Bad news, the PlayStation Portal is getting a price hike along with the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro consoles. Sony’s Vice President, Global Marketing, Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed the rumored rise in costs in a blog post on Friday, with the price increase effective April 2. The reasoning? “The global economic landscape.”
PlayStation 5 Price Changes in the US
PS5 – $649.99 (up from $549.99)PS5 Digital Edition – $599.99 (up from $499.99)PS5 Pro – $899.99 (up from $749.99)PlayStation Portal – $249.99 (up from $199.99)
Sony is recommending the remote player go up $50 in the US, starting at $249.99, rather than its previous $199.99. That means you still have a few days to score the PS Portal at its lower price until it increases on Thursday. Luckily, most major retailers have the gaming handheld in stock at its launch MSRP for now, so you can get it during the short window before the 25% cost increase takes effect.
Where to Buy the PS Portal
PlayStation DirectWalmartPlayStation DirectWalmart
Now, this news isn’t shocking given the current state of the world. We saw Nintendo increase the original Switch price last year, and it hinted at the potential rise in cost of the Switch 2 and Switch games. Last May, Xbox consoles, controllers, and headsets all saw price increases, and it looks like Sony is just following suit.
More About the PlayStation Portal
Sony’s remote player is an awesome device for those who don’t want to always be stuck playing the top PS5 games in front of their TV. It lets you game from anywhere with a strong Wi-Fi connection. While the PS Portal used to require the PlayStation 5 console even to function, Sony recently added support for cloud game streaming, making it more versatile than ever. However, you’ll need a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription to cloud game.
Even though it doesn’t offer all the functionality of the best handheld gaming PCs, the PlayStation Portal has a similar design. Familiar DualSense-style controls flank a stunning 1080p LCD with a 60Hz refresh rate. Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are also available in supported games.
In our PlayStation Portal review, Seth G. Macy gave it a “Great” 8/10 rating. He found: “It’s such a better experience than using your phone with a slap-on controller, and it works so much better than I was anticipating. I really love the freedom it gives me to play my PS5 from anywhere with decent WiFi coverage, especially when the rest of my family was using the TV to (somewhat ironically) play the Switch.”
Where to Buy the PS5 Before The New Price Hike
If you’ve been considering getting a new PS5 console, now is going to be the best time given the increase in prices. Here’s where to buy the consoles before the costs rise:
PS5 Fornite Bundle – $449 (save $200)PS5 Digital Fornite Bundle – $399 (save $200)PS5 Pro – $749 (save $150)
Danielle is a Tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.
