Aussies are missing out on the PlayStation Portal’s new feature

PlayStation Portal header
Pictured: PlayStation Portal
// The PSPortal is getting an upgrade.
Fergus Halliday
Nov 20, 2024
Icon Time To Read1 min read

Sony's PlayStation Portal is leveling up to offer proper cloud gaming support.

Announced by Sony overnight and enabled via a software update, the handheld now integrates with Sony's cloud streaming services and will let you play without a connected console.

As usual though, there are a few catches to this functionality.

"Since Cloud Streaming (Beta) on PS Portal is still an experimental offering, the features available during the beta period may change over time and may not reflect the final experience," Sony said.

The first is that you have to be a PlayStation Plus Premium member to take get in on the action. That's far from the only limit here though. While the PlayStation Portal can play anything the PlayStation 5 can when paired to a console, those looking to stream are limited to a list of selected titles.

According to Sony, over 120 games in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalogue are available to stream using the handheld. That list includes a lot of big titles like Dave the Diver, Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Monster Hunter Rise and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

Of course, the biggest catch is that there's no timeline on if or when this new functionality will come to Australia. Given that Sony never got around to launching PlayStation Now in Australia, I wouldn't hold my breath. 

For now, the PlayStation Portal's cloud streaming will only be available in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, The Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the United States.

Even so, it's awesome to see the PlayStation Portal gain functionality that it should have had at launch. It's just a shame that Aussies will continue to miss out.

Fergus Halliday
Written by
Fergus Halliday is a journalist and editor for Reviews.org. He’s written about technology, telecommunications, gaming and more for over a decade. He got his start writing in high school and began his full-time career as the Editor of PC World Australia. Fergus has made the MCV 30 Under 30 list, been a finalist for seven categories at the IT Journalism Awards and won Most Controversial Writer at the 2022 Consensus Awards. He has been published in Gizmodo, Kotaku, GamesHub, Press Start, Screen Rant, Superjump, Nestegg and more.