TECH NEWS – Sony launches PlayStation Portal. It’s the handheld console previously known as Project Q. We’ve also revealed exactly how much it will cost…

Previously known as Project Q, the new PlayStation handheld is called the PlayStation Portal and will be available later this year for $199.99. As the first PlayStation handheld in over a decade, there was bound to be a bit of a backlash when Portal was announced.

While the PlayStation Vita didn’t sell as well, the PSP was very popular today. This led some fans to want PlayStation to return to the handheld market. The PlayStation Portal is technically a handheld gaming device.

But it wasn’t welcomed by fans because it’s not a dedicated, standalone handheld system: it’s designed to play PlayStation 5 games remotely, similar to the Wii U Gamepad.

The PlayStation Portal may be overlooked by many players from the start due to its limited functionality. Of course, there may well be those who want to stream games from their PS5 to a handheld console. It includes all the fancy tricks found in the PS5’s DualSense controller. It also boasts an 8-inch LCD screen that supports 1080p resolution and up to 60fps. Once the PlayStation Portal is connected to the PS5 via Wi-Fi, players can stream most of the console’s games to the handheld console, except for PlayStation VR2 titles or games streamed via PS Plus Premium. For some, these features may justify the $199.99 price tag for PlayStation Portal.

However, it’s not all plain sailing. There’s no Bluetooth support, local play, or PS5 Cloud support, and uptime will be roughly on par with DualSense. All of this has quickly blown the fuses of both the journalistic profession and a section of the gaming community.

Unfortunately, a release date for the PlayStation Portal has still not been announced, so interested gamers will have to wait for more information on this.

The handheld console is expected to be released later this year. The question is whether it will be the only new PlayStation device to be released in 2023.

There are persistent rumours that some kind of revision of the PS5 will be released this year, although such a device has yet to be officially announced. The new console, dubbed PS5 Slim, is expected to be a slightly smaller PS5. Some reports suggest it will even have a removable disc drive. Time will tell if there is any truth in these rumours. In the meantime, fans can look forward to the PlayStation Portal and keep their fingers crossed that one day, it could lead to an actual new PlayStation handheld console.

Source: GameSpot, PlayStation Blog