Three cheers for Sony, as it just knocked the PlayStation Portal down to a price I'd actually pay. In the grand scheme of things, $20 off isn't a lot, but it is enough for me to recommend the handheld since it now has more streaming abilities than at launch. That said, while there are numerous reasons to pick up the remote player at its lowest price, I would strongly advise having a look at alternatives before clicking buy.
Let me first properly fill you in on Sony's Black Friday deal, though. Right now, you can grab the PlayStation Portal for $179.99 at PS Direct. As I've already spoiled, that's $20 less than usual, but enough to bring the what could be described as the best gaming handheld for PS5 games to a record low price.
Before I start telling you to consider other handhelds, let me shower the Portal with some praise. Sony's "remote player" is one of the nicest portables I've had the pleasure of holding, and it's thanks to its integrated DualSense controls. It's effectively just a lightweight screen sandwiched between a PS5 gamepad, which feels like a hard formula to mess up.
You're getting all the perks of a DualSense too, including haptic triggers, and that makes sense given its initial one trick was being a Remote Play device for PS5. Since then, it has taught itself the skills required to exist outside your house, as it can now connect to public Wi-FI and hotspots, stream cloud games via a PS Plus subscription, and allow players to play their digital PS5 games without connecting to the console.
Simply put, it's a better handheld than it was last year, but it's still pretty limited compared to everything else out there. You can't run games natively on a Portal, and its sole purpose right now is to either connect to your PS5 or the cloud. That's a bummer if you've been waiting for a PS Vita successor, and I find it slightly silly since I vividly recall even Sony tablets being able to run PS1 classics officially in the early 2010s.
So, if you do want a handheld that isn't tethered to the internet, but can still pull off the same PS5 tricks, what are your options? Well, I've been messing around with making my own PlayStation Portals since before the device even launched, and there are a whole host of Android alternatives that fit the brief.
If I'm being real, some of the solid options double up as the best retro handheld options for general emulation shenanigans, albeit higher-end picks. You can install the official PS Remote Play app and pop it on virtually any device, but the trick is ensuring you can get button mapping to work. As a workaround, I actually use Chiaki, which sorts out the inputs for you and actually seems to provide a steadier connection to your PS5.
Some of the specific handhelds I'd personally go for do cost more than $180, but they're not dramatically more expensive considering the extra abilities. I'm currently testing the Retroid Pocket 5, for example, and not only can it run a bunch of your backed-up retro console games, including the PS2, but it can do PS5 Remote Play without a hitch.
- Check for Retroid Pocket 5 deals at Amazon
Its screen size perhaps isn't ideal, but even the Anbernic RG Cube can technically do Remote Play since it's using Android. The aspect ratio isn't remotely ideal for PS5 games since it's square, but it's still a more versatile option than the actual PS Portal. I've also turned the Logitech G Cloud and Razer Edge into alternatives in the past, but they can be tricky to find for near the same price.
I should also note that while paying under $200 for a handheld is appealing, you could put that money towards a gaming handheld with PC capabilities. That in itself would grant you access to way more games, including PS5 ports when they reach Steam and the Epic Game Store, resulting in something that feels more like an actual PlayStation Portable rather than a streaming device.
Am I saying you should buy the $1,000 Xbox ROG Ally X to play PlayStation games rather than the PS Portal? Well, no, as that's an absurd upspend, but despite being infused with Microsoft console-DNA, it's technically a great option for running Sony's latest first-party outings on PC. There are various cheaper alternatives, including the Steam Deck OLED and the original Asus ROG Ally, and they will fill in for the remote player while also being powerful on-the-go gaming PCs.
I'll be keeping a close watch out for handhelds throughout this year's sale, and I've even got a dedicated place for Black Friday Steam Deck deals. Again, I'm not saying you shouldn't buy a PlayStation Portal, as it's still one of the best options specifically for streaming PS5 games. If you'd rather pick up a portable that can do more, though, you might want to bide your time and wait for a solid alternative.
- See the full Black Friday sale at PS Direct
- View more gaming handhelds at Amazon
Looking for more offers? Swing by Black Friday retro deals for classic consoles and handhelds. You'll also want to keep tabs on Black Friday gaming monitor and Black Friday 120Hz 4K TVs too if you're after screen savings.
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