Sony Unveils PlayStation Portal: Your Gateway to PS5 Game Streaming, Launching at $199.99 This Year

Photo Credit: Sony

Sony's upcoming game streaming device, which was announced at PlayStation Showcase in May, now has a new name: PlayStation Portal. It'll be released later this year and let you stream PS5 games over Wi-Fi. It has an eight-inch LCD display and can stream games in 1080p resolution at 60fps. It's set to cost $199.99, which is about Rs. 16,500. Hideaki Nishino, senior vice president of platform experience at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said it's perfect for households that want to play PS5 games in another room of the house.

The PlayStation Portal will connect to the PS5 wirelessly using Wi-Fi, accessing all the games on the console. You can use the DualSense controller too. Unfortunately, you won't be able to play VR games that require the PS VR2 headset, or any games that use the PS5's upcoming cloud streaming feature. The handheld will need a minimum of 5Mbps of broadband connection to work, but Sony recommends 15Mbps internet speed for a better experience.

Photo Credit: Sony

Essentially, the PlayStation Portal will be like a second console to your PS5, but it won't be able to play games. It'll have the same DualSense-inspired controller as the PS5, with the same adaptive triggers and haptic feedback functions. Sony has said that it'll have a 3.5mm audio jack, but IGN's hands-on test revealed a few other features as some surprising omissions.

IGN says the PlayStation Portal has two touch-enabled areas and a USB Type-C port to charge it up, plus two speaker grills. Unfortunately, it doesn't have Bluetooth, which means you can't pair it with wireless headphones. Instead, it uses Sony's wireless connection protocol, the PlayStation Link, but it will only work with audio devices that use the same standard. To go with the Portal, Sony announced their new Pulse Elite wireless headset and Pulse Explore wireless earbuds, both of which use the PlayStation Link. They haven't said when it'll be available buy in India or how much it'll cost.