(Credit: Sony PlayStation)
Sony is giving the gift of cloud gaming to the PlayStation Portal—meaning you no longer need a pricey PS5 to enjoy the handheld.
"PlayStation Plus Premium members will be able to participate in a beta for cloud streaming on PS Portal, allowing select PS5 games in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog to be streamed directly from our servers, even without a PS5 console," Sony says.
Over 120 PS5 games—including Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Monster Hunter Rise, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart—will be available through the cloud on the handheld.
PS Portal cloud gaming promises up to 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second. This is good enough, but arguably the bare minimum for fast-paced games or shooter titles that typically need a minimum of 60fps without visible screen tearing, blurring, or other distracting visual issues. (For high-stakes competitive shooters, a stable 120 to 240fps or more is ideal these days.)
This 60fps maximum on the PS Portal appears to be due to hardware constraints built into its 8-inch screen (PCMag's original PSP review rates the screen as mediocre and the device "fair" overall for a number of reasons).
If your internet connection is 13Mbps or more, you can stream games at 1080p, but if it's between 7Mbps and 13Mbps, you'll be stuck streaming at 720p.
Controller haptic feedback will be present while cloud gaming, though, as well as adaptive triggers, speakers, an emulated touchpad, and a motion sensor to give you a classic PlayStation experience despite the smaller device.
Previously, PSP gaming was only available through Wi-Fi and required a PlayStation 5 console. Now, you can play PS5-exclusive games with just a $200 handheld. By comparison, the PS5 Pro sells for $700, while the PS5 Slim version is $500. But of course, the full-size consoles come with many more perks and the potential for a massive screen, ray-tracing for better graphics, and a top-of-the-line 4K gaming experience overall.
Cloud-gaming capabilities are rolling out now via a software update. You'll need a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription and a PlayStation Network account to access it. Once you download the update, you can enable the cloud streaming beta on your PSP's settings menu. Then, a cloud streaming option should appear on the home screen.
The beta will be available in 30 countries to start, including the US, UK, Canada, Japan, and a number of European countries. Check out Sony's blog post to see if yours is on the list.