PS5, PS4 Finally Go Portable with Officially Licensed PlayStation Backbone One

Surprised it isn’t launching alongside an app to stream the PS Plus games with a subscription.

Basically a reskinned Razer Kishi.

If they release an Android Playstation edition I'll get it :0

No android phones?

No android no deal

Yeah no love for android?

Cool for lazy days, when I fancy gaming in bed with a coffee, but not exactly something you can play your library on out of the house.
And it mentions apple, but what about android products, too? I assume it'll be a "one size fits all" thing?

What about the ugly notch?

buy an overpriced phone to play your ps5

no android? 🤢
ill pass

Fellow Android users who want a piece of this: just get yourself a Razer Kishi and the PSPlay app from the Play Store and you're sorted

@nessisonett at least with iOS they banned cloud gaming apps, as it breaks their terms of service(or in other terms it makes no money for Apple).

@elpardo1984 GeForce Now gets around that though. Web applications can be installed as normal apps and still work.

Ooookay. I'm taking my wife's IP12 Pro when she upgrades to 14 this November 😁

@nessisonett We could already stream games to other devices for free long before the new Plus so that would have made people pretty mad

@zebric21 I hate the notch. I’d much rather have a slightly larger bezel. The notch is hideous.

They should finally licence out an a
Accessibility Controller, Playstation is the only Console that doesnt have one. Strange since they act like making their Games accessibile is so important for them

Oh great, an iPhone add on but nothing for the SONY Xperia phones, eh? Ah well, back to the Vita...

And another thing, stick the analogue sticks in the right place! We are not XBots..

Perfection! Can't wait for the android version in November!

@Smiffy01 No. It's literally a reskinned Backbone One. Lolol

@get2sammyb Don't bother. The Backbone One doesn't support Android yet.

I almost bought one of these a few weeks ago. But it's been on the market so long I anticipate a v2 is around the corner. Hopefully it will support connecting to phones in thin cases. I hate the idea of needing to take my phone out of its case to play games for a little.

Im an Android user, so this is dust in the wind to me.

the biggest issue with the backbone is it does not work with your iphone case on at the same time... everytime you want to game with it, you would need to remove your phone case which is a giant pain in the arse imo.

For anyone that didn’t click on the link, the product is there for both iPhone and Android: https://playbackbone.com/products/backbone-one-android/
There’s also a black version.

@NielsNL @Ken_Kaniff it's coming in November for Android by the looks of it:
https://playbackbone.com/gb/products/backbone-one-android/

Hopefully Sony will licence this with the PS controls too?

I was actually considering getting a Backbone at one point but it had to be imported from USA then so I didn't go through with it.
This time, while it doesn't technically launch in my country, I should have no problem getting one from Germany with the EU. Nice.
And yeah, I hope this means there's also an app to stream PS Plus Premium games, not just Remote Play. Would be a great way to play the PS3 games.

@nessisonett yeah, thought you meant full app store apps. Didnt realise they didnt have one!

@MulletproofPunk I agree! I have the Razor Kishi and PSPlay app for my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Both work so well together. I can play PS4/PS5 games in bed at 1080p with HDR on my phone! I don't use it very often, but when I do, it's amazing! The PSPlay app even supports gyro controls and rumble thru the phone! That app puts Sony's app to shame. That being said, I've heard good things about the Backbone, if an android version comes out, I might get one.

Not sure if it’s fixed with this version but previous versions of the Backbone are incompatible with most phone cases, so that’s a bit of a bummer if it’s still the case. I will say that I’ve been using Remote Play on my iPad with a DualSense almost every day and been a great experience streaming from the PS5, so if you’re worried about steaming quality it might be worth trying it out yourself. It’s a pretty big improvement over PS4 streaming IMO.

"..the PS Remote Play app has been recently updated to even allow you to wake up your console whatever you are".

Muahahaha.

• Sincerely, everyone's cat

Only iPhone? I was going to switch from iPhone thinking it’s unlikely they would allow any future ps app for streaming given what happened with MS.

Digital only though so absolutely no interest from me. Vita was ace and it had carts

My memories are not fond of either console. The hardware themselves were amazing! The support from Sony was nonexistent and made the purchases of both seem worthless.

Bring back the PSP, Sony.

Does PS Remote Play support HDR on iPhones? I know there is an option in the PS RP app to turn on HDR, but wondered if iPhones (like the iPhone 11 Pro Max I have) would display the HDR properly. I am interested in this setup but I'd really want it to support HDR.

