, just now on a device that you have to buy seperately when you can get the same kind of experience on a device you probably already own, like a smartphone or laptop. Glad I tried and didn't buy.

I know that goes against the common experience and love for it, but you've gotta go with what you feel based on experience, and it could have been a lot more than a boring Android tablet with DualSense halves glued onto it. It's no PS Vita.

Things amazing… it feels like I have a whole new console… with a huge library I already have of so many great games that I hoped would hit the switch and never did. It really makes me wanna reply everything…. The screen is so nice too. Hopefully when Sony puts out a real hand held or whatever the talk is… that we can access our library and perhaps even SharePlay so we can play physical games on it like the portal that we already own.
It’s too bad no Bluetooth… but I remember one day Nintendo magically turned on Bluetooth that supposedly was not present inside the switch but then one day poof my beats worked…. With that’s said my OG ps5 pulse headset works just fine with the included usb transmitter while I’m in the home. It won’t work if I take my portable with me somewhere else with WiFi… but it works for me as 99% of the time I game at home.

I was not expecting this either. I didn't think anyone would buy something just for remote play. Something you could already do with your phone at no extra costs. Or £15 for a controller mount for the phone.

10+ years, still bad marketing. It orbiting the PS5. Maybe they just did better with it even though it's optional, did SmartGlass, Wii U or Vita communicate marketing well prior I don't think so. The price is fair I guess. Could have just been Dualsense grips for Tablets instead though. Would have been cheaper.

'specific way' there is a reason I do that with the Joycons/pro Controller not a PS Portal. Going from Dualsense to Dualsense grips is hardly different. PSVR/Move controllers are more so a leap then the same controller layout is but whatever it is still 'different' off the TV I guess to word it.

It's an option but I mean is it 'a specific way' hardly 1 additional that's a repeat of the PSP/Vita/Smartphone app again isn't a specific way. It's just presented in a different shiny form factor this time. XD

What off the TV to watch sports/have their TV off. It's something of a bonus yes but I mean unless an internet connection/modem/wifi then yeah nah I'm keeping my Wii U and a power bank (small portable screen for cheaper too if had to for dual screen games), or a Vita/Switch around personally at least.

People are fine with a off the TV device as much as they are a screen attached to a Series S. Once it's with a device they are willing to support with they will. XD Which is why the PS1 LCD, Wii U Gamepad and 6th gen third party screens for consoles or screen on a controller (HipGear not the GBA/GameCube or Dreamcast VMU side of things) made maybe some strides but did they, anyone remember them? Probably.

If people care that much for the brand and to play their big/Indies from their beds or the other room and the connection is fine enough for them makes sense I guess.

It's a fair device, no dual screens (split screen or UI elements on it like Wii U but nope, it's no different to me casting my phone to the TV but less effort and less lag then that does with the apps I have used), no android (the reason I won't buy one are those two factors, I can accept no new storefront/no new handheld from Sony I get why, but man it's a piece of basic tech with no support and Wifi 5, come on, Indies would love to mess around with this thing but nope it's a single screen casting piece of basic use cases, boring), 10+ years to communicate the same PSP/Vita idea and try again and again for people to care. The Dualsense then handheld or phone aspects and feeling I guess also helps.

Gamers know (I guess), casuals maybe they understand it.

I still find it 'suitable but still eh'. It can be a for kids or adults wanting to while watching sports/TV shows, not fussed having their TV on and streaming it to the device) but I refuse to look it in the eyes knowing a family member owns it and as someone into remote play the despises the thing and what it stands for. It can be a sign to another handheld but it's clear it won't be. That and I have no interest in the Sony IP direction anyway.

People are fine with a off the TV device as much as they are a screen attached to a Series S. Once it's with a device they are willing to support with they will. XD (repeated on purpose) They are Hypocrites but still proves a point. If it is something they don't care about they won't support it no matter if it's been a 10+ years ago idea or better marketing people are just picky that way.

@CutchuSlow it's probably a bit presumptuous to assume that everyone has a phone that can do this. I think a lot of people are happy/put up with phones that are considered outdated.
Especially by phones ridiculous turnover rate, outdated if over a year old.

@DNortonX To me it seems like a shiny way to convince people that had no idea remote play exists because PlayStation wasn't good at marketing it. I still thing the Portal/headphone marketing was bad.

To me Portal is like Apple and Vision Pro, we had Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard (we also had Google Glasses on the AR side). Phones can have a thing around them to isolate and 180/360 video later your already there, gaming sure but I mean I don't know if Vision Pro is like HoloLens which even then put your calendar and more around your house, even if it's a business device. Speaking of business devices Steam Deck yeah Pocket PCs of the 2000s, same idea, Sony/Samsung, other niche companies like OQO. GPD kept making them and even DS clam shell shapes even before the newer Aya Neo one or many of GPD/Aya Neo and Steam Deck/other OEMs Switch tablet shape.

