• The PlayStation Portal is now being sold at local retailers like HiFi Corp, Game, and Incredible.
• You can pick up the hand-held remote-play device for R5 499 at these retailers.
• With the Portal, you can use remote-play to stream gameplay from your PlayStation 5 wherever you are in the home.

Initially called “Project Q”, Sony’s latest remote-play device, with its 8″ display, the PlayStation Portal is now available from few South African retailers, including the likes of Incredible, Game, Koodoo, and HiFi Corporation.

Generally, the device is being sold for R5 499 at these retailers. On Incredible, the device is listed as a PlayStation remote player that will “put your PS5 games in the palm of your hand.”

It requires a PS5 console and a stable WiFi connection to work. You will not be able to use the Portal without these requirements.

It was formally announced last year in August with a retail price of $200 which translates to around R3 753 considering the current exchange rate. So it seems the Portal has seen a significant markup from local retailers.

“PlayStation Portal is the perfect device for gamers in households where they might need to share their living room TV or simply want to play PS5 games in another room of the house. PlayStation Portal will connect remotely to your PS5 over Wi-Fi, so you’ll be able to swiftly jump from playing on your PS5 to your PlayStation Portal,” Sony explained when launching the device.

“PlayStation Portal can play supported games that are installed on your PS5 console and use the Dualsense controller.”

It can only play games that are already installed on your PS5. The Portal is not a PlayStation Portable (PSP) and cannot run any games unless you have a PS5 and access to remote-play.

There are also some restrictions, to make matters worse. Such as that when using remote-play on the device you can’t share your screen, or use share play. You can’t watch DVDs or Blu-Ray Discs, and you can’t play any games that require peripherals, like PSVR games.

While you are using the Portal, your PS5 console needs to remain on all the time. The Portal is essentially a second screen for your console that you can walk around with. This means that the Portal is not a loadshedding solution as your PS5 must still be plugged into a power source to use the Portal remote play.