dschons

@rjejr You can check what's missing for the next rank on your PS Stars profile page

I'll be playing Avatar, the RE4 VR Mode and Arizona Sunshine 2. Bring it on, I am pumped for all of them.

@zekepliskin It was certainly one of my worries before the Portal arrived here. I consider myself somewhat "techy", but I am certainly not an expert when it comes to streaming technologies. My hope was that the Portal would use another protocol or something like that which sets itself apart in some way referring to that, does not seem to be the case.
However, otherwise, I think this device offers a lot actually due to screen size and comfort alone. My other remote play options do not offer that at all. Backbone + phone works well enough but screen size is an issue, the tablet takes care of screen size but the portability just isn't there. As you said: The Portal could have nailed it but the outcome with micro stutters isn't satisfying, which makes it all the more frustrating.

As for future updates: I could see it go both ways honestly. With Sony, you never know if they care enough. This is definitely something that can be patched though. My dilemma is that you have to see it for yourself. Obviously, I could send it back and wait for updates and check various socials whether the issue has been resolved. But then what? Buy it again to realize it hasn't changed anything on my end and send it back yet again? I might just keep it and hope for the best.

@Luigia I truly hope so, so that it will improve. I was planning to play the sh*t out of this thing. Reality right now is that I am not using it at all because of it, lol.

I was thinking about sending it back but something inside of me tells me they have to do something about it. Single third party devs offering a better experience is quite embarrassing if you think about it. Let's just hope it is not wishful thinking. You never know with Sony.

@Luigia Not necessary. Sony has all the data available from the people using the device. A post on socials probably won't even be seen. 100% sure they are aware of the matter. The question is whether they will take action.

@MasterEMFG If you don't care about the handheld aspect and don't mind putting a tablet beside you and use a controller, the Portal is pretty much useless imo.

Please let it be good! Don't f this one up.

@ear_wig It's reassuring to hear, as negative as it is for consumers at large. I've been able to replicate this issue in TLOU Part I. I've played the exact same section with the Portal, then with my phone with the official remote play app and then with my phone and the PSPlay app. After each run, I reloaded the save file. Only with the portal and my phone with the official remote play app, I've been able to replicate stutters in the exact same moments whereas phone + PSPlay didn't show any micro stutters at all. As you said: It's specifically frustrating because it is the only thing that bothers me in an otherwise excellent device. Fingers crossed it will be addressed by Sony! This thing could be the ultimate handheld experience with the PS5.

I like the Portal but imo it has one major issue: Bitrate. In my case, this leads to frequent micro stutters which do not make it unplayable but are certainly annoying to me. I have the same issue via the official remote play app with both my phone and my tablet. This does not happen at all with the PSPlay app which lets you set the bitrate to auto or manually. I've done some digging and found out that the Portal/ remote play app uses a rather high bitrate which is fixed (also shows in my router). According to the PSPlay dev on Reddit, this is generally disadvantageous, even with blazing fast internet and Wi-Fi connections. Digital Foundry has pointed this out as well which gave me some relief because I was thinking I'm seeing things, lol.

Don't get me wrong: Aside from that, I absolutely adore this device but once you see it, it is impossible to unsee. Apparently, a lot of people do not even notice them. And I do not claim to be a know-it-all and pretend that everyone has them and simply does not see them, in my case there is a crystal clear pattern that always links back to issues with the official remote play, even after exhausting all the options (unlplugging HDMI, prioritizing the Portal in my network, dedicating a specific 5 Ghz channel for it, interference measures, PS5 system settings changes...and many more).

I seriously hope Sony is aware of that and a patch with additional options referring to bitrate will be introduced. Because I wanna love this device, it's just that one issue that dampens my enjoyment a bit.

@obiwan3001 no, it's not. Exact same technology.

@DonkeyFantasy Colin Moriarty commented on this on one of his podcasts that he has some info on how much this game bombed. He did not provide any specific data but said something along the lines of "completely bombed, like not even 50.000 copies sold bombed".

@Exerion76 not a whole lot from first party but quite a bit 2nd and 3rd party exclusives.

I got a code around launch via a friend for very cheap. I haven't finished it yet, about half way through but imo, it's a very competent first person shooter with an interesting setting.

Clearing a bit of my PSVR2 backlog and starting Sea of Stars on the Portal (yes, I've been waiting on purpose for that one).

@BNAG_Gamer That's what a lot of people have. And some of those still buy one. Maybe, just maybe they have a use case for such a device that you do not seem to have.

@Member_the_game Easy solution. Try it out with your phone and imagine being the screen and controls much better. Latency will be the same.

