The morning after Project Q

Well, wasn't last night fun? Umm, no if you're one of the Sony bitch-fest brigade. Some big-name games, a dash of hardware, new indies, familiar faces and the previously leaked Project Q turned out to be real. However, if you dive into the tweet/comment hell-swamp, most reactions suggest Sony should never launch anything, ever. 

Personally, I was genuinely resigned to the idea that Sony wouldn't touch a handheld again, but since I've been hammering the remote player dream since 2014, guess I had to be right one decade. So, I'm happy, even it is just a streaming box. 

The timing for the Project Q launch suggests Sony is now in a far stronger financial position than during the Vita years. And, as an accessory, there is less risk than any expansive PSP2/VitaDue project. 

Side point: In the live bedlam, Eurogamer managed to call it Project Cube, easily done, but which brought all sorts of other exciting ideas to mind, the perils of late-night content production. 

Now we've all calmed down (okay, some of us!) and people have taken a breath, Sony's official take on the handheld is: 

"SIE also announced Project Q, a dedicated device launching later this year that enables you to play any compatible¹ game installed on your PS5 console using Remote Play over Wi-Fi². With a vibrant 8-inch LCD screen capable of up to 1080p resolution at 60fps, the device delivers crisp visuals and smooth gameplay streamed from your PS5 when you’re away from your TV. All of the buttons and features of the DualSense wireless controller, including adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, are featured on the device³."

1. Games that require a VR headset (PlayStation VR or PlayStation VR2) or additional peripherals (other than a DUALSHOCK 4, DualSense, or DualSense Edge wireless controller) are not compatible. Games that must be streamed on PS5 using a PS Plus Premium membership are not compatible. 

². Device requires broadband internet Wi-Fi with at least 5Mbps for use. For a better play experience, a high-speed connection of at least 15Mbps is recommended. The quality and connectivity of your play experience may vary depending on your network environment. A PlayStation 5 console and a PlayStation Network account are required.

³. Haptic feedback and adaptive trigger features are only available when those features are supported by the game being played.

The Business Value of Project Q

Sony isn't doing Project Q because I and few others have moaned at them for a decade. 

• For PlayStation, they get to be in the portable landscape discussion again, having been swamped by Nintendo, blind-sided by SteamDeck and threatened by the likes of LogiTech's G-Cloud and a blistering array of Android/Linux handheld gadgets. 
• Sony can sell the Project Q at a profit, not a loss-leader like the Vita, generating revenue for the PlayStation brand, and encouraging people to spend more across the ecosystem. 
• Will it sell more PS5s? Probably not, but it will keep a percentage of players in the fold for longer, buying more games and services as they are highly engaged. 
• With around 35 million PS5s out there, there's a fair potential market for Project Q, but no one will expect PSP (80 million) or even Vita (15 million) numbers, reducing expectations. 
• All of this with a low-risk device that might sell 2-to-5 million units, helping fill in the gap before the PlayStation 5 ProPlus arrives, keeping revenue ticking along.  
• As an accessory, even if it bombs, Sony can quietly phase it out without a fuss. 

Anyway, now Q is out in the open, we have questions... 

Big Question 0: I already have a gadget/dock/phone-clamp, why do I need a Project Q?

You don't need it. Project Q is an optional extra (among many, some cheaper, some likely more expensive). It is a device for gamers who might want it for the closest-to-native PS5 experience. Sony haven't announced this to ruin your existence (although many seem to think that). 

Big Question 1: Can it act as a second PS5 controller or a second player screen? 

The brief reveal and the prototype nature gave little away, and there's plenty of room for PlayStation to cock-up the branding and pricing, but I live in hope. 

One obvious feature, the Q would be more useful and valuable if it worked as an extra regular controller for big-screen, split-screen sessions or proper MP battles. Either way, despite the curious gap between the lower screen, it has to work better than the BackBone One, or any of those mad smartphone-to-DualSense plastic bondage gizmos.  

What Can Project Q Deliver?

The primary benefit is that Project Q will offer the full DualSense experience, finally overcoming the limitations faced by both the PSP and the Vita when playing full-fat PlayStation games. Presumably the touchscreen will map the DualSense's touch bar features, but could offer some additional features. 

Less fun news is all that small print suggests no native capabilities, no expansive/expensive local storage and minimal opportunity for homebrew and hacking (but that won't stop folk from trying). 

Basically, don't get your hopes up for anything beyond that single core remote play function. But at least Sony can't gouge on storage prices with this product. Ahem, Sony?

Big Question 2: What's the WiFi Performance Like? 

From a performance perspective,  the PlayStation 5 has WiFi 6 on-board, so direct-connection remote play should be butter smooth, and even recent generic home hubs pack enough performance punch for solid streaming. 

As for taking it out and about, I'm assuming there will be no problem connecting to an office WiFi, or even your phone's 5G hotspot, for more distant play. But Sony will likely put up a barrage of quality of experience alerts up before you try.

Hopefully there won't be a repeat of the Vita's weak connection icon, which was too vague an indicator. Here's somewhere where Sony can innovate with game-pause-on-drop and advanced lag mitigation.  

Big Question 3: Where's the Wow Factor? 

And that's about all we have at the moment. There was little to make people overly excited, but that doesn't mean PlayStation's designers don;t have a trick or two tucked away.  

My one small suspicion is that there might be two models. A basic LCD, WiFi6 edition for launch. 

And then a "Pro" model with an OLED, MiniLED or higher-quality screen, plus 5G and WiFi6E connectivity for greater on-the-road performance (in higher-tier territories) sold at a very premium price.

That would cover Sony's beloved high-end market, get the tech pages chatting, and should make it to the top of most gadget Christmas lists. But mostly, it seems people will just complain. 

Big Question 4: What's the Battery Life? 

The eight-inch screen gives a lot of battery real-estate underneath, as many other larger gadgets have shown. With always-on networking, hours-per-charge won't be brilliant (guessing 5-6 tops), but with Li-on batteries such a mature technology, Sony's partners will have this down to a fine art of power management. 

Post-event rumour is that Q might offer only 3-4 hours of play, but since the majority of use will be home-bound, there's no reason a long USB 3.0 lead can't keep it ticking over while playing in bed or a spare room. 

Big Question 5: Project Q Release Date and Project Q Price

Release date is 2023, most likely November. Price is anyone's guess, although a consensus around $300 (including a Microsoft estimate) has formed. 

What Next from PlayStation?

What will happen is the big tech pages will go quiet and forget about it until the official specs arrive. Sony does need to a little something more to keep Project Q from being an afterthought lost among all the big game news. 

That could be playing the name game with some funky gadget title. It could drop even the smallest of extra features, or just play dumb. 

But for those of us in the portable way, life just got a little more interesting.