Why Sony's PlayStation Portal doesn't make sense?

The PlayStation Portal is one of the weirdest device launches from Sony, and it makes very little sense. According to Sony, it allows you to play your PS5 games remotely. But in reality, it can't do that very well since there are too many connection issues. Even when it does work, it's barely worth it, as it cannot be used simultaneously with your PS5. So, what can it do? Not much, apparently.

In this article, we will talk about why purchasing the PlayStation Portal for $200 makes no sense.

Note: This is an opinion-based article that reflects the writer's opinions.

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It has a great display but can't play Netflix or any other streaming services

The PlayStation Portal (Image via Sony)

Do you have Netflix on your PS5 and want to watch it remotely on the Portal? It can't do that. It can't play movies or TV shows from any streaming service. Sony equipped the PlayStation Portal with a gorgeous 8-inch LCD 1080p screen to deliver the best result, but it can't play any videos. It can stream games from your PS5, but everything else is blocked.

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You can't play games on the PlayStation Portal and PS5 simultaneously

The Spider-Man 2 running on the PlayStation Portal (Image via Sony)

When you run a game on a PlayStation Portal, it doesn't run natively. Instead, it runs on your PS5 and then streams the content back to its display. Here's another way of looking at it.

Suppose you are at a friend's place playing Horizon Forbidden West on your PS Portal, and your little brother wants to play Fall Guys on the PS5 at home. He can't do that. It's not possible because the PS5 is already busy streaming Horizon Forbidden West to the Portal, so it can't do anything else.

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It is essentially a screen mirroring device

Screen mirroring is nothing new, but that's all the PlayStation Portal can do. It allows you to stream whatever is running on your PS5 to its display. Everything you will see on the PS portal's display is what you would also see on the TV and nothing more, except the display of this device is much smaller than that of an ordinary TV.

So, you are not gaining anything but rather giving up the benefits of playing on a large display.

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It doesn't work most of the time when you are traveling

The GOW Ragnarok is running on the PlayStation Portal (Image via Sony)

Theoretically, it requires a Wi-Fi connection with at least 5 - 15 Mbps speeds to get a decent experience, but in practice, it needs much more than that. Even users with high connection speed have issues connecting the PlayStation Portal to their PS5. This could be partly blamed on their use of Wi-Fi 5 technology, which was launched over a decade ago.

The PS Portal launched in November 2023 when Wi-Fi 6E, an advanced version of Wi-Fi 6, was already available. Wi-Fi 5 is simply unacceptable for a new device that costs $200.

Also, finding a stable and fast Wi-Fi connection is not easy, if you are traveling. The whole point of Portal is remote play, and you can't even do that unless you manage to find a spot with really good Wi-Fi, which defeats its purpose.

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Final verdict

The PlayStation Portal doesn't make sense, especially at the $200 mark. It doesn't allow you to stream movies from your favorite streaming service. You can't play games on your PS5 when there's a game running on the PS Portal. You can't even play games remotely most of the time while traveling due to network issues.

Essentially, it can only play your PS5 games best when connected to your home Wi-Fi. But if you are already home, why not just play the games on your PS5 on the large-screen TV instead? Due to all of these reasons, the PlayStation Portal simply doesn't justify the $200 price tag.