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...
PlayStation Portal out in the wild
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Update: And now actual real gamers are getting their hands on the PlayStation Portal, showing off the interface's smart tricks and the future possibilities for the device including a web browser and more.
This page will focus on some of the more interesting insights as they pop up. And, yes, there's a world of hatred in comments about the Portal's current limitations from people unwilling to consider any other point of view (commence block-fest!) but this is for those that get the value of portable, so we'll ignore them!
Now people are getting out and about with their Portal, we have a couple of cool images. First from Sony Santa Monica Studios' Rob Meyer, playing from the other coast at his folks place in Florida - guess remote play works pretty well! And also what looks like a press lifestyle shot, but if you want sand in your Portal (ouch!) go for it.
And, finally, the official seal of approval from Shuhei Yoshida-san!
Some people are reporting lag as if they were expecting Portal to magically cure a well-known technical problem. Others are moaning about PlayStation's continued refusal to support Bluetooth headsets, and there are other problems that will likely be resolved or mitigated by updates and new features.
And someone has already torn a Portal down to show how easy it should be to repair.
Now all we need is to see Sony's marketing efforts, if any, to drive adoption among the 46-million-plus PlayStation 5 owners and all those flocking to the new PS5 slim launch.
As much as I'd love to have one, current financial pressures means no big toys for me, bummer!
Original story: Sony's tame press and influencers are getting hold of the PlayStation Portal ahead of next week's release. As I haven't had a job for most of the year, I'll miss out on all the fun, but hopefully will pick one up in a few months.
The Portal is showing as sold out on Amazon UK, but I guess a refresh won't be too far off post-launch once Sony gauges demand based on its own pre-orders and sales for the 8-inch screen £199 monster. That's assuming the Portal doesn't vanish under the weight of the PlayStation 5 Slim marketing onslaught.
So, until then, I'm lapping up the likes of Gene Park's tweet size comparison showing the Portal is broadly similar in size to modern devices.
And his post of Sony doing its "let's pretend I'm a smartphone box..." which is just a touch dull - where's the fun factor PlayStation could have applied to the packaging? (The external box is boring PS white)
There's also the inevitable unboxing videos (Sony has a current ban on gameplay and streaming videos). The other thing that's missing is any advertising for the Portal, I genuinely have not seen a single advert for it, anyone else?
With the arrival of the new PlayStation and expensive audio accessories, well-heeled PS5 owners will be having a great festive season, for the rest of us, yeah - umm, maybe not.
I guess the true test for the Portal will come when people try it out and about on roaming WiFi, basically the only chance it has for any street credibility.
Currently playing on my Vita/PS3/PS4/PS5
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