It's brands people are happy with or timing and tech advancing or remarketing it.

I mean smartphones weren't touchscreen in the past. But have been around years before the iPhone with many smart apps. Microsoft had Tablets since Windows 3.1, XP even. Apple comes along, presents it more appealing and well they win with marketing it differently. Customers can be particular on appeal or timing.

Dualsense grips they could have just sold them that way for Tablets like the Backbone for phones but nope. They put a bit more effort in but still not much. It's half a Vita/Wii U just the remote play half not the storefront/offline half. And a WIi U I can take outside with a power bank.

Like I get the point of people wanting things separate of a handheld, phone, camera and such but that's not everyone. Phones do so much that sure they can be a hassle to separate remote play and notifications and all that but hard to say. Those that get consoles don't always do it because oh notifications on their PC it's just the prices or the mentality of using a console I guess. I get the appeal of consoles. But how many are using Mouse and Keyboard for those games supported probably not many.

Portal offers the same space as the Xbox streaming box would have before it was a Samsung TV app and well the third party Xbox Series S screen. Aka PS1 LCD of these days. When it comes to people, if it's a brand/device they are happy with they will support it. If it isn't it ends up as the Wii U marketing wise and people not caring. If it's PS5/Series S of course they will support a screen/off TV device right? People's mentality.

10+ year old idea, 2019+ of Android and 2023 iPhones to polish and remarketed (which takes time, we see it with 3D TVs/movies, or 3D gaming from NES/Master System to PS3/360 or 80s Jaws 3D to that same 2010 era) an idea for people to notice that 'didn't notice' prior about it being a thing or trying again. Or using their PS4, PSTV or phone/PC in another room.

It's to convince people to buy a thing to orbit the PS5 like PSVR2. It's for idiots.

It has it's purpose but it also exists to do nothing to fill a space.

Add dual screen support/Android support and I'd praise it more.

Indies won't touch it because it offers nothing for them due to them being happy on Vita and Switch with all the things they got to do, this thing is intended to be a device that 'exists' no one is intended to use it creatively for HUD/UI or anything cool, it just exists, let alone it being a single screen reworking of an app at this point.

Perhaps the popularity of the Portal will FINALLY motivate Sony to take seriously the stutter issue that has existed with Remote Play for years and now also affects the Portal (which uses the same Remote Play streaming protocol).

Revolving stutter issue every 10 seconds or so, detailed in Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/PlaystationPortal/s/oUcleCqLo0

I would buy one of those cowards would sell me one. I have yet to see one in stock!

In the age of scalpers and bot-nets, everything that is even slightly appealing to the public will sell very, very well... and sit in a scalpers back room while they try to flip them for double the normal retail price.

Bought mine day 1 because I knew it was going to match play habits. Definitely a niche device, but for those of us with younger children it can be a great way to get gaming in.

It is slightly surprising to see its popularity though.

@ParaSupaman Stutter issue? Been playing the portal a lot, never noticed any stutter.

Where's Porco to tell me for the 3rd time that nobody wants the Portal and it's a flop?

@Runex2121 Unfortunately, only some people are sensitive to the stutter issue (like myself, but I try to ignore it as best as I can and just enjoy the great Portal hardware). The stutter is also more noticeable on certain 60 fps games than others. 30 fps games tend to hide the issue, because of the low fame rate. In particular, consistent slow panning 60 fps games like NBA 2K highlight this issue the most.

But yeah, for the rest of the population that can’t notice it, they can count themselves lucky that their eyes cannot detect the micro stutter. Digital Foundry mentioned the stutter in a passing comment during their Portal review. However, unfortunately they did not investigate the issue any further.

But yeah, if interested in reading up about it…
https://www.reddit.com/r/PlaystationPortal/s/rjisCpBeA7

I love my Portal, my only real complaint is the inability to log onto wifi the requires a sign in. I know there are plenty of work around but I honestly had no idea when I bought it and it was a scrappy surprise

@TheCollector316 The Hotstock app is great, it's how I grabbed one off of PS Direct.

@CallMeDuraSouka
Thank you for the recommendation! I'll try it now.

I play it all the time. My gaming habits are about 30% playing on big screen, 70% playing on Portal while hanging out with my family. It’s perfect for me.

@Balosi if they can waste their money on this, why wouldn't they have a smartphone? Can buy a very cheap smartphone that supports remote play. So yeah, I assume these people that bought this would have a smartphone. A phone that came out in 2014, supports remote play. My old phone from 2020 supports remote play. Outdated but still good for gaming.

Customers: Portal >>>> vr2

I only play ps5 on my portal now, love it

Ready to buy one now… and can’t find one.

@danzoEX "popularity will help them decide if they should make an OLED model"

No they need to follow it up with a Hybrid portable! I hope they learn what they need to learn from the device but come next gen they don't want to be the only one from the big three to not have a Hybrid console.

