Announced at CES in January 2002, Microsoft wanted «Mira» to launch a new device segment of smart portable displays that would connect to PCs at home. Unfortunately, this venture didn’t work out.
Earlier this year, Sony first announced what it would later officially label as the PlayStation Portal. It will basically be a PS5 Dual Sense controller with a big 8-inch screen that will let PS5 console owners play their games at home on their local Wi-Fi network.
Many people have wondered what the audience is for this device. You can only use it on a local home wireless network, and you can only play the games you have purchased on your PS5 console. You cannot play those games while on the road, and the Portal can’t be used for connecting to cloud gaming services.
Looking back, the PlayStation Portal is a little like what Microsoft tried to launch over 20 years ago. At CES in January 2002, the company first announced plans to help launch a new portable and connected series of «Smart Display» for the home, using Microsoft’s «Mira» technology.
Here is how Microsoft first described its plans in its own press release from January 7, 2002:
Harnessing the remote desktop and wireless networking features of Windows XP and Windows CE .NET, “Mira”-enabled smart displays will deliver to consumers the freedom of the complete experiences in Windows, including browsing the Web, sending or receiving e-mail messages, listening to music, and editing and displaying digital images, from any room in the home.
