PS Portal more popular than Sony expected

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/02/ps-portal-proving-more-popular-than-sony-expected

A PlayStation executive has revealed in a new interview with Game File that the handheld PS Portal device is proving a lot more popular than the company expected. Hiromi Wakai, the VP of production management, explained "demand has continued to exceed our expectations" and so Sony is now focusing its efforts on "shipping more units consistently".

Demand for the device has far outweighed the amount of stock retailers can offer since its November 2023 launch, so Sony will "continue to bring more units to the market" as quickly as it can. In the interview, Wakai admits the PS Portal "was intended to be a product best suited for people with specific needs and those who want to play in a specific way", so initial reactions upon its announcement matched what Sony was expecting. To speak of the increased demand after launch, Wakai theorises early adopters are spreading positive word about the device to others.

Sony is yet to share official sales numbers for the PS Portal, though USA game sales tracking division Circana said it was the fifth best-selling accessory in terms of consumer spending last month. The bottleneck for it not charting higher, of course, is the simple fact there aren't enough on retailer websites for people to purchase, thus fuelling the current stock issues. However, according to Wakai, it's an issue Sony is aware of and is hoping to rectify soon.

Are you a happy PS Portal owner, or someone still trying to buy one? Let us know in the comments below.

Nice.. I love my Portal. A lot of times I don't realize it's a streaming device when playing. I even played Helldivers 2 on it the other day. It's not perfect by any means, but definitely surpassed my expectations. What about you, SW? Do you have a Portal? Would consider getting one?

Martin Scorsese is very much against the Playstation Portal.

As popular as the PSVR2🤭

@SolidGame_basic: So why won't Sony release sold numbers and their original expectations numbers then?

You fall for Sony's PR spin EVERY time Solid.

I haven't bought mine, not yet. I'd love to buy a revision of this particular peripheral or their next portable device, PSP2.

I don't believe it. Nobody ever mentions this thing. All i am seeing is that the scammers buy them all out, and resell em on ebay. And if this is how Sony counts it as being successful, i don't know what to say.

How many more than 2 have they sold? :P

I actually have one of these, since I'm a dad who doesn't much couch time these days.

I've got mixed feelings about it. When I first used it the quality was awful, but I tweaked the settings and it's quite good now - especially for turn-based games.

On the other hand, it has no Bluetooth headphone support. In 2024. Even the Switch does that. Ugh.

Which?

That's just crazy how table turned. Switch launched it had no Bluetooth support for accessories either but later was added. Why the F sony followed Nintendo of all companies lmao.

@sakaixx: Because Nintendo rolling in cash!

Whew! That's a lot of spin.

I dont know anyone who uses it. Granted, I suppose that could be an anomaly. But, I know several people who have them and they collect dust.

At least its more popular than Starfield.

I always like the idea of a handheld but when it arrives I rarely take advantage of it. I can see the appeal.

Translated

Even Sony's surprised at how gullible cows are

Trash the Portal and PSVR2, invest the money in AA studios with 2 to 4 year dev cycles. That way more games release on a regular basis and it cuts costs.

Good, now make another handheld:

-5" OLED and compact size

-Power of Xbox Series S

-Resistance Retribution 2

Does Portal work better than our phones? seems like everyone already owns a Portal.

I live in singapore these device are pretty hard to find. You would have to resort to a scalper to get one.

What else are they gonna say 😂

Yes, because 8 inch screen and the controller feels perfect!

Can I ask why you’re so jelly of the Portal?

lol :P

@SecretPolice:

You wish you had an Xbox Portal

It's a tall ask for such a featureless device...

Nah, that Phony near useless cash grab is for you gullible cows. ;o

This is the real deal Xbox bang for the buck we've come to expect....

Thank you, Uncle Phil, you're the best!! lol :P

Does remote play perform better on Portal than on other devices like mobile phones?

Used the remoteplay app on my phone and not noticing any lag for the type of games I play (jrpg) just that the screen is smaller which does bother me.

