PlayStation Portal Is Sold Out Everywhere — But There Could Be Restock Soon

Toms Guide writes: "In some exciting news for anybody hoping to get hold of a PlayStation Portal for the holiday season, PlayStation Direct appears to be hinting that a restock is just around the corner. As of November 30, the Portal’s listing page advises customers to “please check back early December for more details on stock availability.”"

[just_looken]

That is so sad this pos is selling better than the vita yet it will be e-waste when either anything goes wrong with it or the server's for it go offline.

[shadowT]

it runs local in your WIFI network

[Bathyj]

It's better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt

[babadivad]

And ONLY your local network. Can't take it anywhere else and use it because it doesn't have a browser.

It's a portable device that isn't portable...

[TiredGamer]

It works on any network that doesn't need a browser to authenticate...

[Class_Viceroy]

@babadivad if you're trying to stream games on Kohl's or Starbucks network that's never going to work well anyway. Not accessing public wifi networks that require browsers is a pretty big non-factor for this use face.

[just_looken]

You need a psn account but i am to late everyone is here defending it like blind fans.

[Mr_cheese]

At least you spelt waste wrong on this rant

[northpaws]

So sad some people cannot accept that it is a good product for a lot of people, but insist that everyone needs to want a Vita 2 or else you suck.

[Bathyj]

The device no one needed or wanted allegedly.

[derek]

Alot of weird anger/hate directed towards this accessory. Was recently attacked on a YouTube comment section for saying I've really enjoyed playing on mine ,lol. There were too many people in the online gaming community heavily invested in the portal failing before it was even out. Some of these youtubers were garunteeing nobody would buy it.

[S2Killinit]

Is that not the case for everything? What a silly criticism.

Are you a goose by any chance?

[andy85]

Uh? They would have to disable the whole remote play system for it not to work. And given they're looking at adding cloud streaming to it, then it still would even then.

[ironmonkey]

Sad? Didn't know you were so emotionally connected. It's gonna be ok son.

[Vengeance1138]

Sounds like you're super jealous of others for having one that you can't find! lol don't worry you'll be able to buy a portal soon. Hang in there.

[babadivad]

Sony could shit in a box and have it sell at this point. 😂😂😂

I would understand if this thing could at least do what it says on the tin without issue but that's not the case.

Even when people give positive reviews they talk about all the lag and digital artifacts. This product is a piece of over priced garbage and would be called out as such if it didn't have Sony on the box...

Oh well. 😂😂

[__y2jb]

Lots and lots and of people have said it performs flawlessly for them. But of course you don’t want to hear real world examples as you’ve clearly made up your mind based on your angry feelings haven’t you?

[andy85]

It's 200...in what world is it overpriced. The dualsense alone is like 60-70. Then all the R&D on the product. Putting a screen on it and people expect it at $99 😂😂

[S2Killinit]

You sound upset. I’m really liking mine. Hope that is ok?

[Einhander1972]

"Sony could shit in a box and have it sell at this point."

If the alternative is an xbox...

[Ps5conehead]

I’m in the hospital been in 2 months I got the launch date delevery. Connected to my hot spot. It works great.

[shadowT]

I still think Playstation Portal is compareable expensive, especially in Europe.

[darthv72]

What does an Edge go for over there? Or an Elite controller? I ask because i've paid more for other controllers that don't do anything special, they just look special (themed).

[mkis007]

How much does a controller cost? How much does an lcd screen cost? Now add in the cpu,and all the the other chip a like wifi. $200 is right.

Put another way how much is an elite controller...no way a controller should be anywhere near this in price.

[--Onilink--]

Why would you take the actual consumer cost of an LCD screen and the controller to factor into the price? Its not like Sony is selling controllers at a loss or that LCD screens are particularly expensive (especially when it would be Sony purchasing them.

$200 is without a doubt getting a significant margin or profit for Sony and could have easily been cheaper

[mkis007]

um what? there is literally a controller on there so ya whatever margin is on the controller itself is irrelevant to the point. I would be surprised if they made that much from each sale. you can compare it to the items that make it up...it's not rocket science. I'd go as far to say that it might cost even more becuase unlike controllers they cant exactly get as big of a volume discount on the portal manufacturing process.

[Ironmike]

I personally don't know any one who's bought it but us northerners are skinflints lol

[monkey602]

I have 2 friends who bought one. I said I was going to hold off on getting one until I had seen how people reacted. Well both those guys love it. Now I can't find one anywhere. Hope we finally get some in the new year.

[Grilla]

I used HotStock to get one. It took a few tries to finally get one at Best Buy. It was going up constantly at Target and Best Buy. The portal was never up for more then 2 minutes.

