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[Darkness_Arises]

If you haven't used remote play before, I'd strongly suggest to try the remote play app on your phone or tablet before actually getting the Portal to see if you have a good experience (which is obviously home network dependent).

I tried this and I am shocked at how well it works on my son's tablet (some 10" Samsung galaxy tab). My last experience of local streaming a game was 6 years ago using my PC and Steam Link, which was a dogshit experience. I do not even have any specialised router, just the default one supplied by my ISP with PS5 and tablet connected to 5 GHz network. Now, I patiently wait for a PS portal sale.

 

[The Pleasure]

I play rpgs and visual novels on it. I wouldn't play fighting games on it though.

 

[Darkness_Arises]

What is better... Having a portable console where you will have the largest catalog of video games of all consoles....

Or a poorly made piece of already let with unaesthetic controls that can only be played if you have the Internet or the PS5 on?

Excuse me, I am a big enemy of PS portal

The latest games will always look better on PS portal, plus 60 fps is actually achievable with some sacrifices. Also, the dualsense is the best controller on the market (do not give a shit about battery life as I have usb c chargers all over the house) and its features do not work on most PC ports. Sleeping to suspend on PC games does not always work as well as suspend-resume on console. I will hang on to my Deck for long train journeys and flights, but the Portal-PS5 will replace it for local gaming.

Uhm, for someone that only owns a PS5 and buys all their games on there....who has the largest collection again? People aren't going to rebuy their games to play worse versions.

This really needs to be kept in mind. Monster Hunter World looks like ass and runs poorly on my Deck, 30 fps feels really sluggish, 60 fps is unattainable without butchering IQ. Smooth 60 fps via remote play. I am expecting it to work the same for Wilds. Sure Wilds 60 fps mode will look bad on a big telly with the base PS5, but I am expecting it to shine on small remote play screens.

 

[Justin9mm]

I’m about to treat myself with one. Seems perfect for cozy gaming with the Christmas tree up and cold football games. Annoyed at myself for missing the 30th anniversary edition. But, white is fine. Did read about the black one but not a big deal.

Thoughts? End up being worth it? I’m thinking a good time to snuggle up and jump back in Hogwarts.

I personally never thought it was worth it for the price. I travel insterstate to see family like twice a year for xmas etc. This would be a good use case or using it in bed. But still at retail price, it's a fancy device only to use it every now and then. Fast forward to a few months ago, I picked up one secondhand, someone had used it maybe once or twice and on sold, was in new condition, got it for nearly half of retail. I have found myself using it so much. Times when I was a bit tired to stay up, I would take it to bed and its very nice to get half an hour or more in and just put it down and go to bed. I work from home a few days a week and I'm finding it's far easier just to pick it up and play for a bit when I take lunch etc. Something I had never done on my TV before it. For some reason it's just very easy to pick up and play. I used to (rarely) use my phone with a mount and then I bought the Gilileo G8 telescopic controller a while ago and that thing was really good but even a 6.7-6.8" phone screen is just too small, the aspect ratio on a phone is not right so you can't even use full screen. The thing you will realise is that compared to other options, the 8 inch screen size on the portal is perfect and that honestly makes a huge difference to the experience.

Edit: One personal caveat I have with it, is the on screen touchpad, if you are playing a game when needing to use it alot, it becomes a little annoying. Thinking about it, they should of had the on screen touchpad but also a button to push for when you just need to press it. Some games you just need to push it to access a map or equipment etc. But with the Portal you have to double tap it on the sreeen instead of traditionally pushing once on the standard controller. I dunno, it could of just been designed better.

 

[Darkness_Arises]

I personally never thought it was worth it for the price. I travel insterstate to see family like twice a year for xmas etc. This would be a good use case or using it in bed. But still at retail price, it's a fancy device only to use it every now and then. Fast forward to a few months ago, I picked up one secondhand, someone had used it maybe once or twice and on sold, was in new condition, got it for nearly half of retail. I have found myself using it so much. Times when I was a bit tired to stay up, I would take it to bed and its very nice to get half an hour or more in and just put it down and go to bed. I work from home a few days a week and I'm finding it's far easier just to pick it up and play for a bit when I take lunch etc. Something I had never done on my TV before it. For some reason it's just very easy to pick up and play. I used to (rarely) use my phone with a mount and then I bought the Gilileo G8 telescopic controller a while ago and that thing was really good but even a 6.7-6.8" phone screen is just too small. The thing you will realise is that compared to other options, the 8 inch screen size is perfect and that honestly makes a big difference to the experience.

I concur that it is not worth it at the MSRP. At that price, I would want an OLED or a 120 Hz display with VRR. Secondhand like new at half price seems like a great deal.

 

[Justin9mm]

I concur that it is not worth it at the MSRP. At that price, I would want an OLED or a 120 Hz display with VRR. Secondhand like new at half price seems like a great deal.

There are so many people in my country selling them on places like FB marketplace etc. They buy them, use it a couple times and then sell it because they realised they don't need it or waste of money not using it.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Yap it's worth it, specialy with cloud gaming being a thing on it now.

That you need a subscription for, no thanks. Get any handheld, buy a game, install GeForce Now - same (probably much better) result + you own the game.

 

[Robb]

When I get a Ps5 it’s the first peripheral I’ll get alongside it. Used it at a friend and thought it was really great tbh.

