Key Takeaways
- The PlayStation Portal might continue to receive upgrades and new features.
- A PlayStation executive recently confirmed that Sony is looking into various new ways for players to engage with games in reference to the Portal.
- PS Plus Premium cloud streaming will soon be available on the PlayStation Portal, and a new color for the handheld is rumored to be in the works as well.
The PlayStation Portal may receive more upgrades in the future, as hinted by a high-ranking Sony executive. The handheld Remote Play system has seen unexpectedly massive success among PlayStation users, and it appears Sony is looking into ways to further increase the Portal’s value proposition.
When it was first revealed in summer 2023, reactions to the PlayStation Portal were mostly mixed. Many were skeptical about the PlayStation Portal’s rather limited utility as a Remote Play accessory for the PS5, but the handheld defied all expectations when it launched later that year. The PlayStation Portal immediately sold out in major markets and was stock-constrained until early 2024, surpassing even Sony’s internal projections. To this day, the PlayStation Portal continues to rank in the upper echelons of regional sales charts.
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PlayStation Portal’s New Edition May Be Testing The Waters If Rumors Are True
An upcoming refresh for the PlayStation Portal device may be an indication of things to come from Sony’s purported hardware plans.
Sony has since expanded upon the PlayStation Portal’s core functionality with a PS Plus Premium cloud streaming beta program, relinquishing the handheld’s dependence on a physical PS5 console. However, it seems the gaming giant might not be closing the book on the PlayStation Portal yet. Speaking in a recent BBC interview, PlayStation co-CEO Hideaki Nishino remarked that the way players engage with games is changing, which has been a key factor behind the Portal’s “huge success.” Nishino further confirmed that in addition to the PS Plus Premium cloud streaming beta program for the PlayStation Portal, Sony is exploring various new avenues for “how players can play games.”
PS Portal’s Functionality May Be Expanded to a New Platform
While Nishino’s statement doesn’t quite delve into specifics, it does tease potential future enhancements for the PlayStation Portal. As for what these enhancements could be is a matter of speculation, but one of them might entail the Portal being compatible with PlayStation games on PC. Sony has significantly ramped up its efforts to support the platform in recent years, even making its PS VR2 headset compatible with PC earlier this year. The company could do the same for the Portal by possibly integrating Remote Play into PlayStation games on PC, allowing users to stream them to the handheld without a PS5.
However, this may be tricky given the substantial library of PlayStation games Sony has published on PC so far. It remains to be seen what Sony is planning for the PlayStation Portal in the coming years, but for now, owners of the handheld can look forward to testing out its PS Plus Premium cloud streaming beta program. Recent reports also allege that a black colorway for the PlayStation Portal is in the works, which might help broaden its appeal even further.
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