method114 said:
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DonFerrari said:
For me even the portal screen is small for serious play, but for some grinding efforts and small play it can be useful.
I guess you got the right focus group, family man/woman that have the income to buy a 200 USD device to compliment their play because their main TV is used often by other family members and they either don't have more than 1 console, don't want to move the console around and/or want to play while chatting with family. Plus it can be use during commute if you don't drive if you have a decent 5G connection and plan.
Maybe that is 1 or 5% of the PS5 userbase, I dunno but 1 to 10M of those devices sold is 200M to 2B in revenue at a likely very high profit margin and possibly R&D is something they will match with as little as 100k sales.
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People keep bringing up the phone use. Everyone knows you can use your phone we just don't want to. Using your phone to remote play is so damn annoying. I don't know about you but people call me, I get emails from work that I have to look at and people text me. I'm supposed to have all this going on, on the same screen I'm playing games on? How is that fun? Could you imagine playing your PS5 and having text, emails, and call notifications popping up while you're playing?
Now I get it kids these days love playing on their phone but honestly this device wasn't meant for them. This device was made for people 30+ who have expendable income and just want to play games without constant popups. I just returned mine to best buy because I'm just going to use my deck and the employees were in awe of it. I saw the guy signing in with his PSN account as he was doing my return.
I just think no one realized how many people simply don't want to play on a small screen like your phone and actually have to use their phone for real life purposes.
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The demographic made sense of adults wanting to play when they can at night after work or while watching TV with family during the day or whatever the case they have time. That I'm totally ok with. I have a family member that intended on using it for Indies or maybe grinding. I can see it being great for that. Or if kids wanted to I guess. Anyone wanting to have TV or their TV off. Have I seen them use it that much nope. Then again I wasn't excited for it for my reasons as well as who used the PS Vita TV remote play feature. Barely more than a few times. Me I keep it as a PS Vita on the TV on occasion. The TV apps or otherwise it could have offered yeah that aside didn't bother me. Heck the account system being solo alone where Switch doesn't have that issue is annoying enough once I got that sorted out.
That and just off the TV because they have few TVs in the house. I appreciate the screen on the GameCube, the Series S, the PS1 LCD screen the Wii U Gamepad the HipGear PS2/Xbox controller with an eh screen but no split screen as it wasn't designed around that so it's all 4 screens on the 2 inch screen.
Again makes total sense. I sure only used the Gamepad once in that situation but at the same time I see the appeal for sure of off TV to do something else/not move your console from room to room just cast screen to screen or play the Portal to your bedroom. I like remote play I just wanted better of this not Wii U/Vita type thing 10+ years later that's cut down be THIS cut down. The Logitech G Cloud is Android/Cloud and a Tencent confirmation away. Even then a phone is still better than it. Or it could have been Portal was a tablet with Dualsense grips (good enough notification settings changed heavily device). So I get having a more dedicated companion device to offer than a phone the more focused experience makes it better for sure.
But I mean the amount of times I have to wait 10 years for oh they marketed it well, oh we have remote play again for the 3 time and reworking the Vita version of that experience. Oh we had SmartGlass/Remote Play/Wii U Gamepad Off TV Play and more. Oh we had Playlink party games with your smartphone to Everybody 1-2 Switch phone support in games. Like the more you research the more you can see why I'd get kind of sad or frustrated. It's great to see them return and wait for tech to upgrade like 3D Movies 80s to 2010 or 3D NES/Master Systems to 2010 TVs and 3DS.
Or Nomad, PSP cabled to the TV (Vita/Vita TV and Evercade same hardware two form factors), Switch.
Or Dreamcast VMU, GameCube + GBA for Four Swords/Crystal Chronicles to 2 Wii U Gamepads.
Even if Gamepad you could take locally, PS Portal or Xbox Remote Play/Steam Link find whatever wifi/data option you can get and it working out good enough to play. I don't expect airports or hotels but more reasonable at someone house.
