In May, Sony first announced "Project Q", a new device that would allow owners of its PlayStation 5 console to play their games remotely in their homes. Today at Gamescom 2023, Sony announced both the name and the price of the device for the first time.
The product will now be called the PlayStation Portal and, as previously revealed back in May, it will have an 8-inch display sandwiched between a DualSense controller. The display will allow gamers to play their PS5 games remotely on their home network via WiFi with a 1080p resolution and up to 60 fps. It will also have a 3.5 mm headphone jack for wired headphones.
The display will also be a touchscreen. In another post on the PlayStation blog, Sony stated:
Extending your thumbs towards the bottom corners of the display brings up two transluscent rectangles onscreen, representing a virtual touchpad. One moment in Astro Bot’s Playroom requires players to “zip” up a suit with a swipe up on the touchpad – the new virtual version makes this feel like second nature.
The device won"t be able to play any PS VR2 games, nor any games streamed from its PlayStation Plus Premium cloud gaming service.
The PlayStation Portable will go on sale later in 2023 for the price of $199.99 in the US, 219.99 Euros in Europe, £199.99 in the UK, and 29,980 Yen in Japan. Pre-orders will be available but there"s no date for those yet.
Sony also announced new PlayStation-branded wireless headphones and earbuds. The Pulse Elite headphones and the Pulse earbuds will both be able to connect wirelessly to the PS5 and the PlayStation Portable with Sony"s new PlayStation Link technology. It stated:
This innovation delivers low latency, lossless audio and easy switching between multiple PlayStation Link hosts such as PS5 with the USB adapter and PlayStation Portal.
Both products will also use planar magnetic drivers that Sony claims will offer an audio experience that normally is reserved for high-priced headphones used by professional audio engineers. The Pulse Elite headphones will be priced at $149.99 and the Pulse Explore earbuds will be priced at $199.99. Both will go on sale later this year.