While the Nintendo Switch 2 is finally here, it’s got absolutely zero chance of dislodging my gaming handheld of choice: the PlayStation Portal.
Now, I can already hear the screams of “they’re totally different propositions”, which I get, but at the end of the day, they’re both viable gaming handhelds in the year 2025, so they’re going to face off to a degree.
That face-off for me was won by the Portal even before we knew that much officially about the Switch 2 – it’s just a better handheld for me, and it could be for you too in terms of what it offers and a bunch of what I talk about in this here article.
Some of the below reasons will be subjective, maybe even personal, but there’s method to my not-madness, and some overwhelmingly positive reasons why the Portal wins out.
The Portal is a PS5 owner’s accessory dream
Let’s get the obvious platform-based point out of the way first, shall we?
Tied to a completely different ecosystem, the PlayStation Portal indeed won’t have the same games as a Switch 2, but if you’re a committed PS5-er looking for a handheld way to play your games, then the Portal is it.
I’ve found its streaming of my home PlayStation 5 or PS5 Pro to be almost entirely seamless, and have even had the best time playing my library at home while being in Germany with the Portal. It has opened up a brilliant way for me to get more PS5 hours in while abroad like that, or even when just sharing the sofa with my wife.
As a result, if you are an existing PS5 owner and user (like me), and particularly if that’s your main platform (also like me), then the Portal is an incredible accessory to have. It will make being able to play more PS5 games (and PS4 games) possible, so you can whittle down your backlog more effectively (hopefully).
The Portal has a way better design
This is something I’ve spoken about before a lot, but surely we can all agree that the Portal, flat out, has a better design than the Switch 2, right?
This is rooted in the fact that, I think, there are two ways one can design a gaming handheld.
You can either build a handheld around the screen and its internals, prioritizing the performance, hardware specs, and so on, and then apply the controls later; or you can build a handheld around an existing controller design to prioritize ergonomics and design before the screen and hardware specs to ensure that it is the best possible thing to hold as well as perform.
The former – something I believe the Switch 2 conforms to – means that controls are, by default, more of an afterthought, whereas the latter, as demonstrated by the Portal, is a forethought and drives the design of the whole unit with ease of use at the fore.
Personally, due to having different hands, and because it is designed around the excellent DualSense Wireless controller, the Portal is a gaming handheld I can actually use.
However, away from my own hands, I would argue that this makes it better for almost anyone for similar reasons, over the Switch 2. The DualSense controller shape is clearly better in the hands than a slim plastic chassis, in my opinion.
Elsewhere on the topic of design and aesthetics, if you’re a design fanatic, it’s also worth noting that the Portal even comes in 100% more colorways than the Switch 2 currently does – literally. That goes up to 200% if you count the 30th Anniversary Portal too.
The Portal is a, well, portal to immersion
Augmenting the design excellence and superior ergonomics that the Portal offers over the Switch 2, there’s also the fact that the Portal taps into more DualSense features under the hood.
Again, because it’s based around a controller, it offers all that said controller has: and that extends to the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers that make that pad so good.
The result of this is a far greater level of immersion and feedback in games that the Switch 2 can’t compete with.
Now, if the Switch 2 had an OLED screen, that might tilt the balance a bit, but it doesn’t; both have full HD LCD screens, which keeps the immersion playing field relatively equal away from the splendid haptics.
The Switch 2’s launch game library is underwhelming at best
Away from the platform and preference-based chat, there’s the simple fact that, objectively, the PlayStation Portal’s game library, or games you can play on it, is just better than the Switch 2’s launch library.
The Switch 2’s big launch game is Mario Kart World, naturally, but beyond that, it’s a sea of mainly enhanced original Switch games and ports of existing games from the past couple of years. Big whoop.
And yes, I know that the Switch 2 is backwards compatible, but if you’re after a means to play a host of new games on a handheld device, then the Portal has it.
Plus, now you can stream games from the cloud on the PlayStation Portal with a PS Plus Premium membership, so you can access even more games beyond those in your own library on PlayStation.
The Portal is cheaper! And you can actually buy it…
The PlayStation Plus Premium point mentioned above is even more pertinent and revealing when you consider the overall price proposition of both devices.
In short, a Portal with a year’s worth of PS Plus Premium is still cheaper ($360 / £320) than a Nintendo Switch 2 with no games ($449.99 / £395.99). Therefore, the value proposition right now is a no-brainer.
And that’s before you factor in any accessories for the Switch 2 that you’d want to add to optimize that experience, such as the Switch 2 Pro Controller and Switch 2 Camera. Comparatively, the Portal needs no accessories apart from a wired headset or pair of gaming earbuds to complete its setup, really.
And, while we’ll have to pretend that the Switch 2 is readily available too at this point, I know, you can actually buy the Portal at the time of writing this article too, which does give it the edge in availability.
Even though the PlayStation Portal is indeed more of a handheld companion rather than a fully-fledged handheld gaming console like the Switch 2, there are a host of reasons why I still prefer it – and these could be the exact same reasons for you too.
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rob.dwiar@futurenet.com (Rob Dwiar)
