After over 10 years, we’re finally getting a new handheld console from Sony. Well, we sort of are — it’s less of a successor to the legendary PSP and more of an extension for the PS5. Dubbed the PlayStation Portal, the handheld device will allow players to play PS5 games in handheld form using the remote play feature. Think of the Portal as an unwitting vessel being possessed by the spirit of a PS5. So, you can’t exactly take your games anywhere on the go, as you need to be connected to WiFi and your PS5 needs to be on.
Still, it’s a pretty big day for people who like to play games at home but not on their TV. Okay, to be fair, the Portal is eliminating a lot of the problems handheld gaming used to have, such as lower-quality graphics, poor controls, etc. But the 1080p LCD display gives more than enough detail to allow for the PS5’s graphics to shine through, and the buttons and joystick layout are exactly the same as the DualSense if it had an eight-inch screen in the middle. So the question is: when can you get your hands on this wonderful piece of technology?
Release date
The bad news is that we don’t have a specific release date yet, but the good news is that the wait isn’t expected to be too long. When the handheld device was announced at the PlayStation Showcase in May, we were promised a release towards the end of this year. Well, considering we’re almost in September already, that’s really not that long away! If rumors are to be believed, then it will be launching mid to late November, only a few months!
How much will it cost?
The Portal will set you back around 200 dollars. Its expected retail price is $200, which isn’t too bad considering a PSP was $250 at launch, and yes, that’s before inflation (how my parents were able to buy one for me and my brother, I’ll never know). But bear in mind, the Portal isn’t really its own console like the PSP was. Also, if you don’t have a PS5, then you’re basically paying for a sleek and shiny slab — it will be useless to you without the $500 console. If you’ve already got a PS5, I guess you’re fine.
What are the console specs?
As previously mentioned, the handheld has a 1080p LCD display, but it can also run games at 60FPS. There isn’t a particularly powerful chip inside, which is why the only option is to stream games that are already installed on the PS5. Some people who really care about display quality were disappointed that Sony didn’t use an OLED screen, but then the price would have been a lot higher if they had. For some odd reason, there’s no Bluetooth, either.
What else do we know?
The controller will have all the functionality of the original DualSense, including the much-hyped adaptive triggers with haptic feedback. The display also works as a touchscreen, similar to the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck. The Portal may not be its own console, but it does do what it set out to do very well — that being to give you the power of the PS5 in the palm of your hand.
