PlayStation Portal Handheld Already Sold Out in Many Places

Game Rant writes: "And while a strong start to its pre-orders in Sony's home country might not come as a particular surprise, the handheld is also already listed as out of stock on the U.S. version of Amazon. Meanwhile, the stateside PlayStation Direct storefront has limited orders to one device per player, citing high demand. After initially opening advanced orders in late September, Best Buy now lists the PlayStation Portal as "coming soon," while GameStop is only accepting early purchases from its Pro subscribers, having already bestowed the "bestseller" label upon the PS5 accessory."

[MTRNYC]

Despite the press reaction and pretending it doesn't have any uses, the truth is there are millions of people who share the TV that the PlayStation is connected too.

And no using your Phone or a Tablet really isn't a good replacement for an ergonomic dedicated device.

[jznrpg]

I have 3 nice OLED TVs but to use 2 of them I need to go to another room where my family doesn’t hang out as much. So I want the Portal to sit next to my kids/wife or play a little in bed at night.

It’s not going to replace my TV play time but if I can get a some extra playtime with it when I’m not on the TV then that’s easily worth 200$ for me.

How it works outside of the home will be interesting but even if it doesn’t work great everywhere that’s not the main reason I’m buying it. But if it does work well at least sometimes outside of my home that’s a cool bonus.

[mkis007]

Exactly why I added it to my list. It's not an insta buy, but I do want one for occasional use.

[JackBNimble]

Wow, you sure have your priorities straight.

[S2Killinit]

There are other reasons for me as well. This thing is genius. You can play your PS5 library on it, anywhere there is wifi. And there are tons of times I can/dont feel like playing in front of tv but would love to play a quicky. Not to mention there are a lot of games that are better played on a handheld.

[Cacabunga]

I don’t know which tech it’s packing, but wondering if a vita software update could have done just the same??

[TiredGamer]

The Vita is/was a clunky way to play PS4 games via Remote Play, especially with the cramped controls and lack of buttons. I did it a few times, even playing over the internet 1000 miles away. Still, it worked and although not ideal, it gives me hope for this doing the trick. I would imagine the streaming/decompression tech on the Portal "should" be leagues better as it is dedicated to this function, whereas the PS Vita's functionality was just a bonus feature.

[z2g]

I'd like to see the numbers... sold out sounds nice, but if they only ran 10,000 units, that isn't saying much. we don't even have hard numbers on psvr2 either while we are at it... yet ps5 numbers get blasted out routinely.

[TheEnigma313]

cope

[ocelot07]

I disagree though I think the Portal is cool. I disagree with you saying a phone is not a good dedicated device.

I have a old phone that was just sitting in a draw. One of the first 5g enabled phones. In 2023 its probably considered low end.

For the last month and a half I have solely been using remote play and Geforce now and gamepass xcloud using this phone paired with a backbone controller.

It's been 90% flawless.

[TiredGamer]

The point of the Portal is that, hopefully, it'll just work. It is being billed as a seamless experience... you turn it on, and your PS5 responds immediately... no need to log into the Remote Play servers or muck around with a secondary app to get it to work. The jury is still out, but I've preordered one as I have played my systems remotely on many occasions and find it to be a useful feature.... plus the full Dual Sense controller is the main draw, as I can't stand tiny controls on a handlheld... big meaty grips please.

[TheRealHeisenberg]

It wasn't just the press. Why are some folks trying to rewrite history? There were plenty of PlayStation fans here on N4G that were not speaking highly of this device. I plan to get one myself but not before I get PSVR2.

[Barlos]

Couldn't agree more.

[S2Killinit]

In a way its a console with the ease of a tablet.

[SwissCheese]

It's in stock right now on Amazon and PsDirect.

[Aloymetal]

Can you provide the link, I need a second one.

[SwissCheese]

I don't know if we're allowed to link here, but you can just go on Amazon or PlayStation Direct and search for "PlayStation Portal"

[mkis007]

Unavailable as of now US amazon. Must have sold out again real quick.

[SwissCheese]

Grab it on PS Direct then

[RedDevils]

There ads everywhere on this site. Of course you can paste links here.

[SwissCheese]

I use an adblocker, I didn't know that :P

[mandf]

I hope they are in stores I can't wait to play it

[TQQ]

They are in stores, or will be, most retailers that sell PS5 have them for pre-order

[eagle21]

Sony has another hit on their hands. The battery life is being reported as 7 to 9 hours by CNET. All solid news.

[zachyBROosevelt]

It is not sold out from what I can tell..

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

I just checked Amazon, and yeah, it's sold out on there, at least.

[phoenixwing]

Honestly if this keeps up it'll be a good deterrent for switch sales. Unless of course you need nintys exclusives this thing runs current Gen for all ps5 owners in portable. They're eating into switch 2 possible sales.

[outsider1624]

I just a bad lower back pain. Been advised to rest. So I'll probably get this.

[repsahj]

Do I need to pre-order? I'm planning to go to store on release date instead.

[RedDevils]

Same.

[Barlos]

Nice. Looking forward to opening mine on Christmas day 👍

[TheEnigma313]

They still have them available on the playstation website. I reserved mine.

[S2Killinit]

I need one badly

[sagapo]

Not sold out in Belgium atm, 220€

[raWfodog]

According to many people, this was supposed to be DOA and a failure. Who would have thought that some people would have been interested in an official, dedicated streaming device?