Sony will release a new update for the PlayStation Portal, focusing on the cloud Steaming Beta, which was introduced to the platform late last year. These will include some user experience and functionality updates, all of which will be added later today. This news comes via a PlayStation Blog post detailing what players can expect.
Along with this, sorting will be added to the streaming catalog, allowing players to sort the games in the catalog, something that was desperately needed given previously, you could only browse the over 100 games in alpherbetical order. The sorting options will include Title, Release Date, and Recently Added. This comes just in time for Plue Prince to be added to PlayStation Plus amid rave reviews, a game that will hopefully be included here.
Additionally, Capturing Gameplay will also be added to Cloud Steaming through the usual menu options you expect while playing attached to your console. These will include any expected function, such as taking a screenshot or clipping gameplay, all of which were previously blocked from use in streaming sessions.
Gameplay will now pause when you open the PS Portal quick menu, go into rest mode, or should an error message be displayed. Unfortunately, this pause only lasts for 15 seconds, so should you not return to the game within that allotted time, the title will disconnect as it previously had. The pause function will not work with online multiplayer games.
Other updates included will be a queue for when a server fills up, a notification of inactivity, and additional user feedback tools. Currently, the Cloud Streaming Beta is only available to members of the PlayStation Plus Premium their of the PlayStation Plus membership. It allows access to a large sum of games across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 that can be played on the go without the need to connect to your home console, but they still require internet access. A few games included here are Death Stranding, Ghost of Tsushima, and Days Gone.
Many questioned the PlayStation Portal as a peripheral, given that it required the PlayStation 5 to stream from, acting as an extension rather than an independent console in the vein of previous PlayStation outings such as the PlayStation Vita. Happily, I would report it is one of the best gaming investments I have made, with my end of the year report from Sony stating I had spent 820 hours playing it across 1,209 sessions with 140 games. Money Well spent.
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