One Year On, Plucky PS Portal's Sales Remain Strong

To this date I don't understand who the target audience for this is. Is it the dudes and dudettes who found WiiU handheld feature compelling (free up the living room TV for others in the family and play your games with some lag). Not putting WiiU down, it's the most innovative and still back compatible console we got since ps2, destroyed by Nintendo's marketing.

@TheDudeElDuderino people with families mostly I'm guessing. Much better to stay sat with your family than banished to another room whilst you play a game. People who want to play on the go as well. Can imagine its pretty cool if you just want to chill in bed as well and don't want to drag the playstation upstairs

@TheDudeElDuderino At 3% of the install base I'm not sure it's hit wiiu levels despite the media pretending it's this smash hit lol.

Not knocking the device. I have some issues with it but it's absolutely the cheapest device in its class if you are ok with the limitations and only play PS. I'm actually surprised the numbers are as low as they are. As someone that values remote and handheld play I'm kind of the target market. I play on handheld at home about equal to consoles. And also loved wiiu.

But I'm also multiplatform so I got G Cloud instead which is great if overpriced and more expensive than portal.. Then I moved into Ally and Legion that does everything and more, but for less money for they PS only crowd it's still a decent buy. Only 3% though? I thought it did better. Weirdly I actually think Pro will do better than portal.

@Andy22385 " Much better to stay sat with your family than banished to another room whilst you play a game. "

Awkward eye aversion from a VR gamer 😒

Best selling accessory (in dollar sales).

Well yeah. I'd certainly hope so given it's over two times the price of most of the accessories on the market.

@TheDudeElDuderino My guess is either remote play fans of the PSP/Vita days, Wii U owners or parents/kids wanting to while the TV is on or parents playing at night in bed. Or those that want to play it in a reasonable space elsewhere then moving the console or buying a PS Vita/PS Vita TV or moving a PS4 into another room.

Like sure PS5 storefront but it is just an app that's 10 years on, reworked on their phone/PC/PS5 to PS4 app on a screen & Dualsense. Nothing more than that.

Wii U had no lag it was only between the console/Gamepad, Vita on the other hand HAD to use the modem/access point and then bounce back to the PS4, same with PC or phone/tablet or PS5 to PS4 app. G Cloud or others would be the same remote play/streaming whatever the case. Physical and digital games but obviously digital is the way to go for things like this but I've had fair remote play physical attempts and it works.

So Wii U never had lag if it was ONLY to Wii U and the Gamepad. That's the point about a local or more locked down connection then Vita being a game system an app capable of remote play with a focus on being part separate device, part connecting to other device via something else to bounce off of and communicate with your network or outside on the go to other networks.

Portal acts how the Vita, phone or others do and not how the Wii U does that's why it has interference. Gamepad has more limited range, a more local/strict code or whatever the case but it still functions better than Portal does because of it's differences.

I mean second screen we use to setup TVs or control apps with our phones it's the same thing only Sony has tried to do it since PSP and kept doing it and Xbox Smartscreen to remote play (or third parties had iPhone/Android apps for some PS3/360 games Deux Ex is a good example) to Nintendo Wii U.

All 3 console makers have been doing this at some point it's just they have kept going at it for 3 consoles now. XD Do I think most normal people noticed. Nope. Do us that pay attention to this stuff did, yes we do.

Or people new to remote play which is fair Sony only sometimes markets it and never experienced PSP/Vita or Wii U 10+ years ago.

Or maybe bashed those prior but praise it on PS5 because they have come around to it on their newest console they use more and are willing to use it now than those back then because oh they wouldn't be caught dead with a Vita or Wii U it's not popular enough or didn't have the games they wanted so they didn't bother and are a bunch of hypocrites because that does happen. XD

I mean Vita did the outside in an airport/hotel (where were the Vita airport ads like Switch Sony XD) gaming with 3G or wifi 10+ years ago now (you can find videos on YT about it, don't think modded either) and still works on 2.4GHz while Portal can do more than Vita could in 'that' way with 5GHz but it has so 360/540p like Vita did (why Sony it can't be that hard to implement seriously) or even a 720/1080p resolution target option.

Why does the Portal, phone or PS5 to PS4 or PC even NOT OFFER THIS AS AN OPTION TO AVOID INTERFERENCE WITH OTHERS ON THE NETWORK, WHAT YOU THINK OH PLAYERS COMPLAIN WELL MAYBE THEY WANT RESOLUTION CONTROL LIKE ON CONSOLE YOU OFFER IT ON PS3 TO PS5 WITH 480p TO 4K, WHY IS IT SO HARD TO OFFER ON PORTAL SERIOUSLY? Lazy!!!!!!)

Not even the phone or the PS5 to PS4 does. When it's just a reworking of the Vita app from 10 years ago. Why are Sony incompetent I don't know.

Part 2:
I see reason it in for sure.

I myself enjoyed it on Vita (more games supported too even if incompatible of button layout, then handful of Indies/fewer big games on PSP), not used it on PSP as eh WEP and modem security isn't worth the effort.

But Wii U I enjoyed it (and successor ideas, same with Vita/Evercade or Switch type combos with Wii U but anyway). But thing is unlike Vita/Phone or Tablet for the PS4 camera playroom app it had DLC for Vita or DLC for phone/tablet or Playlink PS4 party games (phone/tablet which I think Just Dance does and not so Kinect/PS Camera support anymore) that a few were good like Hidden Agenda, Singstar is probably fine, others were just quiz games.

