The PlayStation Portal was seemingly made with a niche audience in mind, as anyone who wants this should already have a PS5. Sony seems to be aware of this, as the company has flat-out said that the Portal wasn’t made with profitability in mind.
During an interview with AV Watch (via PlayStation Lifestyle), Hideaki Nishino, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s senior vice president, talked up the Portal. Rather than hoping for major sales with the accessory, Nishino says that an increase in overall game time will make the Portal a success in their eyes.
“Rather than profitability, we want to increase the amount of time we can play with PS5,” Nishino said. “If you can play anywhere, I think some people will definitely spend more time playing games.”
It is interesting to see Sony claim that the PlayStation Portal really is for a niche audience since corporations aren’t usually this honest. Then again, if you’re making a device that can only stream games installed on a current-gen console, you’re not doing it for newer gamers interested in a PS5.
Honestly, we’re just surprised that a device this ugly has so much interest behind it, but that’s just the time we live in. Various reviews have claimed that the Portal is actually quite comfortable to use, despite its really hokey design. Japan didn’t care about that too much, as the system had already sold out pre-orders in that corner of the world.
Apparently, it’s not just Japan, as scalpers have already taken a bunch of PlayStation Portal units for themselves. We say “themselves” but anyone familiar with scalpers knows that they’re just going to sell these units to other people for ridiculously high prices. Unfortunately, this is a trend that’s not going to end anytime soon, so PS5 owners interested in the Portal are in for a long wait.
Read More: What is the battery life of the PlayStation Portal?
If gamers are lucky, the PlayStation Portal will be readily available on their local game store.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!