Released on November 15th, 2023, the PlayStation Portal is Sony’s latest handheld device. At first glance, gamers hoped this device would be the spiritual successor to Sony’s previous handheld devices, such as; the PS Vita and the PSP. Unfortunately, this handheld isn’t quite like the prior generations. The PlayStation Portal does not play games locally like the Steam Deck or the Nintendo Switch, it streams games from your PlayStation 5.
Streaming Controversy:
The PlayStation Portal has gotten a lot of backlash for being a device that relies largely on a stable internet connection to play games. A handheld is designed to be functional on the go, and having to be tethered to a strong internet connection can be a struggle. A handheld that can’t function without an internet connection on a road trip is not very enticing, especially when something like the Steam Deck or the Nintendo Switch exists. In addition, Sony’s “Remote Play” is available on Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac devices and all of them have controller support.
Use within Home Network:
Upon using the PlayStation Portal I was pleasantly surprised at how usable it was for fighting games like Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. A fighting game like that can be a terrible experience when there is an input delay but with the PlayStation Portal, I hardly noticed. When I switched to a more demanding game like UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection, I was surprised to see how well it ran. For non-competitive games, the PlayStation Portal was a good experience.
From playing games on 4K TV the Portal still had solid picture quality even with its 1080p display. Since the display is smaller the pixel density is higher than an average TV. A higher pixel density means the image looks sharper. A good example of this would be smartphones because their screens are small so the displays at 1080p sharper compared to a 1080p TV.
However, when switching to a first-person shooter like Call of Duty: Cold War, the experience was dramatically worse. I noticed significantly more latency and the game lagged exponentially. It was not a very enjoyable experience and I strongly advise against playing any competitive game on a streaming device. Games that require millisecond response times are best played locally.
PlayStation Portal vs Remote Play:
A main critique of the PlayStation Portal is that its primary use case can be replicated for free by using a smartphone or a computer. I used my PC with a 27” 1440p monitor as a test for Remote Play and it looked significantly worse but was smooth. Sony says it supports up to 1080p via Remote Play but I was only able to play at 720p. (Your results may vary) The Portal not only has a higher resolution but it also has a higher pixel density. The games just overall looked better on the Portal. The built-in dual-sense controller enhances the experience because you can take it anywhere in the house. While you could do that with a tablet or a smartphone it’s nice to have it all in one package.
Use outside of the Home Network:
Using the Portal outside of your home is where it starts to run into some issues. When I took the Portal around 10 – 15 miles away with an average home network setup it ran with no issue. However, when taking the Portal over 200 miles away it performed significantly worse to the point where it was unusable. Upon testing the Portal again while 200 miles away it did perform considerably better but there was still noticeable input delay. Your mileage may vary when it comes to long-distance streaming. On top of that, if you take the Portal to a public place and the Wi-Fi requires you to sign in through a browser (i.e. airports and train stations) the Portal is essentially a brick because it doesn’t support that kind of network. Overall the Portal is a very situational device making it very difficult to recommend outside your house.
Conclusion:
The PlayStation Portal is a cool product, but it being a streaming device has pros and cons. While it is cheaper than handhelds like the Steam Deck and most variants of the Nintendo Switch it is much more limited. The Portal shines when you use it in your house and have a decent home network. The best use case for the Portal is if you don’t have access to your TV. It gives you the option to play on the couch while someone else uses the TV. If you plan to take the Portal outside of your home it can be very hit or miss because you need to consider the quality of the network and in most cases, public Wi-Fi is not very usable for game streaming. However, I prefer using the Portal instead of Remote Play on a PC because the games look better on the Portal. Overall, I can’t recommend this device to everybody because of its niche use case and how much performance can vary. This device is best suited for gamers who share a TV or PlayStation enthusiasts who want to play their games away from the TV while still at home. I understand this device is only marketed for home network use and while it does excel at that, I think gamers want to be able to take their games on the go like most other handhelds and the Portal cannot consistently deliver a good experience while doing so.
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