PlayStation Portal. Was Sony Project Q (1 Viewer)

[Edwin-S]

200 US for the Portal.
200 US for wireless audio for the Portal.

Microtransactions SONY-style.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

"The PlayStation Portable is terrible. Here's 20 minutes of me explaining why."

Sorry, but this is why I strongly dislike (don't want to say 'hate') that side of tech/nerd/geek culture. It's a $200 device for a $500 console and people are mad that their $180/yr subscriptions or $300 headphones don't connect to it in the very specific ways they want. It's not that big of a deal.

The Portal could certainly have some better features but I think the primary design intent (remote streaming device from your PS5) makes total sense for the price. The wireless audio thing doesn't matter TO ME PERSONALLY but I'm pretty sure there are audio jack adapters to get your bluetooth heaadset working just fine.

For me, the only thing holding me back from really just accepting that I'll buy this is that my Steam Deck can do almost all of this (minus DualSense features) already. But how many people have something like a Steam Deck or want to spend $120 for a phone add-on to use remote play?

 

[Sam Posten]

 

[Edwin-S]

"The PlayStation Portable is terrible. Here's 20 minutes of me explaining why."

Sorry, but this is why I strongly dislike (don't want to say 'hate') that side of tech/nerd/geek culture. It's a $200 device for a $500 console and people are mad that their $180/yr subscriptions or $300 headphones don't connect to it in the very specific ways they want. It's not that big of a deal.

The Portal could certainly have some better features but I think the primary design intent (remote streaming device from your PS5) makes total sense for the price. The wireless audio thing doesn't matter TO ME PERSONALLY but I'm pretty sure there are audio jack adapters to get your bluetooth heaadset working just fine.

For me, the only thing holding me back from really just accepting that I'll buy this is that my Steam Deck can do almost all of this (minus DualSense features) already. But how many people have something like a Steam Deck or want to spend $120 for a phone add-on to use remote play?

I didn't see anyone in that video that was mad. They pointed out legitimate weaknesses of the device. Wireless audio connectivity may not matter to you, bit it does to others and SONY's microtransaction mentality in attemping to get people to buy another piece of equipment by eliminating Bluetooth connectivity is terrible.

It is even worse when doing so renders a piece of SONY equipment, that a person already ows, from working with SONY's own peripheral. And why should a person need to buy an awkward plug in dongle for a feature that should have been in the device in the first place. Their own Pulse headphones use Bluetooth for connectivity, so eliminating that method of connection on the Portal to sell another set of SONY headphones or earbuds is low.

 

[Sam Posten]

I rarely agree with Edwin's gaming takes but 100% here. =)

 

[DaveF]

Nintendo Switch didn’t support Bluetooth audio for years after launch and enthusiasts defended that inexplicable decision as somehow good. Same for this identical bad choice by Sony.

Not supporting Bluetooth in a mobile gaming device is just customer-hostile.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Having used Bluetooth ear buds on the Switch...it's not good. There's a reason they didn't have the feature for years. Because of that, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a technical reason why the Portal ditched Bluetooth. The new format Sony's using for their headphones is probably using wi-fi which would be much better...yes, for an additional couple hundred bucks.

For a device that I'm holding in my hands, I don't think having to use wired headphones is a big deal. I've been doing it for years with my Switch and my Steam Deck without issue.

 

[DaveF]

Having used Bluetooth ear buds on the Switch...it's not good. There's a reason they didn't have the feature for years.

How so?

I’ve been using BT earphones and headphones with the Switch for five years now, and it’s fine. I first bought a third-party USB-C to BT adapter. And then I switched to native Bluetooth when that firmware update was released. No problems at all.

I see no excuse for Nintendo to have not had that feature day one. And no excuse for Sony to not have BT on a new device released in 2023 beside customer-hostile profit motives.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I used a pair of bluetooth earbuds with my Switch while it was docked, undocked, and with Joycons removed on an airplane. The lag in audio was unbearable, I'm talking like a full 1-2 second delay. I can imagine that using a bluetooth adapter for the 3.5mm jack or USB-C port would work better, but the native bluetooth severely limits the console since the antenna wasn't designed to be used for headphones AND controllers.

With the PSPortal, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony is using a mix of their own special tech and a way to offset R&D costs of the unit itself by selling the matching audio devices, but I still don't find it to be an issue myself.

I preordered the Portal. Figured either I keep the preorder and enjoy it or I cancel if previews aren't good. I was playing PS5 remotely on my Steam Deck last night (using Chiaki) and while it works pretty well I would really prefer the actual DualSense controls with better video/audio and being lighter.

 

[DaveF]

I used a pair of bluetooth earbuds with my Switch while it was docked, undocked, and with Joycons removed on an airplane. The lag in audio was unbearable, I'm talking like a full 1-2 second delay. I can imagine that using a bluetooth adapter for the 3.5mm jack or USB-C port would work better, but the native bluetooth severely limits the console since the antenna wasn't designed to be used for headphones AND controllers.

Maybe it’s the removed joycons? I always play with joycons connected on airplanes, etc. I’ll try to remember to try that this week and see if I have the same experience.

But playing it as a handheld mobile console, native BT works fine. And since the Q doesn’t have removable “joycons” there’s even less reason for Sony to not provide that option. Sony knows a thing or two about Bluetooth headphones and audio. They could figure it out, I expect.

 

[Steve Y]

Interesting news about streaming in HDR from the PS5. However, it requires a Steam Deck OLED, which is around $400 more expensive than the Portal. And it also requires installation of an open source client.

 

[Steve Y]

I don't know if it even has the guts to do emulation.

Two Google engineers have managed to get the PPSSPP emulator running natively on the PS Portal

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I saw that from last week. Definitely interesting and they pulled it off as a software-only hack.

I wonder if this would be something Sony intends to use somehow. Not emulation but rather just having some degree of actual power in the unit.