Sony has made the PlayStation Portal system version 6.0.0 software update available, and the gaming community is going through a… moment. The announcement was made in the usual “corporate glowing” way, with star emojis, a link to the website, etc., and the players’ reactions ranged from overwhelming happiness to extreme dissatisfaction. The update is one of the examples of how wide the gap is between the Portal users’ opinions.
What is the real content of this update? Sony does not provide too much information about it but is suggesting everyone to visit the website for further details. Which, come on, it is something that we all know means “stability improvements” and possibly a little tweak or two. But still, any update is a big deal for the Portal users since the functionality of this device totally depends on software.
The core problem is not so much the patch notes as the way the different users are reacting to it.
Before long, some users were fields of despair declaring the update “simply not working” in any respect for them. @2_Old_4_Gaming reported that the updater is forever timing out, while @totalburn05 said that they can’t even stream any game due to receiving error messages. “Streaming this game is not available now. Please, try again later.” This is happening to both their library games and PS Plus titles. Ouch! Just think of it like you’re getting the premium subscription and the $200 handheld you just bought is not working after an update.
At this stage, the premium subscription is no longer worth it which mean by Franco Espinoza sarcastically pointing out.
But wait, the situation is getting more complex. The whole requirement of the PS Plus subscription for streaming your own games is still very annoying to the gamers. @KnowledgeIsKe16 was pretty direct: “Lol, you have to pay a premium to stream your own games which you have bought on a handheld that cost you $200.” Sony’s policy has been frankly criticized.
Like their plan of not allowing streaming of games you own without the extra subscription does not even sound like a good one to them. It does come across as a little greedy.
On the other hand, there are gamers who are experiencing something completely different. @SenhorJoystick tweeted that everything is working perfectly for them, and they even included a photo of a happy Portal in action. And @yousuckisuck69 is indeed aware of this and says “Yo the latency is not bad anymore, fps games feel playable now, i tested fortnite and felt the slightest bit but not bad at all.” So, not everything is gone; some persons are in fact seeing good performance.
Another obstacle is the limitation of regions which this update does not seem to tackle. Brazillian, Mexican, Indian and many other gamers worldwide are asking in unity the same question: When will we be able to access? @PlayStationDiario from Brazil has put it in a nutshell when he pointed out that the emerging markets would greatly benefit from the cloud streaming features. But no, according to @nixerman, they are still mostly confined to the US and Europe.
That’s a pretty big number of users who might be getting pretty upset due to exclusion.
Also, there are technical difficulties other than the update itself. @espartacos2 is facing a low resolution situation although their router is less than six feet away. They said with their Samsung tablet everything is fine but the Portal is not that great.
This shows that there might be some device specific optimization problem that has not been resolved yet.
Moreover, the classic internet argument is still going on very strong through the replies. When @RealArtVand3lay complained about the performance, a lot of users just went straight to saying “Get a better internet” and “Your Internet must suck.” Because obviously, everyone has access to fiber optic connections, right? Sometimes the gaming community can be a bit… intense with their troubleshooting solutions.
Interestingly, the Portal experience indeed seems to vary a lot among users. Some of them love their device so much that @BigBossArmandV has no doubts or reservations in adorning his statement with “I ❤️ PlayStation Portal.” Others, however, find themselves dealing with buyer’s remorse, just like @someone who confessed “this isn’t as great as I’d thought” after coming to the realization that they can’t stream the games they’re playing now.
The comparison with other handhelds was brought up during the discussion when the Steam Deck, which hardly has AAA games, was mentioned as a defense of the Portal. That’s valid, but it also somewhat overlooks the fact that the Portal is literally just streaming from your PS5—there are no natively running games involved at all.
So, what’s our situation now? PlayStation Portal 6.0.0 update has been launched, some users are satisfied, some are vexed, and a considerable number of gamers from all around the world are still waiting for Xbox support.