[monkey602]

They haven't been readily available in Ireland yet. The two guys I know got theirs through Amazon UK and Amazon Germany. Its the worst launch of a peripheral/console/accessory I've ever seen. But then we lost all our game retailers over this year here so it was going to happen I guess

[Eonjay]

@monekey602

What happened to all of the Game Retailers?

[monkey602]

They all shut down. We lost gamestop and Argos this year

[Armyofdarkness]

I did! -fellow nordic skinflint

[TiredGamer]

I own one. Works fine for me. The sticks are slightly smaller than the Dual Sense, and there is a tiny bit of latency, but picture and sound quality have been excellent for me.

[1nsomniac]

I can almost guarantee you the sales/stock numbers have been completely fabricated out of thin air and they will almost entirely stop supporting the product within 12 months.

[S2Killinit]

They will stop supporting it? Please tell
Me you are joking… It plays PS5 games lol

How do you guarantee such a comment?

[Bathyj]

See my above comment.

[Eonjay]

You can guarantee us that the multiple outlets that say they are sold out (Best Buy, Amazon, Gamestop,, etc) are lying? You can also guarantee us that Sony will stop supporting remote play and game streaming, something they have supported for like a decade, in the next 12 months?

I think your statements are completely fabricated... I also believe that your misinformation is intentional.

[nyctophilia13]

One of the least informed comments I've ever seen on n4g. Think about that.

[Fluke_Skywalker]

How can they stop supporting a screen? That's pretty much all it is, a screen stuck to a controller.
Its not something I need or want but it has its uses and I'm glad those that do want it are enjoying it.

[Barlos]

Stop supporting it? It's a streaming device, there's really nothing to support.

[Plague-Doctor27]

True. Hard numbers like numbers sold, revenue generated, etc are pretty unhelpful. We need to know engagement numbers. How many hours of remote play have ps portal users played since release? That's the number that cant be falsified cause it comes directly from Sony itself, and not a conglomerate of retail outlets and market research firms who make fraudulent claims on a daily basis

I really hope I dont need this /s here

[derek]

@1nsomniac, that's just it the portal doesn't need to be "supported" besides software updates, lol. If you have a ps5 and want to use it remotely then the portal will continue to work.

[northpaws]

@1nslmniac

And there is what went wrong in people's thought of chain... there are no support needed, it plays PS5 game, it is a Remote Play ACCESSORY!!!!!

Stop asking why you cannot drink soup with a fork and get disappointed, it is not a spoon, it is not even a spork. It is a fork and sold as a fork.

[1nsomniac]

You can’t have it both ways. You’re all claiming it’s going to be a worthwhile device once it gets PS5 cloud streaming and media app streaming. Now you’re all claiming it doesn’t need any support.

… my comment stands, knowing Sony they will typically drop it like a brick within 12 months.

[darthv72]

Technically speaking, because it is a streaming device Sony cant really drop it. They'd have to change the entire protocol and service for all streaming devices to do that. We are talking phones, computers, tablets, TV's. They aren't planning on doing that. they will evolve the service with each iteration of PS to come.

I will say the only real way for this to go belly up is if it remains tied specifically to the PS5. Platforms get replaced every generation so if this is tethered to the 5 with no ability to move to the 6 then that will be its undoing.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Typical misinformed Xbox fan. It's a controller with a screen. Plays PS5 games. As long as the console is getting games, so does Portal with updates.

When PS6 shows up with BC, what peripherals do you think it'll support? Most likely PSVR, PS VR 2, the media remote, the ear buds, the headphones, Dual Sense and The Portal. And that's besides cloud streaming.

Blows you away that Sony keeps dominating the competition. You should really just stop embarrassing yourself.

[Eonjay]

"[Unsupported passionate disdain]...knowing Sony they will typically drop it like a brick within 12 months."

In what way is this typical of them?

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I don't like the idea of the device, and won't purchase one, but to say the sales/stock numbers are fabricated? Sony is normally pretty on the ball about their sales figures, Nintendo is too.

[1nsomniac]

Sony literally got caught lying about the exact same figures with their PSVR2 launch. Fact. And the media had gone along with it, hand in hand. Like it or not they were caught red handed. It’s just you lot on here are so fickle you can’t bare to talk about it or even acknowledge it!

[Armyofdarkness]

Oh damn you got the answer!! Crystal ball shit this. Its' all a conspiracy, of course you got a Guy Fawkes mask as a profile pic lol

[RedDevils]

This guy/girl is a tool not a fool.

