PlayStation Project Q is a stylish streaming handheld

Truth be told, Sony’s May PlayStation Showcase held little surprises in terms of software that nobody ever expected to see… but there was one such surprise, of sorts, in terms of hardware. The company unveiled a new product it’s calling “Project Q” for now: it’s an accessory that combines a DualShock controller with an 8-inch, HD screen in order to allow consumers to play their PlayStation5 games on it via wireless streaming.

A few excited consumers jumped at the opportunity of celebrating the appearance of a PS Vita successor, but this is obviously nothing of the sort. It was never meant to be perceived as such: Project Q can only play PS4/PS5 games streamed from a PS5 over Wi-Fi if said games are installed on Sony’s system. So it will not work e.g. outdoors over 5G, nor will it play e.g. PS3/PS4 games offered in streaming form, such as those available to PS Plus Premium subscribers.

Rumors about a new Sony streaming device for gaming had been making the rounds on the Web a few months back – it seems that the company has been thinking about a product like this for a while – but it’s not clear who it’s built for. Consumers can already achieve pretty much the same thing by attaching a quality external joypad like e.g. the Backbone One or the Razer Kishii to their smartphones and using the Remote Play function of the PS4/PS5 to stream their games to an iPhone or Android device via the official Sony app. Both the Backbone One PlayStation Edition and the Razer Kishii v2 cost $99 right now.

The 8-inch screen of Project Q will be displaying PS5 games in a much more impressive manner than a phone screen, obviously. It will most probably be able to offer higher quality sound too (being larger than a smartphone and all), while the familiar layout and feel of a DualSense controller will be a big plus for some. But for a product like this – admittedly kind of a luxury, unless the home TV connected to a PS5 is unavailable to the latter’s owner on a daily basis – everything depends on cost and it’s hard to imagine Sony charging anything less than $199/€199 for it. So, on that, we’ll just have to wait and see.

The company also announced its first official PlayStation-branded wireless earbuds. These are promised to deliver high-quality, lossless sound and play nice with smartphones or tablets too. Availability, price and more details regarding both products will be announced “in the near future”. Between the PS VR2, the Access controller and these two new products Sony seems to be on a roll when it comes to PlayStation hardware in 2023. Well, you won’t see us complaining!