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Sony has unveiled the price for its upcoming cloud gaming handheld, as well as an official name for the device: PlayStation Portal. However, one significant caveat to its functionality might sour people’s interest in the handheld: It only supports PS4 and PS5 native games that the owner purchased.
PlayStation VR2 games can’t be streamed to PlayStation Portal, which does make sense. More bafflingly, though, is the fact that the PlayStation Blog post states that “games that are streamed through PlayStation Plus Premium’s cloud streaming are not supported.” That means you shouldn’t pick up PlayStation Portal expecting to stream some PS3 and PS4 games available through PlayStation Plus Premium to the device. That’s certainly an odd omission when it’s currently PlayStation’s most notable cloud gaming effort.
Although Microsoft is more closely associated with cloud gaming, Sony beat it to releasing a dedicated cloud gaming device. PlayStation Portal was first teased as Project Q during May’s PlayStation showcase, but now, a PlayStation Blog post more clearly explains what we can actually expect from the handheld. Most importantly, we learned that PlayStation Portal will cost $200, which puts it underneath the cost of a Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S, and other cloud gaming devices like the Logitech G Cloud Handheld.
As for what you’re getting for that price tag, it’s essentially a decent screen attached to two halves of a DualSense controller. The controllers on each side share all the functionality of the DualSense, including things like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. In-between is an 8-inch LCD screen that streams games over Wi-Fi at up to a 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. All in all, that’s fairly solid for a cloud gaming handheld that is this cheap.
Sony confirmed that the PlayStation Portal will have a 3.5mm audio jack, but also used the same blog post to unveil two new wireless audio options. There’s the Pulse Elite wireless headset that features a retractable boom mic and a charging hanger and Pulse Explore wireless earbuds that offer similar audio quality in earbud form.
None of these products are available for preorder or have a specific release date just yet, but they are all expected to launch before the end of the year.
The flurry of summer gaming showcases is finally upon us, and Sony was the one to start things off. After a 20-month wait and several smaller presentations, we finally got another PlayStation Showcase where we saw what’s next for first-party, third-party, and indie games on the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2. During the show, we got a look at some upcoming multiplayer games from PlayStation Studios like Fairgame$ and Marathon, in addition to exciting single-player titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Third-party studios also showed up, with Square Enix unveiling a multiplayer game called Foamstars, Alan Wake 2 and Assassin’s Creed Mirage getting release dates, and Konami announcing a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This was definitely the most important PlayStation livestream to happen in a long time, but it was a densely packed show so you might have missed out on some of its announcements. That’s why you should read through this recap of everything announced during the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase.
It’s been a very long time since the last PlayStation Showcase. While Sony has held tons of smaller State of Play streams over the years, it doesn’t often host Nintendo Direct-sized events that give a wide picture of what’s coming to the PS5. That’ll change later today when the company hosts a proper PlayStation Showcase, just a few weeks before Summer Game Fest.
Details on what we’ll see at the event are sparse, even hours ahead of the showcase, but there’s a lot we can already predict. You won’t want to miss out on this one, so here’s everything you need to know so you can catch it when it right when it airs.
When is PlayStation Showcase?
When I demoed Final Fantasy XVI back in February, I had some questions. The slice I played was very much focused on the upcoming PS5 release’s combat system. I was immediately impressed with how fast and furious it was, bringing a bit of Devil May Cry to the RPG series. That said, there was quite a bit I didn’t see. The story mission I played would only give me a brief introduction to its hero, Clive Rosfield, and the war-torn nation in which the game takes place. I was itching to know more.
I’d get all those lingering questions answered when I went hands-on with the first three hours of the game, which launches on June 22. Rather than letting me test out an arsenal of spells, I’d start with a much less capable Clive with only a few attacks to his name. I’d get to see his full tragic backstory play out through long cinematics with only a few smaller gameplay snippets between. I’d leave my demo session with far fewer question marks, a bit more intrigue, and a couple of lingering concerns that could be alleviated later in the adventure.
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