PSVR had some dualscreen experiences with Playroom VR app for 1 Headset (like Wii U) unique player and non-headset players for party games (only thing of it I know that does it for PSVR) but mostly a TV/headset repeat of the same thing cast between them for pretty much every VR game, it's about as similar as me casting my phone to the TV with third party apps then using Apple/Android second screen apps and just casting my phone and my phone without a cable is on the TV and if I want to be stupid cast my phone with remote play back to the TV. XD Besides just not having limited apps on the console I can use the apps on the phone/tablet.

Portal is just a remote play device & Sony did that on purpose (so they don't have to support it/do anything with it like PSVR where they have to XD) as it exists for remote play ONLY so if Indies wanted dual screen experiences they can't... Which is probably why they laughed at Portal when it was announced because they went whelp that's how were being treated after our support of Vita or not much else we can do to experiment with PS5 with Portal then.

I sort of fit the I have a family member that owns one and uses it from time to time but I myself as the remote play/Vita/Wii U fan don't like Portal because no dual screen, no Android support and the remote play experience is the same one as PS5 to PS4 or the phone/tablet anyway and like i said about resolution targeting. WHY!!!!!! If people like the Dualsense or a larger tablet then sure by all means but to me it's the most I don't have an excitement for this product.

I liked PSP 2000 cable to the TV, I think Nomad was also good for it. I like Dreamcast VMU, GameCube GBA support for minigames, I like cross save between Outrun 2 Coast 2 Coast PSP & PS2 or cross save in other games (or other cool stuff controller gimmicks or whatever) & I like Wii U or how some DS games did things Wii U couldn't even though Wii U is separate screens then DS being connected but videos played it on while Wii U had...... safer use of it's features and panorama views..... But yeah Portal is fine for kids/parents to have another screen for basically.

I was playing Doom Eternal last night on the portal in bed and fun experience. The screen is awesome and you get the PS5 experience playing.

For £199 after one year I’ve been a happy gamer 👍🏻

I bought one yesterday for the very reasons people have mentioned.

My wife and kid share a lot of interests that my autistic brain doesn't want to engage with. I need the gaming time to unwind and decompress and as a result we have ended up spending a lot of time in separate rooms since I started to find myself using the PS5 more and more and dropping off the Switch.

While I still think it is a huge missed opportunity, as someone who has never jived with any sort of remote play it works remarkably well for this use case and I'm pretty pleased all told - I suspect this is how I will get to play the back log of JRPGs I have.

@Haruki_NLI Yep. If you somehow sold a single screw for a million dollars then it would be the best selling accessory in dollar sales on the market.
This is a textbook example as to how you can twist stats to say literally anything that you want them to (not implying any intentional malice btw).

Ive got the 30th edition on pre order but im tempted to cancel. My mate had his at work the other day connected to his mobile phone through hotspot and it ran terribly. Taking it out and using a 4g hotspot was one of the selling points for me but seeing that was enough to turn me off it.

I expect 50% of the sales are from misinformed parents that dont realise its just a screen for remote-play (nor understand what remote play is).
I'll wager so many giving it to their kids and feeling right numpties when a 10 year old tells them what it really is (versus a PSP/Vita/Playstation handheld).

I have my Switch set up so I can do remote play on it. It's nice playing in bed, especially for more story-based games like Ace Attorney. I really can't imagine paying £200 for the ability to do that, though.

It was a niche handheld console at the beginning but it became a bit useful thanks to the ability to connect to WiFi in public places like cafes and restaurants. I only use it when I have some interesting games to play on PS5 (like Astro Bot I played before my bowling session)

@lindos I doubt it. People with that low level of knowledge about gaming wouldn't know the Portal exists in the first place, let alone assume their child definitely wants one and they it's definitely worth spending £200 on.

No one I know IRL had heard of it until I mentioned it. Also, people with a low level of gaming knowledge are usually too scared to buy anything as a gift for a gamer as they're scared of messing up. All through my life, any birthday or Christmas, my parents just give me money instead of buying me a game or accessory.

As Someone who tends to multitask, I occasionally think it would be nice to have one, but I also have a Switch and Vita that I play so I’ve not bought one.

It would be useful but not useful enough.

@Haruki_NLI
This is clearly outselling the Edge and PSVR2, both of which cost more (it’s not a great look for psvr) Additionally we can extrapolate that Sony aren’t selling 3-4x more standard Dual Sense controllers as they are Portals, which you might have expected them to do.

As a father of two, having Full-time job and traveling from time to time. PS Portal helped me to play more than ever before since I had kids. That doesn't mean I'm taking from time with my family but there are small sessions in between now that I can have. For example the first hour of their sleep I'm not playing on the TV because they'll notice the light but now playing on my Portal. When I'm going back to my home country I play in the evenings on my Portal... etc.

So yeah I'm one of the targeted audience for this.

The PS4 to the PS5 is a reflection of the Wii to Wii U- No real system seller difference, not many games, people sticking playing the old system because they don’t need the extra 5% of power to play their basic games.

If they think copying Ninty, then I honestly think Sony would be better off avoid chasing graphics and make the PS6 a handheld hybrid like the Switch. The amount of people playing this suggests that people want to play off TV.