Sony has embraced streaming on the PlayStation Portal, which can now be used to play games like Spider-Man 2 and The Last Of Us Part 2.
As contentious as it’s been, Microsoft’s push to make Xbox games available on every platform has been mirrored in a lot of Sony’s current plans as well. The fact that you don’t need an Xbox to play Xbox games, or access Xbox Game Pass, is a selling point now.
The success of the PlayStation 5 means Sony’s not going to pursue exactly the same strategy, even though it has touched upon the possibility of more multiplatform releases. At the very least, it looks to be doubling down on PC support with a rumoured cross-buy feature.
Now, it’s taken another leaf out of Xbox’s book and has made it possible for people to play PlayStation 5 games without the need for a console, although you’ll still need a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription and the PlayStation Portal.
As a reminder, the Portal is a handheld device released in 2023, that allows you to stream your games from your PlayStation 5, even on public wi-fi.
Despite not being able to play games natively, and its complete reliance on stable internet connections, the Portal has been more popular than Sony expected.
It was the UK’s best selling games accessory in July 2024 and while Sony hasn’t shared exact figures, it’s estimated to have sold nearly two million units by the end of last year.
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An update for the Portal went live in the early hours of the morning, which has officially brought cloud streaming to the device and means you can access games without connecting to the console itself.
So, if you don’t own a PlayStation 5 but still want to play its exclusives, you can do that by purchasing a Portal, which costs £199.99, and subscribing to PlayStation Premium at £13.49 a month (the most expensive of the three tiers).
It doesn’t work for every game, but the list of compatible titles is over 2,800 and includes big exclusives like Spider-Man 2 and both The Last Of Us games. Not to mention PlayStation Plus Premium comes with access to the retro games catalogue.
The success of the Portal does seem to have incentivised Sony into getting back into making handhelds again, after the underwhelming performance of the 2010’s PS Vita.
One of the common rumours surrounding the PlayStation 6 is that it will come in two different versions: a traditional home console and a handheld version, which will be essentially a portable PlayStation 5.
Whether that’s actually true still isn’t clear but Sony has certainly hinted at a new handheld, and whatever else it does it will certainly be used for streaming.
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