PlayStation Portal out in the wild

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! 

Playing Lies of P on my P. pic.twitter.com/PFnT2LyUb4

— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) November 21, 2023

The latest big name to get on board is Ed Boon, making his the first PlayStation Mortal Portal... 

Mortal Kombat 1 running on PlayStation Portal.
via @MK_habit_addict pic.twitter.com/MRw23am3B1

— Ed Boon (@noobde) November 20, 2023

And here are some of the recent peeks... 

I love the little zoom effect on the PlayStation Portal when you initially connect to your PS5 😍 pic.twitter.com/D89YD19zhr

— David Jagneaux (@David_Jagneaux) November 16, 2023

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.

playstation portal scaled with the new Steam Deck OLED and Switch OLED pic.twitter.com/DYvJuHtrcW

— Gene Park (@GenePark) November 9, 2023

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.