Eeew offset sticks?

I'll just get a cheap controller this doesnt work with Android & has none of the dualsense features that would make me interested

Streaming? No thanks.

With Sony putting all of their games on PC, the next best thing would be a Steam Deck, where you can play games natively.

Seeing that picture make me miss psvita and psp.it was extremely fun.word up son

How about Android for most everyone outside North America.
Rather have a portable PS4.

Needs Android support which will come but I would rather wait for my Steam Deck and install windows to play remotely unless someone can tell me that doesn't work?

On their website they have the Xbox version (same layout, controls just different icons) they have it for either Apple or Android so this will most likely work for Android.

The Xbox version on Android
https://playbackbone.com/gb/products/backbone-one-android/

I was going to buy a Backbone when I got my iPhone 13 Pro a few months back but they didn’t include the adapter.

Now there’s a PlayStation version with adapter included! Sign me up.

Just need UK shipping now 😅

@Reyren Sony making an "official' controller w/ offset thumbsticks really bothers me. It's like Sony saying - Hey, play our Sony games w/ an Xbox controller b/c we know you don't like the same controller we've been using for 25 years. 😝

I'm ok that it exists, I play w/ the Pro Controller on Switch, but if Sony wants to license an "official" Sony version it needs to have the 25 year old PS controller design.

@get2sammyb It doesn't bother you that Sony "officially licensed" an Xbox controller design after 25 years of 5 different PS models all having the same basic design?

When can we get an "officially licensed" Sony controller that looks like this? 🤷‍♂️

@rjejr it bothers me but there is a lot of licensed PS controllers that don't have the sticks at the same height.

So they are licensing this add on that doesn't even support Sony's own phones? Also they could have had the stick placement different between the PlayStation and Xbox models.

@DTfeartheBEARD psplay really puts the official app to shame. One of the few apps I actually purchased.

Meanwhile I have a clip so I can mount my phone to my "spare" Dualsense controller. Works great including all the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback

@get2sammyb
I’ve read the Android one is coming in November apparently. Not been able to confirm though.

I already have a dual shock 4 and a clip and goes on my android phone if I want to game, this has not much interest to me honestly and is quite overpriced

@theheadofabroom yeah even that is a far better option that using this official product

Funny timing, I was just looking into this stuff! For XB I was thinking of getting a KishiV2 which is basically a Backbone clone, but isn't iOS locked like Backbone.

But does anyone know if KishiV2 works with PS remote play and/or Plus Premium streaming? Now was garbage with the streaming but I know little of current PS remote play and Plus streaming. The Kishi setup would work well for XB, but I was hoping to either stream PS or rig one of my PS4s as a streaming box the way I use my XSS.

This is something great for people like me who have constant long stay at hospitals due to health. It gets boring in there so to play some games on the down time would be incredible

Eh. Plenty of portable PCs coming in the near future. And with Sony releasing their stuff on steam etc I'm really gonna have no use for this.

The left stick is in the wrong place

Actually, did this mean Plus Premium streaming will work on mobile now? Or is this just remote play fanfare?

I still have to set a streaming PS4 up

There's infinitely more compatible Android phones on the market that would fit something like this without too much variance.

@rjejr I agree it needs symmetric thumb-sticks if it's to carry the PS logo.

We PS users don't have mutant left thumbs!

@MattBoothDev Agreed, all the Android phones in our family have USB-C ports in the middle of the bottom of the phones so they would easily support this.

While I can see some of the point of this, it's just a £100 (yes, that's £99.99!) clip on to a streaming device, same as the Vita could do with the PS4, especially when teaming with the Hori grip.

Difference was the Vita and it's forebear could game on the go with cartridges/UMDs & memory cards , not just within Wi-Fi distance of your home console. So ultimately, it's a waste of plastic.

Bring on the PSP3 please!

In addition to costing £100 to purchase, it appears it requires an app sub of £43 per year to work. That's half as much as an annual sub to PS Extra, just to keep a peripheral working.

The joysticks are positioned wrongly at least one of them. So no buy for me 🙃

@sanderson72 I do have teeny tiny thumbs. I'm 5'10" and my 5'3" wife has the same size hands as me. 😂

@GymratAmarillo I have a lot of 3rd party controllers for PS1 and 2, a lot of them junk that broke, but I'm pretty sure I've never had 1 with offset sticks. Guess I never looked though.

