Rory writes: "When the PlayStation Portal was revealed earlier this year, I was fairly dismissive of the PS5 accessory, just like a lot of people were. I just couldn’t see the market for a $199 device designed exclusively for remote play, especially when true portable gaming is enjoying a deserved renaissance thanks to the Steam Deck and the enduring popularity of the Nintendo Switch.
This week I’ve been fortunate to get hands-on with a PlayStation Portal, and I’m here to hold my hands up and admit that I got this one wrong.
Badly wrong."
The PlayStation Portal has been "exceeding supply for several months" in the US and doing better than it ever was expected to.
I'm laying on my bed with Eve on my Portal and my skama in tha air. 😶🌫️ Chilln. I have been playing it on my big tv though just cause I like to play the main story on there. I do side quests and collecting on my Portal.
Seems like industry advisors and analyst constantly underestimate or straight up talk from their back side
Not just analysts. These very message boards were full of people throwing as much shade on the idea as they possibly could. I saw it for what it was, a great authentic and plug-and-play way to access your system from another room (or house). Glad it’s finding success.
As someone who does a lot of data analysis for a living, I can tell you that these econometric analysts have a tendency to look exclusively at numbers without any attachment to the human element. Anything that is not explained in their numbers doesn't make sense to them, when in reality, any analysis that involves people will always be subject to error (that they never seem to account for).
In this case, the demand was underestimated likely because they built their calculations on declining Switch sales to indicate there was low demand for a dedicated portable gaming device and price sensitivity. I didn't expect it to sell this well either to be honest, but I don't have access to their data either.
In truth, there is so much noise around the data here: we don't know how informed people were about it needing a PS5, how many are scalping it, how many typically purchase the latest tech, etc. All of that does factor in. Even the interpretation of demand is flawed. I have no doubt there is strong demand for it at this time, but I do suspect the numbers are inflated a bit by scalpers, where people become curious and purchase one because they keep selling out.
Between the Portal, PSVR2, Edge controller, Pulse headsets, and potentially PS5 Pro Sony customers are going to have a lot of hardware purchase choices this holiday
All will likely be sold out this holiday and you’ll pay up to double if you want it. Typical Sony never enough hardware or purposely shorting the market, whichever it is causing shortages I see no end especially around the holidays.
They don't make more money when others scalp for double. They're not purposely shorting the market
I don't know about the other devices but PSVR2 is not doing some well. I read a report a while back that sales were so bad they had to stop production.
https://www.eurogamer.net/p...
Want to snag the PlayStation Portal Remote Player? It's finally available at multiple retailers right now.
we don't know how many they made to be honest. It continued to sell out, but if stock was limited to begin with, then that doesn't paint the entire picture.
That being said, good for those who use and enjoy it.
Interesting that we don’t have any sales numbers, when Sony said that they will be counting the peripheral as a console.
It means after they sold out of the limited stock there is still demand. Most people weren't expecting the Portal to run through the limited stock. In other words , it sold like crazy.
After a few months with the PlayStation Portal, Digital Trends Giovanni Colantonio is starting to see how the streaming handheld fits into our gaming lives.
It'll probably help me get through some games. Listen to the tv and play at same time. Also people need to stop hating
I'll stop hating when they go back to being able to connect locally instead of through the internet. Some of us are adults with jobs that take us away from top tier internet service.
Thanks for disagreeing. I doubt you never seen or afford a PS Portal?
I bought it at launch and it's the best decision I ever made. Well done Sony!
I slipped a disc in my back a short while ago and I could barely move for 2 weeks. A spent a near fortnite on my back and the Portal was a god send
I must type fortnite out more often than I actually use the word fortnight because my phone auto corrects to it. Haha
Nah I've been playing Cyberpunk and HellDivers though
I was thinking about getting the Portal but my Logitech G-Cloud remote plays my PS5 games, Series X, retro games fine so will stick with that for now. Good to see the Portal doing well.
IIRC both have 1080p resolution and 60Hz/fps. The Portal has a 1” bigger screen though (8” vs 7”) and is about $100 cheaper if you can find one without having to seek out a reseller.
The Portal is strictly a PlayStation device and has on-par if not worse connectivity than most phones, so a G-Cloud or even a Steam Deck for a bit more money is a better deal for more options.
Completely agree! Playing PS5 remotely, Game Pass, GeForce Now, some emulators as well for older games. The G Cloud is an amazing device for that price!
My young children have been sick and home from school. They want to lay in bed and rest/sleep in their room so I grab my portal and play while they are watching their show or sleeping. I have got a lot of hours to play that I wouldn’t have otherwise and it just came out last week. Going to play right now actually.
It's still pointless for those who don't need it, nor see a point in buying something that can be done on so many devices. Either way you aren't wrong in buying it, nor wrong in not buying it.
It's funny, in a way I think all the negative press totally backfired. It just made people aware of the product who then realized it was really functional as it lets them play all the games they already own so the overall proposition is really inexpensive.
Funny how no one is in this article which states the reporter was wrong in thinking the Portsl was pointless. Yet the other article that talks about some people reporting lag so bad it makes games unplayable on the Portal. Any one who says they’ve not had any lag so bad that they can’t play are down voted and the Portal bashing continues.
“You can do it on your phone”. I can watch TV on my phone too, but a dedicated device is a much better experience.