12 years after the launch of the PS Vita, Sony is moving back to handhelds.
On the evening of 24 May 2023, Sony unveiled some gaming highlights, but tech didn’t go empty-handed either. As well as dedicated PlayStation 5 earbuds, the Japanese also showed off the already rumoured handheld, which is entirely focused on streaming PS5 titles from the console.
So Project Q is real and it looks like a DualSense controller with a screen.
Take a sneak peek at new accessories revealed at today’s Showcase – the Project Q device for playing games installed on your PS5 and streamed over WiFi, plus our first official wireless earbuds offering lossless audio on PS5 and PC.
More details to come in the months ahead. pic.twitter.com/0nzemSWSCV
– PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 24, 2023
8-inch monitor between two handles
PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan confirmed that Project Q (an official name is yet to be announced) will come with an 8-inch screen and will have all the features that the DualSense controllers come with.
This means that Project Q will also have haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.
The display itself will be capable of 1080p resolution and 60 FPS.
Remote gaming as a basis
Project Q joins a long line of cloud gaming devices that have had mixed success so far. However, this also shows that Sony is investing in the future of cloud gaming.
Project Q lets you stream games from the PlayStation 5 to the handheld. It can therefore be assumed that it is not a handheld of its own, like Nintendo’s Switch, but a pure streaming device. This would put it in direct competition with the Steam Deck, which can also stream games via PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, among others.
According to the fine print at the end of Sony’s presentation, the games must be installed on a PlayStation 5 console itself.
Availability and price
Both a concrete release date and price are still pending. At the event Jim Ryan said that Project Q will come later this year.
We can only speculate about the retail price. The Logitech G Cloud is priced at 360 euros, so Project Q will probably be in the same price range.
Here is the trailer for Project Q:
Sony saddles up the handheld horse, but bets on streaming because a designated console. Do you think the Japanese will be rewarded for their courage? Would you like to bring games from the TV to a handheld? Do you see a benefit there? Or do you think Sony would be better off with a Vita 2 or PSP 2? Our comments column is open for your opinions.
