PlayStation Portal Pre-Orders Go Live Ahead Of November Launch

In late July, Sony officially announced its return to selling handheld gaming hardware by unveiling the PlayStation Portal, which streams games from your PlayStation 5 console for $199.99. On Thursday, in both a tweeted trailer and an update to last week's blog post, Sony announced the release date for the device: November 15.

Pre-orders are available now from Sony if you live in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Starting on September 29, pre-orders will also be available from "other select retailers in these countries, as well as Canada and Japan."

As previously detailed, the Portal handheld features an 8-inch, 1080p display that can support games running at up to 60 frames per second. Sony's blog post touts that its controller "includes the key features of the DualSense wireless controller, including adaptive triggers and haptic feedback." Though the minimum required internet connection to use the device is listed at 5 Mbps, Sony recommends "at least" 15 megabits per second "[f]or a better play experience."

The most curious aspect of the PlayStation Portal is that users won't be able to stream games from Sony's servers even if they have the PS Plus Premium plan. In other words, it's explicitly a $200 PlayStation 5 accessory that, for whatever reason, is hinged entirely upon the user's own PS5 console. 

Critics have pointed out that $200 is a steep price to pay for this kind of device, as the PS5 already supports the PS Remote Play app, which can be used on an Android device, iPhone, or iPad to play games from one's console. Because the PS5's DualSense controller can be used via Bluetooth with these mobile devices, Sony can't use the advanced controller features baked into Portal as an incentive for choosing its handheld over the phone or tablet most consumers already own.

Handheld gaming consoles are a hot item right now thanks to the Nintendo Switch and, more recently, the Steam Deck, not to mention the multitude of competitors that have surfaced in recent months. This seemed like an opportune time for Sony to bring back the PSP in a major way, but fans have ultimately expressed disappointment over Sony's lackluster attempt at capitalizing on the trend.