I suppose it's ok that Sony offers the option, options are always good, Nintendo Switch has a Pro b/c nobody w/ adult hands wants to game with Joycon, but as a licensed product for an iPhone it still seems weird and I would have preferred the Sony way, most of those phone controllers are the other way already.

Is there any news of a android version coming soon???

PS5 at home. Switch on the go. XBox nowhere to be seen. Life is good.

Solves the holder necessity, at least, but still a compromise incomparable to a proper handheld like Vita in this regard. And if you're an Android user, the peripheral costs suddenly escalate to the price of an iPhone.😅

Honestly, far be it from me to consult Sony on their policies, but between stunts like PlayStation Classic and Chinese third parties dishing out handheld gaming devices by the dozen, would it be TOO expensive and commercially unviable to just release, I dunno, some kind of a Playstation Legacy - two pairs of shoulder buttons, clickable sticks, the rest being a good ol' Vita with optionally somewhat beefier hardware (to make room for at least limited PS2 emulation)? At least three or four platforms' worth of aforesaid legacy content plus PS4 and PS5 Remote Play with adequate controls (maybe minus some DualSense schticks to cut costs, but I'm sure the current library would still be more than playable), maybe even streaming Premium's PS3 titles since a Vita tier resolution would be more stream-friendly... what's not to love? Or does dedicated portable gaming hardware really have no purpose in other companies' corporate eyes than to one-up Nintendo? Time will tell, but if there's one positive thing about the subject of this post, it's that basic accessibility for gamers above the college age is something Sony isn't entirely dismissive about after all.

If I wanted to take a step backwards in gaming I’d buy a series s

$100 plus an annual $40(ish?) subscription fee just to use a phone clip-on that has the cockeyed Xbox/Switch layout? Um, no thanks.

I wonder if this would work with an iPad. If it does, that’d be amazing

Got mine today, can't wait to try it out later today!

@XinGViruS I'd love to know your thoughts on this, and how you find using it with PS Remote Play. I never have time to play my PS4 on the TV but use the Switch handheld a lot. I prefer Playstation games however, so am keen to seen if this might be a good purchase.

@JaapV For me it's working really well, I don't notice any lag when using it. I find the controller to be quite comfy and built well. I have an iPhone Max, the bigger size, and with that it's fine for most games as long there's not tons of tiny text. So keep that in mind if you have a smaller size phone. Besides that, it also depends on the type of games you'll play. And also having a lot of fun playing Apple Arcade games with it, so for me this will always be in my bag when going somewhere.

@XinGViruS Thanks for the update! Are you using it with a PS4 or PS5? I ask because it's hard to get clear, up to date information regarding Remote Play performance with PS4. I don't want to but a backbone and find the PS4 is not up to giving a good experience. Thanks again for your reply.

Mine has arrived and it’s okay. You don’t need the mentioned app just the ps remote play app. The only omission is the lack of a physical button that maps to the physical press of the ps joypad touch pad. It’s actually a disappointment given the number of games that use this. The backbone it self is okay. Ps remote play performance is dependant on your network connection speed. When playing local you really need your ps connected to your network with a lab cable with the only wireless bit from the Wi-Fi box to the phone. Looks good on the oled of an iPhone XS.

@JaapV PS5, completely via wifi.

@solidox out of interest, and as I’m gunning to buy one of these things, what do you do to access the joypad instead? Is it a on screen kinda button push instead?

In the upper centre of the device screen is a virtual touch pad area you press. Was why i was disappointed they bit not map it to a physical button. It’s not the most ergonomic solution. Have played Elden ring vs the volcano manor boss using it. No issues regarding the backbone controller.

@JaapV there is a virtual on screen button. It disappears and not permanently displayed.

@solidox Thanks for the reply! I think I'll get one... Only issue is I have a PS4, not PS5 – seems people think PS4 Remote Play is less reliable than PS5? Hard to get up to date information on that front. I'm dying to play Last of Us Part 2, Dark Souls III, Death Stranding portable. I just can't get the time on the TV these days to play them otherwise. Hoping the Backbone is a good solution for my current entertainment blues.

@JaapV I had a PS4 before I got a ps5. My experience is pretty much the same on both. Both consoles were hardwired to my router which helps hugely for remote play. The biggest challenge come from the connection speed between the remote play device and the ps console.

@solidox thanks again! I have a mesh system in my home, so should be ok I hope… PS4 is hard wired to router. 5Ghz, which should be ample… weird that the PS4 shows such crappy upload speed of 8Mbps though. My connection is way higher so must be limited by the server / console.