Aussies are missing out on the PlayStation Portal’s new feature

Sony's PlayStation Portal is leveling up to offer proper cloud gaming support.

Announced by Sony overnight and enabled via a software update, the handheld now integrates with Sony's cloud streaming services and will let you play without a connected console.

As usual though, there are a few catches to this functionality.

The first is that you have to be a PlayStation Plus Premium member to take get in on the action. That's far from the only limit here though. While the PlayStation Portal can play anything the PlayStation 5 (or PlayStation 5 Pro) can when paired to a console, those looking to stream are limited to a list of selected titles.

According to Sony, over 120 games in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalogue are available to stream using the handheld. That list includes a lot of big titles like Dave the Diver, Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Monster Hunter Rise and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

Of course, the biggest catch is that there's no timeline on if or when this new functionality will come to Australia. Given that Sony never got around to launching PlayStation Now in Australia, I wouldn't hold my breath. 

For now, the PlayStation Portal's cloud streaming will only be available in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, The Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the United States.

Even so, it's awesome to see the PlayStation Portal gain functionality that it should have had at launch. It's just a shame that Aussies will continue to miss out.