[OMNlPOTENT]

Sorry guys I don't wanna be a hater but.. What is the draw of this device? Everything I have seen about it says there's crazy input lag, so what's the difference just streaming to your phone for cheaper?

[jznrpg]

Because you are looking at videos that only show bad input lag. I use mine in my house and it’s flawless unless I go to the bad spots in my house which all devices have problems in those areas not only the Portal. Good thing is where I use it the most it doesnt lag at all

[Plague-Doctor27]

I constantly get work emails, work texts, calls, etc. These all interrupt gaming on my phone. A phone clip is bulky and top heavy, though it does work. My phone doesnt fit in a backbone unless I take off the case each time (theyre also $99 and dont have dualsense features). Nothing wrong with having an option to get a dedicated device that is ergonomic and a fully functioning dualsense.

I know I'm one of the few gamers who never games with headphones but I don't question their existence every chance I get

[StoneTitan]

it has a 8 inch screen. And you don't have to connect a controller via blue-tooth that would add another layer of lag.
So yeah I think its reasonably priced for what it is. I love mine :D
Finished Vanquish again, was preeetteey cool

[OMNlPOTENT]

That's cool! I know it has some sort of utility, I guess I was just kinda hoping for a new Sony handheld and not a streaming device.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Omnipotent,

I honestly can't see Sony attempting another hand-held like the PSP/Vita, they made two attempts to dethrone, encroach on Nintendo's dominance in the hand-held and failed miserably, partially because Nintendo is so good at what they do and they're entrenched in that market, and partially because Sony was somewhat incompetent at support their hand-held (ah, the poor Vita).

[darthv72]

i can tell you the only lag i experienced is bringing up the map in GoW Ragnarok via the touch screen. sometimes it takes several quick taps to get it to respond. During gameplay, there isnt much in the way of lag (for me) as i can pull off some quick combos in battle. The response has been good on my network.

[jznrpg]

It’s not a perfect device but overall I’m happy for 199$

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

The lag is dependant on your network equipment from what I've deduced from various reviews, good home network = good portal performance. Personally I'd rather get a Steam Deck for the same purpose (I'm seriously considering buying the OLED sometime next year).

[darthv72]

i have the steam deck. and while it is twice the price of this, it also does twice the things (actually more). Its a great piece of kit to get if you play a lot of steam games and emulation. I dont use mine for remote play on PS but i do use it for xcloud and emulators.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Darth72,

When it comes to streaming, I found out today that the Portal is limited to 7-11mbps, whereas the Steam Deck isn't limited, maybe some people are bumping up against the Portal's limitations if they have good network equipment.

Yeah, I have a huge Steam library now and I mainly game there instead of Playstation now, the backlog is getting kinda big, so I think the Steam Deck will help since I can't get distracted by other things on my PC. And I do intend to emulate some older SNES/PS1 games that I never played the first time around.

[StoneTitan]

I totally get that. This is the next best thing so I go for it. Would absolutely not mind a Vita 2. I still play mine. Just finished the sly series a couple of months ago

[TiredGamer]

It's a dedicated device that you can literally pick up and play on a whim, with direct interaction to your PS5 and library of games. The quality of experience (controller, screen, dedicated platform) versus trying to jerry-rig and juggle yet another thing on your smartphone is what appeals to some.

[repsahj]

I still cant find one!!! T_T

[babadivad]

Scalper.

[Einhander1971]

Funny how the haters hate on it but it's sold out lol. Love mine been playing Deadspace, Ratchet, sat on sofa it's great 👍

[__y2jb]

Downvotes for saying you are enjoying a gaming device. Incredible stuff.

[__y2jb]

The portal could form a case study into toxic online communities. So many people hating on it because they have no use for it. So many people so completely closed minded that they are unwilling or unable to see that the device is there to serve a certain market. Here’s the thing - when you have a family, you don’t get to control the tv all the time! Shocking I know but true. The Portal is made for these people.

[nyctophilia13]

Exactly. As a family man I have very little time to game on my ps5 so it was mostly mobile gaming before i fell asleep in bed. Now im on my Portal instead, finally getting some playtime on Spider-Man 2. No-brainer purchase for dads/moms with little free time!

***And btw, ZERO LAG and my router is on a different floor!!!

[anast]

Of course it's selling out, like I said, it's the best option for this type pf gaming.

[Binarycode]

If you don't like, don't buy.

Personally it's a shame they never made a new Vita type thing.

ppl don't care about the touch screen stuff. They just wanted to play good ps titles, or 3rd party etc. Vita mem cards etc were dumb.

I wonder if PS6 will go switch route.

[Asuka]

Imagine paying real money for a rechargeable paperweight.