This PlayStation Portal clone can play far more than just PS5 games for a fraction of the price

(Image credit: Geekbuying)

published 4 July 2024

Quick Summary

A retro games handheld has appeared that bears a striking resemblance to the PlayStation Portal.

It's a darn sight cheaper though and capable of playing more than 30,000 classic titles. Just don't expect it to work with your PS5.

The handheld games console market is having a boom period right now, with the likes of the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go and MSI Claw proving successful.

Lets also not forget about the Nintendo Switch, which effectively kickstarted the latest craze, and the PlayStation Portal – Sony's latest answer to portable gaming, albeit one that's intrinsically linked to a home PS5.

It may be limited in scope, but the rapid nature in which stock has flown off shelves show just how much its been embraced by PlayStation fans.

Its popularity hasn't been missed by the retro games console market neither. The manufacturer of the M-series of budget retro handhelds has clearly been... inspired, shall we say... by the PS Portal, with its latest model owing much to the Sony device.

To be honest, it seems like the design and look of the M25 Handheld Game Console listed on GeekBuying (via Notebookcheck) is the only thing it really has in common. The Chinese device runs on Linux and, as far as we can tell, will not support PS Remote Play and therefore won't be able to play your PS5 games.

It will though play more than 30,000 classic games across 25 preinstalled emulators – including SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy, and arcade (MAME). Considering the chipset it boasts – the Rockchip RK3566 – it's unlikely handle anything too intensive, although the included hands-on video shows Crash Bandicoot running on a PSOne emulator, so there is some wriggle room.

Certainly, for its price of under £70, it seems to have a fair handle on plenty of the games shown. It also comes with a 4.3-inch LCD display with a 480 x 272 pixel resolution, so should be fine for casual retro fun. And its 3,000mAh battery will reportedly run for up to four hours, so that's decent enough too.

Just don't think you're getting a PS Portal-style experience and you'll be fine.

TOPICS

Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.

Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.