The PlayStation Portal Player drops "Remote" from its name, adds storage for features Sony won't explain yet and costs 39,980 yen, the same as the old model after April's price hike. You need PS Plus Premium to stream, and a Japan account to use it at all.
Sony just gave the PlayStation Portal its biggest makeover since launch, and most of the world can’t have it. Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the PlayStation Portal Player Midnight Black (Japanese language only) on the PlayStation Blog Japan on November 9. It launches Thursday, December 10 in Japan for 39,980 yen including tax, with preorders opening at retailers and online stores starting Friday, November 13 at 10 AM Japan time.
The pitch is right there in the new name. The “Remote Player” is now just the “Player,” and Sony is selling it as a handheld that plays PS5 games without a PS5 in the house. But the fine print is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
What’s actually new
Let’s be clear about one thing first: the Portal could already play without a PS5. Sony’s own announcement says the device added cloud streaming in 2025, letting players stream supported PS5 games straight from the cloud through PS Plus Premium. The rename reflects how people already use it, as Famitsu and gamebiz both noted.
So what does the new model add? Three things. It comes with a one-month PS Plus Premium pass in the box, which MediaDogs notes is a while-supplies-last bonus. It adds new built-in storage, which Sony says is there with “future functionality” in mind, with details to come once they’re decided. Sony hasn’t said how much storage or what it’s for, so don’t assume it means downloading games to the device. And it’s still the same hardware experience otherwise: 8-inch 1080p/60fps LCD screen, 3D Audio, haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.
The catch, and it’s a big one
This model is locked down hard. Sony says it’s limited to use in Japan, the system language is Japanese only, and it only works with PlayStation accounts whose country or region is set to Japan. That’s not a soft region preference. Sony says it only works with Japan-region accounts, so a US account is out.
Cloud play still needs a paid PS Plus Premium subscription after that first free month, plus Wi-Fi of at least 5 Mbps (15 Mbps recommended). And it’s still built around Wi-Fi, so this isn’t a handheld you just pull out anywhere.
Then there’s the price. 39,980 yen sounds like a fair deal for a new model, until you remember that’s exactly what Sony already charges for the regular Portal. Sony raised the Portal’s price in Japan from 34,980 yen to 39,980 yen on April 2, the same round of hikes that took the US Portal to $249.99. So the “new” Portal is the hiked price with a free month and a mystery storage chip attached. MediaDogs lays it out simply: same price as the current model, plus a Premium month and storage, minus everyone outside Japan.
This isn’t a one-off, either. Sony already sells a Japanese-language-only PS5 Digital Edition in Japan for 55,000 yen, and it kept that price untouched in April while everyone else’s PS5 went up. Japan keeps getting the special, region-locked models. The rest of the world just gets the price hikes.
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Meanwhile, on Xbox
Here’s the contrast that makes this one sting. Xbox’s answer to “play without the console” doesn’t come in a box at all. On November 4, Xbox rolled out two cloud previews: on supported Smart TVs, your phone can now be your controller, and that’s rolling out in every country where Xbox Cloud Gaming is supported. In the US, the new Xbox Nano Controller can connect over Wi-Fi straight to the cloud server running your game, which Xbox Wire says can help reduce input lag.
Both are still previews, and Nano cloud connect is US only for now. But look at the direction. Xbox is trying to get its games onto the screens people already own, around the world. Sony’s big move for playing without a PS5 is a dedicated handheld you have to buy, for one country, in one language.
The Portal has always been a great second screen for people who already own a PS5. Sony clearly wants it to be more than that. Making it Japan only is a strange way to prove it.
Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation Portal Player Midnight Black Japan marketing art).
Sources
- PlayStation Blog Japan, PlayStation Portal Player Midnight Black announcement (Nov 9, 2026)
- Famitsu, New Japan PlayStation Portal model on Dec 10 for 39,980 yen (Nov 9, 2026)
- gamebiz, SIE to release PlayStation Portal Player Midnight Black on Dec 10 (Nov 9, 2026)
- MediaDogs, PS Portal Player Dec 10: price, preorders and what’s different (Nov 9, 2026)
- Final Weapon, PlayStation Portal Midnight Black Announced as Japan-Only Release
- PlayStation Blog Japan, PS5, PS5 Pro and PlayStation Portal price revision (Mar 27, 2026)
- GAME Watch, Sony raises PS5, PS5 Pro and PS Portal prices from April 2
- Xbox Wire, Preview Two New Ways to Play with XBOX Cloud Gaming (Nov 4, 2026)
- OnPoint 4 Gamers, Xbox Nano cloud connect and phone controller