Heck if the Portal works out then maybe to a friends house but it's just no bringing your Wiimote and your Mii saved in the Wiimote via the Mii Channel over to their Wii then bringing a memory card over like the PS2/GameCube/360 or OG Xbox or anything very split screen (for any split screen games third parties are making could support it, that'd be awesome but they can't because it's not designed for that let alone Wii U Gamepad singleplayer map benefits or inventory or whatever other gimmicks besides COD Wii U games split screen modes or Zombi U multiplayer only on Wii U as a I guess Zombie master and survivor in a Fable Legends dungeon master and others surviving way but two players) to bring over which is why I think it would be cool but it isn't possible with Portal.
Indies laughed at it I'm not surprised. Who wouldn't have wanted to make more with it. It has it's use but I think it being wider reach besides it's limits and then people hacking it to put emulators on it says a lot of more done with it besides the no new digital storefront, no gimmicks besides the Dualsense controllers themselves, no dual screen, no split screen. Like a new handheld it isn't and that's fine but it being not much else either for a niche use case limits it on a developer or player interest side of things.
Has everyone else been using them regularly I'd say they have more so been committed to it for sure. Regardless of whatever Sony numbers may or may not come out about the usage of the device if they do besides the sales of it. To see if it is in fad status or many dedicated users and for those that are dedicated to using it good on you out there. :)
Like the Series S/PS1 screen or Wii U and their PS5 as their platform of choice. Third party screens of any era. It's a fair way to reintroduce Remote Play to others that haven't.
Then just oh you have your Smart TV to setup or an app to connect to your TV (say Youtube casting content phone to TV with the cast button and selecting the device) with your Phone. That's so much fun of second screen use cases for sure. Or dual screen phones or using your phone and single screen casting it (then the PSP cable connection method it's wireless and to any screen that supports it) or a Chromecast.
If people want their phone separate that's totally fine I get it for notifications/popups (phone calls or other things that can be a hindrance when all you want is to game, view a webpages or whatever, or even business use depending on their job, I totally get that) or many people going you know what having a camera, MP3 player, game console or PC/Laptop or other things separate was a good idea as my phone doesn't replace everything. I totally see the appeal of making things separate I always preferred separate. I don't own a modern camera or laptop but I keep my phone, game consoles, PC and 2 in 1 tablet for separate things and I always enjoyed handhelds.
Besides that their phone is a social device then their portable PC and I get that. Then again I turn all notifications off and structure my phone as if it's a portable PC. Web browser or OS app levels of things. I know it's not ideal but I mean besides phone calls or just having a no sim card phone then yeah it's possible but yes a separate device is more ideal I agree I don't deny that side of it at all.
I just wish they did more than make it the most basic boring device ever. At least give it something more then what it is. Indies laughed at it. I'm not surprised what can they do with it nothing special hardware wise if they wanted to that's for sure. I mean it's not like end of Wii U's life we didn't see the Wii Balance Board article of it not being able to be used due to safe so they had to cut the feature for their horror game. The Indie game did come out only in the US eshop but still.
The no storefront thing is understandable it can be a remote play device. I do think that WIFI 5 then 6 is a bit eh. Sure 6 isn't that much of a jump over 5 in some areas but it'd be more future proof then. No one even wanted 3G on Vita but that's probably due to the cost yes and also the limited companies partnered and that's completely understandable.
The small userbase makes sense. I mean from Eye Toy or PS Eye/Move to Playlink or PSVR it's not like that 10 million from however many PS2, 3 or 4 audiences weren't a bad thing. They have their appeal for families or just new directions to use tech/take gaming whether for people into peripherals like I am or just casuals to experience them.
And it's not like with the other tech Sony still keeps making they aren't afraid of niche audiences to still find people with interest in them.
It has a place even if underwhelming.
Last edited by SuntannedDuck2 - on 28 March 2024