@Shepherd_Tallon You don't even need super fast internet. Most important is a stable Wi-Fi connection. I got mine yesterday and I can see myself using this a ton. Absolutely no issues so far. Obviously, some games tend to lend themselves more to remote play than others but that's fine for me. It's an accessory and not there to replace playing on a big screen entirely.
I tested a lot of games just for the sake of testing which ones make sense for me and which don't. The results were surprising to say the least. In Alan Wake 2 I noticed next to nothing in terms of input lag, the same for Ratchet and even Elden Ring and Demon's Souls. Spidey 2 was perfectly playable as well. For some reason Uncharted 4 was one where I thought "doable but certainly not optimal". I would assume the same for FPS games. But then again, some of those are more tanky by nature than others. I guess that's what makes the most difference. Very responsive games can probably all be enjoyed with remote play.

@CroCopTeam Apparently yes. At least that's what I got from a video I watched today.

I may be a headphone snob, but whenever reviewers talk about the sound profile and only mention bass, I've read enough.

@ThaBen they will work with VR just like any other non BT headphone. Pretty much the same connection as the Pulse 3D via PS Link.

Far Cry games are my guilty pleasure and I like the Avatar universe. Yeah, this one's for me, looking forward to it.

@Shepherd_Tallon I find it way easier to adapt to a slight input delay, but when you hit an enemy or fire a gun and the sound comes out 100 ms later, it throws me off so much more. I'll use my wired headphones until the Pulse Elite comes out. I'd love to get the earbuds but I'm worried because my ear canals tend to get sweaty/greasy when not properly ventilated which sometimes resulted in residue on the earbuds, which can be hard to clean at the grills and such. But they are obviously a top notch solution for the device. Enjoy them, mate!

I get the complaint about the lack of Bluetooth support. That said, I cannot imagine anyone using it in the first place. While it does not matter as much when listening to music, I personally could never take audio delay in games. For me, it is so much harder to adjust to than a slight control delay.
Obviously, you'll have a much better time with very responsive games when there's a little input lag added. In fact, with some games, it doesn't feel like delay at all whereas other games with more "tanky" controls can really become unplayable with remote play.

Looking forward to using it excessively over the next couple of weeks. If it does not live up to my standards, it is going back for a refund. Simple. Fingers crossed.

@Shepherd_Tallon it's wild how immersive VR can be with horror games in particular. Unfortunately, I'm not scared at all when playing flat. I do notice eerie atmosphere and enjoy it but I'm never scared. In VR though... Good lord, when playing Paradise Hotel yesterday, I literally stood in a hallway for a minute and didn't dare to go round the corner.

@Shepherd_Tallon I've been waiting with RE4 because I wanted to experience it in VR first but it is so hard, I want to play it really badly. Capcom, do not let us wait too much longer.

Propagation: Paradise Hotel (PSVR2)

Get ready for a detailed explanation from a respected member of this community why at least half of the games listed here are not suitable for children at all, lol.

@Shepherd_Tallon Good call! Those might actually fit with a little bit of stretching. I just checked my Switch and Sense controllers, size is very similar.

@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah, I've seen that one, thank you! Maybe, I'll just buy a case, probably no need for a screen protector. I'm not particularly talented at putting them on. And when I nail it, there's an annoying dust spec somewhere, lol.

@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah, probably not but I will still look out for caps in the future. Surely, someone will make some or there'll be other ones that fit the sticks well enough.

@P7um82 "I make no excuses for being fortunate enough to able to play my console in a different room to that of my main tv."

Me neither. In fact, my PS5 is in another room with its own setup. One of my points was that there are still instances or individual preferences that can still sometimes trump that option without replacing it. It's worth it for me, it isn't for you and the vast majority of PS5 owners and that is fine. You take care, too.

@Shepherd_Tallon Afaik, they're using the thumbsticks of the PSVR2 Sense controllers which are smaller than the DS4/Dualsense ones. But yes, I've been thinking about thumbstick caps as well. Maybe there'll be some 3rd party ones down the line. Although I have to say I never wore any of mine down but I remember this being an issue with the first few batches with the DS4.

@P7um82 Way to misrepresent what I was actually saying while at the same time ignoring deviances that might not apply to your own home environment or preferences. You're right: Under these circumstances, there's no chance we agree on anything, which btw. was never a goal to begin with. Have a good one.