And I was one of the people who questioned its use case and existence before release.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

There are so many people in my country selling them on places like FB marketplace etc. They buy them, use it a couple times and then sell it because they realised they don't need it or waste of money not using it.

Sounds like the Switch Lite.

 

[Nankatsu]

That you need a subscription for, no thanks. Get any handheld, buy a game, install GeForce Now - same (probably much better) result + you own the game.

You're totally right, but on my personal experience, since I already had Premium, it became an extra feature.

 

[ap_puff]

Hell no!

Better buy Asus ROG ally X

lmao, just buy something that's $600 more expensive

 

[TrebleShot]

lmao, just buy something that's $600 more expensive

Has a tiny screen and is infinitely less comfortable to hold.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Uhm, for someone that only owns a PS5 and buys all their games on there....who has the largest collection again? People aren't going to rebuy their games to play worse versions.

 

[FrankWza]

Those flat handhelds suck once you're holding an actual controller. The Portal is comfortable and feels like a DualSense and a PlayStation on the go. It's a perfect compliment and an ecosystem enhancement.

 

[Ogbert]

No.

It’s shit.

 

[jm89]

Those flat handhelds suck once you're holding an actual controller. The Portal is comfortable and feels like a DualSense and a PlayStation on the go. It's a perfect compliment and an ecosystem enhancement.

I hope Sony don't regress on the ergonomics and don't follow trend of the other handhelds, portal is without a doubt the most comfortable handheld I've had.

I think they can still maintain the same ergonomics but just close the gap between the controller and the screen to make it feel less like a dualsense attached to a screen.

 

[playXray]

I barely use this thing. Thought about selling it multiple times.

My experience has never been great with it despite having 1GB down fiber and being in the same room as my wired PS5 and the router.

Me and a couple people in another thread think it’s related to me using a mesh router as supposedly it came cause issue with stuff like this.

It must depend on the mesh - I have a Deco mesh and I’ve had a flawless experience since using it. Previously I had drop-outs every 10 - 15 mins.

 

[FrankWza]

I hope Sony don't regress on the ergonomics and don't follow trend of the other handhelds, portal is without a doubt the most comfortable handheld I've had. I think they can still maintain the same ergonomics but just close the gap between the controller and the screen to make it feel less like a dualsense attached to a screen.

I would like to see a sliding screen that you can adjust upwards. If they could add a tilt feature to the screen that would be great too. And add some back buttons.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

It must depend on the mesh - I have a Deco mesh and I’ve had a flawless experience since using it. Previously I had drop-outs every 10 - 15 mins.

Damn. That’s the brand I have as well.

If you don’t mind me asking. How many routers are you using? Are you using it as an extension in the settings or replacing the router?

I’m only using 2/3 and I’m using it as the primary router. I actually had pretty good experiences with using a Steam Deck and using Chiaki but the Portal is so hit or miss but more miss then hit.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Mine is great. Use it mainly for farming/grinding but it works great.

I wouldn't buy a steam deck, they are about to do a new one, and this one is already obsolete. Same for Switch. Switch 2 right around the corner. Buying random offbrand babyback bullshit posers instead of a popular one? Also a no go.

The only handheld that isn't a waste of money right now is a Portal, at least until Switch 2 or Steamdeck 2 come out.

Enjoy trying to make your rog ally x a thing until it is forgotten to the history of gaming in less than a year. Here's a tip. There is safety in numbers. Stop buying things that aren't popular and your shit will always work and always be warrantied and always be wanted and valued by you. When you buy the unpopular thing you are unprotected with your ass hanging in the wind praying that it doesn't have some random unalterable foible that will color your entire gaming experience.

The more people that own what you own the better it is for you because they can't screw everybody as easily as they can screw a small group.

 

[ComputerBlue]

If I have issues with remote play on my MacBook in certain parts of the house, would I also have issues with this thing? There’s just enough noticeable input delay that it ruins it for me. The problem is is that my modem is very far away from somewhere like my bedroom. If I’m in the living room watching TV no problem, modem is close enough, but if I want to lay in bed and play then it doesn’t work well enough to be enjoyable.

 

[onQ123]

I play rpgs and visual novels on it. I wouldn't play fighting games on it though.

I play Mortal Kombat One , Mortal Kombat 11 , Tekken 8 & some Capcom arcade fighting games on it just fine. Even playing against someone who was using a controller & the TV I won while using the Portal as a second controller

 

[playXray]

Damn. That’s the brand I have as well.

If you don’t mind me asking. How many routers are you using? Are you using it as an extension in the settings or replacing the router?

I’m only using 2/3 and I’m using it as the primary router. I actually had pretty good experiences with using a Steam Deck and using Chiaki but the Portal is so hit or miss but more miss then hit.

I have one ‘BT Home Hub’, which is my original router and is the one connected to my ISP. I then bought a 3-pack of Deco S4 - one of these is connected directly to my BT router, and the others are in other rooms throughout the house. I still have my BT router active, but I have removed the saved connection from all my devices, so basically everything connects to that Decos now.

To be honest, I didn’t get many issues setting things up except for one thing - while the connection stays live, I kept seeing the resolution drop after a few minutes. However, I rebooted my Portal and it’s literally been flawless since then, and that was several months ago.

I hope that helps a bit - let me know if you want me info.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Those flat handhelds suck once you're holding an actual controller. The Portal is comfortable and feels like a DualSense and a PlayStation on the go. It's a perfect compliment and an ecosystem enhancement.

Better a laptop?