We already know PS Portal has exceeded all expectations and become a big hit for Sony. The Remote Play handheld was the best-selling accessory in the United States last year, and its success is showing very few signs of slowing.
It’s telling, then, that the Japanese giant is now making big-budget commercials for the peripheral. This ad anchored by Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard is brilliant executed, using Astro Bot as a conduit to advertise all kinds of recognisable PlayStation properties in just 45 seconds.
Watch on YouTubeSubscribe to Push Square on YouTube165k
It also, crucially, sells the unique advantages of the PS Portal, which looks like it’s set to become a mainstay of the PlayStation ecosystem for a long time to come.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 35
I like to think that that Kratos and boi bots froze to death
Nice to see them leaning in on Astro Bot as a mascott for the brand! Really is the perfect IP for them, since it’s so versatile, as these cute little guys can be made in to any Playstation IP. Good job
Also the Portal is a real cool handheld! Still planning on getting one 👍🏼
I love that Astro Bot has become maybe the biggest PS5 mascot.
I remember the PS Reddit (and these comments sections) being loaded with vitriol when Portal released. I’m happy it’s been a success. I had one but gave it to my son. I went back to using my iPad until I get myself another Portal.
Uncharted theme at the end made my day lol
@AhmadSumadi Still using my phone and a gamesir g8 galileo (cost - £60) 🤣
My midnight black portal is due to be delivered on Thurs 🥳
@Jrs1 Nice, good deal! However, i think nothing beats the feel of a real full sized controller with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers though. Its the best handheld on the market in terms of feel, cause its basically a full controller in your hands. Beats any accesory for your phone and even a Switch or Steamdeck in that department
That’s a good take on jeff goldblum’s ‘life finds a way’ from Jurassic Park
I saw absolutely no value when they announced the portal. Just seemed utterly pointless. Happy to hold my hands up on it and say I was wrong. So wrong in fact that, since they added streaming, I am very very tempted to pick one up.
This is very cool, I'm seriously considering getting a portal. Shame there isn't yet a OLED version, but I can understand Sony wanting to keep the price down. To be honest i don't feel interested in switch 2, mainly because I already have a switch Lite, and hardly use it, but will wait to see the price and games etc. However I feel that with the portal then I will get more gaming time with my Ps5 / Ps4 games. What is the LCD screen quality like for people that have a portal?
@Mikey856 And the best new Uncharted you can expect these days is a multiplayer Live Service game were you can play as Shoreline mercenaries or Nazi zombies.
@DonkeyFantasy I’m really into the idea of an Astro Kart with all Playstation characters, hope they make such a game!
Anything with astrobot is gonna be cute 😍
@The_Pixel_King if using just remote play (not the ps plus premium streaming), your internet speed has nothing to do with how it performs. Just a decent WiFi and (recommended) hard wired ps5
You can test it on your phone
@The_Pixel_King best way to try it out is to try streaming to your ipad with a controller for a few play sessions - if it can handle it there then the portal will be fine. That’s what I did - glad I have a portal…I think based on the yearly stats I played like 70% on it last year
@Jrs1 yeah, the phone and having to carry around a controller or use the awful on screen buttons on the app. You can even do something like R1 and Square with the on screen controls. If you’re comfortable with that set up more power to you. Also, what do you do when you get a phone call or text? The Portal’s conveniences are worth thr price in my opinion.
Now I want an Astro Bot game where he goes into the real world 😅.
Seriously though the Portal has been way worth the money for me, I've completed several games just using the Portal with the Ps Plus cloud streaming option.
@The_Pixel_King it depends where you will mainly be using it, if it's in the house then I have no problems with my 100mbs Internet (virgin media). I do have problems when trying to hook it up to my mobile hotpot at work though.
It’s a bit of a shame that the PS5 Remote Play architecture isn’t compatible with Vita anymore. I liked using my Vita to stream PS4 games and it wasn’t a useless brick without an internet connection, you can still play games on it that are installed.
I can see the advantages of the ps portal, but what is the point? I personally want to just sit down at my TV and use one of my consoles to play a game. Perhaps if your in a different room or sharing a console it might be useful.
@AhmadSumadi Fair enough but can your portal stream gamepass, moonlight, play emulators? For £200 id want more than just a mirror screen.
@PorkChopExpress will do mate. From what I gather it works best if the ps5 is hardwired into the router… so I might have to do a bit of DIY (which I hate) as the missus won’t want a wire running from my gaming room, down the stairs into the router. I’ll have to conceal it behind the walls, under the floor etc. really looking forward to that weekend 😅
Kinda put off buying a portal as I don’t really want to leave my TV on and have my PS5 in rest mode whist I go on holiday as that’s when I would game on the portal
@Weebleman I always thought there was a target market for the Portal, because I know so many dads and partners who can't always get access to the TV. It allows them to game when they couldn't. But I didn't realise how big this might be and once they opened it up with Cloud and external wifi it's only gotten better.
Additionally when I actually played on one at my mates it is a FANTASTIC bit of kit. I must emphasises this, it just feels like playing a PS5. The combination of the dual sense, and the 8" screen is perfect. Any smaller and at arms length you can't read text easily (I have this problem on my Steam Deck OLED because although it is 7.4" it has a different aspect ratio 16:10 not 16:9 so you have bars at the top and bottom and it's more like a 6.x screen for PS remote play, that makes a big difference imo.) Same problem with Phone and Backbone or controller clip. It's too small, you have to squint.
Additionally although it's LCD it's simply the best LCD I have seen on a handheld device and puts a lot of cheaper OLED's on handheld PC's to shame. Vibrant HDR and pretty inky blacks all things considered.
I really don't need one due to having the Steam Deck for bed, and having a separate gaming room TV, but even so I was close to getting one. I genuinely think it's that good. If I had a genuine use case i'd buy in a heartbeat.
@themightyant the problem i have is one of my kids will no doubt claim it 😂.
I am genuinely considering it though. I suppose my issue at the minute is time as we are lucky to have various consoles dotted round the house but its finding the spare time to use them. Having a device on hand that let's me carry on my play throughs while away from the console will give me more time to enjoy my games. I take my switch with me when I'm away with work and previously, before cloud was available, the portal didn't seem to like linking to a console outside your home.
I am leaning though. I haven't actually tried one myself so that maybe the tipping point for me.
And that midnight black one is very easy on the eye...
@Weebleman If there's a chance to try one somewhere, or buy online where you can freely return, i'd do that. Actually having it in my hands definitely changed my perception most. Felt awesome to play.
@DonkeyFantasy It does power the tv on though if you have hdmi link.
@themightyant that's a good shout. I'm gonna hold off for the midnight black one and I may well go for an online purchase to try it out
Good to see they got knockoff Timothy Chalamet a gig.
Like everything Sony, it's a success because they exaggerate the numbers to please the suits upstairs
@Jrs1 this is true. But, turn off the HDMI+ and the TV doesn’t turn on. My Mother-In-Law was over once and at my house alone. I turned on the PS5 Remotely and the TV came on and the PS5 started playing. Freaked her the hell out 🤣
@AhmadSumadi Think it depends on the tv tbh.
Absurdly adorable
@breakneck I don't see that as a real issue because most people do have a TV, and the only people who don't are people living in small apartments or condos. The only way the portal makes sense is when you might have multiple people sharing the ps5 and the TV that the ps5 is hooked up to is being used. And it implied from the ads that the portal needs to be close to the ps5 so it likely can be only used in the same household, could be totally wrong on this point.
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...