@P7um82 Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to convince anyone of the device, just to give you some perspective as to why this device does attract people with specific use cases. If you had bad experiences with remote play in the past, I can totally see why you do not want it when you have better alternatives. I don't quite get the squeezing money remark though. It's an optional accessory that no one is badgered into buying, especially since Sony is already providing remote play for no additional cost in case you want to use your PC, tablet or smartphone. The Portal is aimed at people that like remote play but want additional benefits, such as screen size or better haptics. Yes, very niche. But I happen to fall into that category. My girlfriend would kill me if I placed an additional monitor on the coffee table in front of our couch, lol.

@Shepherd_Tallon Will you be getting a screen protector for your unit? I was waiting for an unboxing like that to see whether there's maybe a softcase that comes with it but does not seem to be the case. Now, I am contemplating whether I should buy a case, a screen protector or both. I'll probably not use it outside of my home.

@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah, I agree. People also forget or do not know that resolution only matters in conjunction with screen size. 4K does not give you anything when you're too far away, which is a lot closer than a lot of people believe. For the Portal screen 1080p is the sweetspot. If it were 4K, you would have to hold it much closer to your face.

As for the audio: I have no idea mate. People are probably just reading "does not support Bluetooth" and that's what they derive from it, lol.

In general, I always chuckle when I see comments in the vein of "Device x should have function y, what are they thinking?!" as if Sony does not consider all of it thoroughly. I get the feeling people base their judgments on what they want the device to be, not what it is. This is a dedicated remote play device for people with a specific use case and it most likely won't speak to the masses, I get it. But there's a difference between "I have no use case for that" and "This thing is trash"

@P7um82 Let me address your points one by one:

1. Use case: Sometimes, the TV is in use by someone else. Yet, you still might want to play and stay in the same room, e.g. occassionally talking to someone else while they're watching TV. Also, it can be used anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection, so you can also use it out of your own home.

2. Yes, you will be able to hear without proprietary ear buds. Either by using the speakers on the unit or the headphone jack.

3. Internet connection - biggest misconception I'm seeing everywhere: People tend to believe the higher your bandwith, the better the remote play experience and that you need a comically fast one to enjoy remote play. However, the ceiling is reached rather quickly for 1080p streaming. It doesn't matter whether you have a 20 MBit or a 1000 MBit connection, the experience will most likely be the same.

I still buy physical whenever I can but more out of pragmatic reasons these days. Every once in a while, there's a game that I end up not liking, so I can make the majority of money back quickly. Also, I always get games 2-5 days early (nice little bonus) and they are usually cheaper here.

In the past, I used to love looking at my games on the shelf and build a collection. However, that has changed over the last couple of years, it doesn't really give me anything any more. I'll probably still buy physical as long as I can for the reasons mentioned above but a digital only future certaintly won't stop me from gaming altogether. I also had no issue buying Alan Wake 2 at launch. Also, depending on how the Portal will perform, I could see myself getting annoyed with physical more and more if PS5 remote play becomes a frequent playstyle for me.

It could be a neon green cardboard box for all I care. That said, yes, I think neither of them are particularly pretty.

His game of the year? Lies of P.

@Nepp67 If I remember correctly, one of their teams is working on a new IP.

@Constable_What "I finished it, only have 1 trophy to get, but I missed something and I'm locked out."

I feel your pain. I missed literally one beep . I wasn't even going for the Plat and saw it after the fact. Now it annoys me, lol.

As for the question: Rock solid 9 from me. If it wasn't for some of the Alan sections, could have been a 10.

@Max_the_German After all the DLC has been released maybe.

Not only did it come very close to From Software games in the same genre for me, it also brought some fresh ideas as well. My surprise hit of the year.

Some pretty weird stuff has been piling up over the last few months. Hopefully, the situation isn't as dire as it seems.

@HonestHick Yeah, I can see why. As much as I love my wired cans sound-wise, sometimes I wish I would have never tried them. Because I was happy with the sound I knew and being able to walk around while still chatting to my friends. Ignorance is bliss, lol. But I simply can't go back now.

@HonestHick headphone audio is one of few areas where higher monetary value doesn't (necessarily) equal better quality. Especially with wireless gaming branded headsets where you're mostly paying for features, not for audio quality.

@Arkham24601 replacement velours pads will probably be available shortly after launch, at least that's how it went with the Pulse 3D.

When I'm trying to be as objective as possible 9/10. On a personal note, I'd give it an 8/10, simply due to the fact that I am not too much into the whole super heroes thing in general. But it is hard to deny that this is a high quality game. I simply hope Insomniac won't turn into a Marvel only studio.

@gaston They'd be so dumb. They gotta know that a new VR title would be one of the safest bets.