PlayStation Portal takes rare price cut ahead of Prime Day – and it might just be enough to tempt me

The day I’ve been waiting for is finally here. The PlayStation Portal has finally shaved down its price tag for discount, and it’s the first I’ve seen to hit the shelves. I won’t lie, I haven’t really touched my PS5 since the Asus ROG Ally took over my life, but remote play from my bed? That might get me back in the DualSense’s good books. 

That’s why I’ve been waiting for a saving on Sony’s somewhat controversial handheld, and Amazon’s just delivered. You’ll find the PlayStation Portal on sale for £179.99 right now (was £199.99) for a full £20 off the original price. That’s a fantastic result, especially considering it was difficult even to find stock of this streamer just a few months ago. 

We’re still a whole weekend away from official Prime Day PS5 deals landing on our shelves, but if today’s offer is anything to go by we’re in for a real treat. I don’t, however, expect the PlayStation Portal to drop its price further in this year’s summer sale. £20 feels like a good starting point for the handheld’s major sale event debut, with further price cuts potentially coming over Black Friday. I’ll take a few extra months of playing Assassin’s Creed wherever I damn well please, thank you. 

Should you buy the PlayStation Portal?

(Image credit: Future / Phil Hayton)

My relationship with the PlayStation Portal has been something of a rollercoaster. I was here for it at the start – a PS5 accessory that actually enhanced how I interact with my console everyday? Sign me up. I’ve been an avid Remote Player for some time now, delicately balancing an iPad around me and hooking up a DualSense controller (only to have to re-pair it the console later). Between mobile controllers, the PlayStation Vita, and every kind of gaming handheld workaround you can imagine, I’ve tried it all. The Portal promised to solve every problem for me, and do it with a slick design to boot. 

Then came the concerns. Sony’s going to be Sony sometimes, and like a £100 PlayStation Vita memory card it sometimes leaves us scratching our heads. There’s no Bluetooth on the PlayStation Portal – instead the brand wants you to use its own earbuds or headsets. On top of that, it’s tricky to get the whole thing working on a public WiFi network. 

Phil put my worries at ease when they reviewed the system back in November. Their conclusion? The PlayStation Portal is made for people like me. I don’t need to play on my PS5 while out and about, but I would be pleased to have another way to access my games. If you’re a fellow Remote Play professional who never seems to get main TV rights, the Portal may well be your go-to as well. 

The Portal has its issues, but none of them seem to get in my way too much. I’m still excited by it, and now that that £200 price point doesn’t look so intimidating it might be time I took the plunge for myself.  

We’re also getting you prepped for all next week’s biggest Prime Day gaming deals, including Prime Day Nintendo Switch deals and Prime Day Asus ROG Ally deals to boot.