Trying to get one since the holidays..

@DNortonX with the Portal, you carry around one device instead of two and/or don't tie up your phone. Quality.

Was absolutely not intending on a Portal. Been trying and failing with remote play for many years on the Xperia Z1, PS Vita, PSTV, Android, PC, iOS and even with a clip to attach my phone to a controller. None of the above were good experiences at all.

To my surprise, the wife bought me one and gave it to me last week. I've not been off it. It is absolutely superb.

I often struggle with single player games on the TV because there's always a child popping his head into the screen every 10 seconds to show me his lego creations, plus they just dont immerse me on a TV in a busy household. In the last week I finally completed TLOU and have moved onto Part 2 remaster on Portal and aside from the odd warning about connectivity, the experience has far exceeded my expectations.

Only thing that slightly annoyed me was the inability to use my pulse 3d wirelessly directly to the Portal. I've bitten the bullet and ordered the elite, on the basis that with an additional USB dongle I can use with my PC too.

Sure, the Portal won't be for everyone but I will say, if you've been bitten by remote play before, this is an entirely different animal.

I went for a backbone one for the meantime although have yet to try it with the PS5. If the Portal were more like a traditional handheld that could play your PS4 backlog coupled with the remote play for PS5 games it'd be a no-brainer for me.

@SystemAddict indeed. Hardwired always delivers the best results 👍🏻

Glad to see it being a success!

How does it actually work? Do you have to have your PS5 when using PS portal?

I had one but I sold it due to our WIFI not being strong enough to run it properly.

It worked perfectly fine if I was home alone but as soon as other people were using other devices in the house it made it go all glitchy.

For it to only work when I'm in the house on my own kind of defeats the objective as I might as well just play on the TV or my monitor.

I got mine at launch and I love it. At least 50% of my gaming time is spent on it now and it’s increased the amount of time I spend gaming massively because I don’t need to fight for tv time anymore.

It works great on my WiFi - nothing is hard wired. I’ve even had a great time on Helldivers with it.

I think there are a lot more people with the specific situation this helps with than people thought. Gamers are continuing to get older and this is a godsend. 80% of my ps5 gaming is on this and I wish they would bring plus streaming to it.

@Rhaoulos And walking crippled of the toilet after sitting down to long. 😂

The Portal would be great to have if the television in my house was contended for. Seems like a solid option for certain households.

I have my PS5 in my bedroom with its own 42 inch OLED, so I’m not the intended audience, but I’m glad it exists for those who can benefit.

@Marquez Chorley FM "Coming in Your Ears"

I got one this last weekend after about 4-5 weeks of keeping an eye on stock levels (not second hand or scalper based).

I like it for what it is - I am one of those specific use cases where the TV my PS5 is connected to is shared and I often want to play when someone is watching something I have the PS5 connected to the router so signal is good. I used to play on the Logitech G cloud but it wasn't as good as playing with a Dual sense.

So I'm playing DLC for FF7 Remake and played some Spiderman 2 and it works well. I wish it could do more but I bought it for what it does and it does it well. Controls are good, screen is good, latency for me is good.

It took me a while to manage to get one but it's perfect for my needs. I can play like a dragon gaiden or persona 3 reload while my boyfriend watches a movie or plays himself without hogging the TV. I can play lying in bed right before I fall asleep. It even works using my mobile as a hot-spot in my workplace one hour away by car in between shifts. Also I don't usually play fast paced games so, if the connection slips for a second, it doesn't bother me. I have a huuuuge backlog of PS games I never have time to play =) For certain needs or lazy ass people like me who love to play lying down is just magnificent.

@Flaming_Kaiser I guess I'm not the only one who experienced this. I thought I had lost both my legs the first day I played BotW. It was the only time in my life I forgot I wasn't in front of the TV. A horrifying experience.

Totally loving mine.

@Marquez yeh what’s the story with that that I haven’t seen one update since I bought it back in November. Some say it’s on the console’s side, but no update on there has fixed it either

If only it could do a little more.

Nope its not the early adopters its the scalpers buying up the stock..

Loving my portal and the freedom it gives me to play my favourite games whilst travelling abroad. For those who think it cannot be used externally, I just got back from Morocco and was able to use the device without any issue at all......my PS5 is in my home in the UK.
Granted it will not be great playing FPS games at that distance due to slightly higher input lag but Alan Wake Remastered, Kena and Lies of P were absolutely fine.

I'd get one if I didn't already have an ROG Ally that I stream my PS5 to

@DNortonX what controller is connected to you phone or tablet? or are you using a dualsense? If someone doesn't want to use a phone or tablet then having choice of portal is good is it not?

@Rhaoulos Don't do its really bad for you veigns in your legs and could cause damage.