Portable gaming seems to be where consoles (and gaming) can improve the most, and big companies have already started to shift some focus over to creating powerful portables (like Valve with the Steam Deck). There were big leaps made by Nintendo with the legendary DS that came out in 2004 and Sony with the PSP in 2005 (which was truly ahead of its time), but the Nintendo Switch was really the last portable console that made a significant impact (evidenced by all the copycats we still see today). When Sony teased the handheld project dubbed “Project Q” in May this year, it was met with mixed reactions due to its reliance on being tethered to the PS5, but everyone still wanted to see more. Now, Sony has revealed the official name and price of the Project Q, which is now officially the PlayStation Portal, a handheld remote player that’s coming out later this year.
The PlayStation Portal (which we can conveniently call the PSP) is a remote player, meaning that you need to be near your PS5 in order to use it, as it uses WiFi to stream games downloaded on your PS5 (meaning there’s also no built-in storage). The screen is 8 inches and capable of 1080p/60fps, and the split controllers have all the features of the original DualSense (like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers). While you can’t take this handheld outside your place, it’s still a convenient little device with a decent screen (and thankfully capable of 60fps) that’s nice for playing in other rooms.
Sony also revealed more details about the upcoming pair of headphones that are also about to drop this year, the Pulse Elite headset ($149) and the Pulse Explore earbuds ($199), which both feature AI-enhanced noise filtering and lossless audio, showcasing PlayStation’s latest audio technology: PlayStation Link.
The Sony PlayStation Portal will be coming out “later this year,” according to Sony, and retail for $199, with more details coming soon.