@hardwenzen: Here's the truth:

People like you keep bashing starfield. Here we are, 5 months post release, and the game is on your mind to the point you comment about it in unrelated threads.

Cows dont talk about Spider-Man 2

Cows dont talk about Armored Core 6

Cows dont talk about Cyberpunk 2078

Cows dont talk about Baldur's Gate 3

But yall can't not talk about Starfield.

When the rumors of Xbox games going 3rd party, what was one of the biggest wish list titles? STARFIELD.

Bask in its glory, Hardwenzen, you certainly contribute in your own weird way to its greatness and longevity.

It does exactly what it sought out to do and, people are still mad it exists. lol

It's probably popular since you can turn PS Portal into a PSP but way bigger.

None of the games you've mentioned are 25 years in the making, nor are they a brand new massive IP from one of the biggest publishers🤣And don't get it mistaken, its not just Playstation Professionals that talk about Starfield, but even reviewers and content creators are constantly dunking on it😅Its that massive failure people enjoy pointing fingers at and laugh lol. And trust me, its not my fault, i didn't start this across the grobe.

I'm a YouTube content creator, our opinion means essentially nothing.

Starfield has a total player count of 13 million - and that's without a single player coming from PlayStation. And, when the 3rd party rumors started, the big "can we have it" talk from Sony Ponies was... you guessed it... STARFIELD.

You're just a bitter cow who really wants the game. I get it, I'd like to have Helldivers 2 on Xbox. But, the difference between you and I is that I am not going to go on a "ONG, HELLDIVERS 2 SUCKS" rant every f**king day because I can't play it on my console of choice.

pffft you put yourself in the same bucket as someone who has millions of subs, and has been doing youtube content creation for over 10 years? Don't be foolish, dabear.

Lets get real for a second, Helldivers 2 has eviscerated Starfield, and because everyone loves it, it'll get support with new content for years to come. On the other end, Starfield is dead, its over.

@hardwenzen: my channel is motorcycle focused, which is a smaller pool of viewers than gaming. I could get a lot more if I paid for promotion, but my channel is for fun, not a career.

Starfield is dead? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW! IN A THREAD ABOUT PS PORTAL!

sure, bro.

My iPhone 15 Pro does PS games just fine ;)

People are talking about Einstein all the time. Doesn't mean he isn't dead🤡And the PS Portal is an abomination, just like Starfield.

@hardwenzen: I used my Portal last night. Just thought you'd like to be updated.

You are one of the 13 that are using it almost daily🙃

I'm sure there are more. They just don't know they have to notifiy you so it counts. I'll put the word out though.

I use my portal daily. I play on it more than I do on a TV. The screen is beautiful for a 1080p lcd screen. I see on the portal reddit that it's still hard to get.

Sony shocked at how many clowns bout a device that does nothing better than the phone they already have. We don’t call them clown cows for nothing.

PSP not even in the top 100 at Amazon game best sellers.

PSVR2 not even in the top 100 at Amazon game best sellers.

Quest 2 and Quest 3 both in the top 15 best sellers though.

Still no stock in UK

The Portal is pretty neat don't get me wrong, but it always seemed sort of like a luxury built into a base luxury...sort of unnecessary, in other words.

It also isn't a standalone product, nor is it really that significant of a change (such as a VR headset) of a product to be considered an accessory that upgrades the thing it is added to.

It's just a different way to interface with the product you already have in a way that's for the most part inferior, with the exception that it's portable now (something that is quite great, I must admit).

If my post seems like it's full of contradictions, that's because it is, which is frankly why I find the Portal so baffling. We've entered an age where we have lots of excellent mobile options and Sony offers one that works well but at the same time isn't really a standalone mobile device, and requires an expensive piece of base hardware in order to operate?

It's just...odd. I'm happy for people that use it but...yeah.

More options are always good for consumers.

This isn't something that's being forced on consumers, like Kinect at the launch of the Xbox One, which I find so baffling. This is for those who find it appealing and need it for their lifestyle/play style/preference, just like the PSVR.

I appreciate Sony responding to that demand, the fact that a lot of people are attracted to the product.