Featured Post

Possible new PlayStation Portal model pays homage to the Vita's OLED

While much of the focus on PlayStation's next steps is the PS6 and PS6 Portable , the two-year old PlayStation Portal could be getting a revamp according to those pesky internet rumours.  Update : Hints at pricing are around £/$250-299 for the new model, but everything remains deeply in rumours territory. Presumably the goal is to hit the 10% (currently 7%-ish) adoption rate among PS5 owners, something that would make it a bone fide hit gadget.   The recent February  PlayStation State of Play  saw no announcement. But, PlayStation needs to make Portal more a core member of the PS5 family, rather than the distant cousin that most of its appearances suggest.  As the improvement in connectivity and streaming tech, proven by many gamers enjoying their PS5 or PlayStation Plus streamed content from around the world, an updated Portal Pro could be on the cards.  Possibly featuring a 120Hz display and an OLED screen in honour of the mighty Vita, that'd be coo...

Game on for the set-top box sales battle

UPDATE: Sony recently slashed the price of PS TV, typical prices now $49/£49.

So, the battle is officially on for the living room gadget of choice. Google has just dropped the Nexus Player, shipping early November and Amazon's Fire TV should be an easy gift idea. Apple will join today (hopefully) with a radical update of the Apple TV, probably redesigned to bring iOS games to the big screen without the need for AirPlay from your iPhone (rendering this neat little chart totally out of date).

Which of these is most likely on your family's Christmas shopping list? They all have strengths and weaknesses, depending on what you want to use them for, and nothing is the "perfect" solution. Yes, Apple can stream games and content, but that's not "on" the device. What is clear is that the PS TV with the Vita's four-year old technology is starting to lag behind the newcomers, with buyers having cutting-edge expectations - or do you?

Things could (and should) change as more apps arrive for the PlayStation TV, but time is running short if it is to make a positive impression in the real world, now the marketing shine has been blown off. With incompatible games, limited media services, poor Remote Play network performance, things already seem grim. I'd also want to see just how much performance power the Nexus Player's Intel chip can put against the others.

There's also the likes of the Chromecast and other diminutive gadgets to consider in an increasingly crowded space by the TV. Just imagine if Sony had launched PS TV a year ago in the west? Just imagine a TV set with six HDMI ports!


Notes: Updated to correct some memory and storage details, an early version did list all media services, but looked ugly and repetitive! 

Currently playing on my Vita/PS3/PS4/PS5


Any news or interview requests, please contact psp2roundup@gmail.com Please note, As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.