PlayStation Portal is a huge success, but fans are still furious

IF you've tried to buy the PlayStation Portal since it was released in November, you've probably encountered a problem.

The PS5 accessory has shattered all PlayStation expectations and it's hard to find one in stock.

People have had to set up apps to alert them when stores have the handheld in stock, and even then they only have a few minutes before it sells out again.

While the global chip shortage appears to be a thing of the past, the lack of inventory means Sony didn't expect the Portal to be so popular.

Many were hoping to wait until after the holiday season to grab their handheld, but it looks like the Portal remains as popular and elusive as ever.

It's likely that Sony was short on inventory for the Portal, as PlayStation's last dedicated handheld system, the PlayStation Vita, failed to live up to expectations in 2012.

However, it wasn't the console itself or gamers' aversion to portable gaming that was the cause, but the price.

Not only was the Vita much more expensive than its competitor, the Nintendo 3DS, but it also had expensive proprietary memory cards, making it even less affordable.

Sony blamed people's lack of interest in handheld gaming for the console's financial failure and turned its attention to what was considered the future of gaming, VR.

However, VR still remains a niche market, and although sales are improving year on year, it will be a long time before VR headsets are an indispensable gaming accessory.

Nintendo once again showed PlayStation how popular handheld gaming can be, as its hybrid console, the Nintendo Switch, quickly became the second best-selling console of all time.

Even though the Portal only streams games from the PS5 and can't play games itself, it still showed people how popular handheld gaming is.

PS VR2 sales have failed, showing that the popularity of gaming accessories is more related to price than medium.

At £200/$200, the Portal is much more affordable than VR, and PS5 owners can play their favorite games even when the TV is in use.

Fans are hoping that the success of the Portal PlayStation shows the way forward and that another PS handheld may be on the horizon.

If you want to read more about PlayStation, check out the upcoming State of Play.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.

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