Gamer Gets Nice Surprise When Their PlayStation Portal Arrives

Highlights

• The PlayStation Portal, despite mixed reviews, had high sales following its launch, with stock running out in many markets during the pre-order period.
• One lucky shopper who pre-ordered the device received two PlayStation Portals for the price of one, making for an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
• While the PlayStation Portal lacks certain features, such as Bluetooth connectivity and media playback, its success indicates the growing popularity and potential future of cloud gaming in the industry.

One lucky shopper got a nice surprise when their PlayStation Portal arrived in the mail. Despite the mixed response to Sony’s new streaming-focused PlayStation 5 accessory, sales for the new product have been relatively high in the immediate period following its November 15 launch.

During its pre-order period, the PlayStation Portal was already selling remarkably well, with stock running out in several markets across the globe. Although the product’s use case seemed rather niche at first blush, PlayStation fans all around the world were eager to get their hands on what is technically Sony’s first handheld gaming solution since the PS Vita.

RELATED: Sony Boss Says PlayStation Portal Isn’t Meant To Be a ‘Rival’ To The Nintendo Switch

One such fan was Reddit user SLR-1219, who shared what looked to be an early Christmas present in a post on the PlayStation subreddit. According to them, they purchased a pre-order for a PlayStation Portal earlier in September, only to find that their transaction had disappeared from their account.

After placing a second order for the new Sony handheld, SLR-1219 had assumed everything was finally in order. That is until the day their order was finally set to arrive because, instead of just getting one tracking link in their email, they received two. And to their surprise, on their doorstep were two PlayStation Portals. Upon checking their bank details, they discovered that they were only charged for one Portal. A pretty sweet deal, and oddly appropriate, too, considering how Black Friday is just around the corner.

Although some have been comparing Sony’s new handheld to contemporaries such as the Nintendo Switch, Valve Steam Deck, and ASUS ROG Ally, its closest relative is actually the Logitech G Cloud, which was released in late 2022. Despite how both products are positioned as a way to enjoy the benefits of cloud gaming on the go, the PlayStation Portal features a far more stripped-down feature set, lacking standard offerings such as Bluetooth connectivity, media playback, or even a functional web browser.

Regardless, the early success of the PlayStation Portal goes to show that the gaming market is continuing to evolve and that cloud gaming may play a significant role in the future of the industry. Despite Google Stadia shuttering its doors mere years after its launch, the popularity of remote play-oriented devices like the PlayStation Portal, Backbone, and others hint that Google might not have been misguided when it came to Stadia after all. The company was just too early; gamers weren’t ready to commit to a fully cloud-based game platform just yet.