Project Q, Not A Successor to PlayStation Vita

Following the commercial failure of PlayStation Vita, Sony unveils their brand new handheld device, Project Q.

Project Q is a handheld in-house streaming device announced by Sony in their 2023 PlayStation Showcase. The new device is not intended to compete with Nintendo Switch or even function as a successor to Vita 2.0; the general focus of Project Q is playing on your PS5 without needing a monitor or tv. Although Remote Play allows you to stream games from your PS5 to almost any iPhone, Android phone, Windows, Mac, or even Linux with a bit of tweaking, the allure of playing on a handheld device might win you over.

PlayStation Vita’s Predictable Failure

While Vita also had remote play abilities, that was never the intended use. PS Vita, announced in 2011 as a successor to PlayStation Portable or PSP, was created with the intention of mixing the then up-and-coming world of mobile gaming with the experience of bigger platforms.
While the idea had more than enough potential, the timing did not end up to Sony’s advantage. As predicted by some technologists in Sony, gaming on smartphones quickly grew, and the need for an extra handheld gaming device massively shrunk. This led to Sony losing a significant margin of its market for the device. Expected to sell around 10 million Vitas worldwide by March of 2013, Sony failed to meet that target, selling an estimated 6 million devices by the end of 2013.
PS Vita’s commercial failure can also be attributed to the retail price, lack of support by the bigger third-party companies, and the late release into the primary PlayStation console cycle.

What We Know About Project Q

As mentioned, Project Q is not a successor to PS Vita or PSP. The device’s announcement did not give us much to work with as it was only mentioned in a quick passing fashion, but here is all we know about it.

Design

Sketch this out: A DualSense controller split in half, with an 8-inch display screen between the halves. Well, that is precisely what Project Q looks like. A surprisingly simple design that, while sleek and comfortable, does not seem to have the best reception.
No precise details regarding weight have been released. However, with how slim the screen looks, we hope it will not weigh more than the DualSense controller on its own. The controllers will have both the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback in common with the DualSense.
There do not seem to be any additions for functionality, most likely because the only intention is streaming rather than actually running games. The only additional space needed is for a bigger battery.

Screen

Although not much information was given at the actual announcement, Jim Ryan, the current CEO of Sony, has confirmed some specs. As expected, PS5’s impressive 1140p, 4k, and 120Hz with many combinations are not matched. However, such a small screen cannot particularly benefit from such high resolutions. The 8-inch screen will have 1080p resolution at 60Hz, which is more than enough. We also know the display will be an LCD panel rather than an OLED. We also presume that the touchpad on the DualSense will be incorporated into this screen.

Function

Project Q is supposed to accompany your PS5. While it seems that you can stream games that your PS5 is streaming from the cloud, currently, Project Q is not a cloud-streaming device. However, with Sony’s success with their cloud gaming service, experts anticipate that the feature will subsequently be added to the device.
In order to connect your PS5 to your handheld device, you have to connect both to the same Wi-Fi network. As of right now, it seems that you will not be able to leave your home, connect your device to a network and continue playing your games. In addition to that, Sony’s current Remote Play does not function over cellular.
So you might ask yourself, what is the point of a handheld device that can only stream? The offered concepts right now are playing without needing to fight the family over the tv or while lounging comfortably in your bed, tucked in and cozy.
Considering how similar the device is to a DualSense controller, with pretty much all the same features except for the touch screen, it should feel more than comfortable in your hand.

Release Date and Price

The unveiling did not include any specific dates for the release of Project Q. Jim Ryan only announced that it would be later this year.
Taking the retail price of Vita into account and how it affected the sales of the device, the price is a huge unanswered question. The company has not released any number for the price. However, because you can only use this device inside your home, we are not expecting an exceptionally high price range.

First Rumours

The first time we heard rumours of a handheld device by Sony was earlier this year. A report on the device included that it will have an 8-inch display screen, the screen will be an LCD, There will be a reliance on Remote Play rather than cloud gaming, and the controllers will closely resemble the DualSense. So most of the information we have now falls in line with the original rumours.

The surge in popularity of handhelds seems to be Sony’s motivation behind this release. We all witnessed the massive success of the Nintendo Switch and, more recently, the likes of Valve’s Steam Deck, which allows for playing more modern games. Although Sony has its own quirk on its handheld device, it is still expected to give a valuable experience.

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