I got mine today, and whilst the layout takes a small amount of time to get used to, I find it pretty intuitive and easy to use. Obviously it’s not for everyone, but as someone who regularly loses the battle for the TV, this is hands-down a great purchase for me. Otherwise I’d have to use my phone, which is annoying as I have to disconnect my controller and connect it to my phone, and the screen is too small, or my laptop which is a bit too cumbersome. The Portal hits the sweet spot for me, it may not be for everyone, but I’m part of that niche that will use it regularly.

EDIT: My other gripe is the lack of being able to play through the cloud - I hope this is something to be added in the future as it’s literally just a WiFi controller with a screen.

I don’t have an Xbox, but that’s very kind of you, OP. Well done whomever gets it.

That’s a difficult one to classify as there’s no set period of time wherein something would be classified as retro (as you said). Personally, I’d say the PS2/original Xbox and earlier are retro consoles. The PS3/Xbox 360/Wii are on the precipice, but not quite over the hill yet. Give it another few years and they’ll be seen as “old tech”.

EDIT: I think everyone has a skewed version of what retro actually is. I hear retro and think anything that hadn’t progressed to 3D graphical capabilities; but I also forget the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii are all almost 20 years old!

Thanks for the advice - we do have a mesh network already, but I can’t hardwire the console due to the distance from the router (same room, but opposite sides). Ping is usually single digits, but I’ve still found even with a small number, latency can be a bit hit-or-miss. I’ve tried configuring settings to make things smoother, and I seem to have found some kind of sweet spot where drop-outs are less frequent, but there’s still times where it just refuses to work properly. Or even at all sometimes. I’ve seen in some preview videos that the Portal uses a “better” version of Remote Play due to how it’s been made, which swayed me in my decision to get it. With what you’ve said though, I may hold off until reviews come out before taking the plunge. Thanks again for your tips.

Copying text from another post:

The Portal is a day one purchase for me. Sure, it’s niche, but I often get kicked off the PS5 so my SO can watch TV, so this will be a godsend so I can keep playing. I do use the Remote Play app, but I find it often lags or almost loses connection too much, and the latency can sometimes be bad, even with our 400mbps internet connection. Hopefully with Sony engineering behind it, it will be more reliable connection-wise than Remote Play, and I’m excited to be able to jump straight in without having to mess around with opening apps and connecting or pairing controllers.

The Portal is a day one purchase for me. Sure, it’s niche, but I often get kicked off the PS5 so my SO can watch TV, so this will be a godsend so I can keep playing. I do use the Remote Play app, but I find it often lags or almost loses connection too much, and the latency can sometimes be bad, even with our 400mbps internet connection. Hopefully with Sony engineering behind it, it will be more reliable connection-wise than Remote Play, and I’m excited to be able to jump straight in without having to mess around with opening apps and connecting or pairing controllers!

It’s so strange when a recognised public figure follows you. Personally, I feel almost estranged from it - it’s not the kind of life I live so it’s bizarre that it happened (even though I doubt Britney would ever see any of my Tweets anyways, as she follows ~350,000 people).

A few months ago, I moved myself onto a “live and let live” outlook on life. If people like things I don’t, good for them; I’m glad they can find enjoyment in what I can’t - it’s what keeps life interesting. I did once fall into the “x is better than y” and “popular = bad” pit, but using all your energy saying about how y is bad and x is good is just a waste of time when you could just be doing x instead and enjoying yourself.

I’ve not Tweeted in about 6 years, and have never Tweeted about her, or to her. I actually thought it would be a fake account when I saw “Britney Spears wants to follow you”, but to my genuine surprise it was actually her official account.

I’ve only kept my Twitter because for some reason Britney Spears follows me. I would have gotten rid of it a long time ago before now. I have no interest in Threads. If people like it, great, it’s just not for me.