Sony is releasing a new model of the PlayStation Portal in Japan next month. The big difference is that it has internal storage, hinting that Sony might be expanding the handheld’s functions in the future.
“With an eye towards future functionality, the new model comes with the brand new addition of internal storage,” teased Sony Japan’s official blog post. “We will provide further details regarding these future features as they are finalized.”
First released back in 2023 and looking like the stretch limo version of a PlayStation controller with an HD screen in the middle, the PlayStation Portal was originally designed as a way to play your PS5 games on handheld. Although this remote play function frees up your TV, it requires you to stream your games from your PS5 over Wi-fi.
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In the official Playstation blog post announcing the new model, Sony emphasized that the Portal now allows “even players who don’t have a PS5” to enjoy PS5 games. Last year, Sony began giving PS Plus Premium members the option to stream games from the cloud to their PS Portal instead. With this new model release, Sony has also changed the full Japanese name of the handheld from “Playstation Portal Remote Player,” to simply “PlayStation Portal Player.” This suggests that the company is moving away from the Portal’s image as an accessory that streams from a PS5 console via Remote Play, to a more fully-fledged handheld.
It’s also possible that any new functions added to the PS Portal could be a testing ground for the upcoming PS6, which has long been rumored to involve a handheld. Back in June, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino commented that developing new console experiences will involve “leveraging technologies that can be used in various forms and locations” and continuing to move the PlayStation brand beyond its common association of being played on a TV in the living room. More recently in October, there were rumors that Sony might have secured exclusive access to AMD’s next generation graphics tech for a new handheld.
In the meantime, the new PS Portal releases in Japan on December 10 and is up for preorder from November 13 at the same price as the current PS Portal (39,980yen). However, those interested in getting their hands on this model should note that it’s Japanese language only and requires a Japanese PSN account. It will be interesting to see if this new model makes it to other countries and regions.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
