PlayStation Project Q: a curious streaming game console for PS5

PlayStation Project Q: a curious streaming game console for PS5

During its PlayStation Showcase conference, Sony has reserved a nice surprise for video game fans by officially unveiling its Project Q, or Q Lite, an original portable console dedicated to streaming from a PS5.

The rumor was therefore true. Sony is going to launch a new portable game console… or almost! Particularly awaited by joystick fans, the PlayStation Showcase, which was held on Wednesday May 24, 2023, kept all its promises. If controller fanatics were certainly happy to discover the first PS-branded wireless headphones and some thirty new games that will be released in the coming months, it was the formalization of Project Q that caught the attention of PS fans. It's a handheld console that will stream PlayStation 5 games, as PlayStation boss Jim Ryan detailed: "This device will allow you to effortlessly stream any game from your PS5 console using the Remote Play feature, using Wi-Fi connectivity." You will therefore not be able to play everywhere, and above all, you will need to already have a PS5, switched on, moreover, to be able to take advantage of this new console, which is therefore based on the Cloud. It will therefore not be a direct competitor for the Steam Deck and other ROG Ally which operate completely independently.

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/Fx4KjSViak

— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) May 24, 2023

PlayStatin Project Q: a portable but not independent console

The first images of this new console, which can thus be described as extra, were therefore unveiled during the PlayStation Showcase. Also qualified internally as Q Lite, it will, among other things, allow players to have fun when the TV is used by someone else. Provided you connect it to a PS5, since it will only work in streaming! It will therefore be necessary to turn on the PS5 beforehand. And it will only be able to use the games installed on the home console… In addition, the Q Lite could be used as a second screen for certain games, for example. However, the information has not yet been confirmed by Sony.

For the time being, Jim Ryan has announced that it will be "equipped with an 8-inch HD screen and all the controls and features of the DualSense wireless controller". And for good reason, this new console looks like a DualSense controller cut in half, with a tablet inserted in the middle. Moreover, it will have haptic feedback and adaptive triggers; like the DualSense. Sony still has to give some details on the screen, and in particular whether it will be a 720p or 1080p.

The quality of the screen is not the only unknown. Players do not know, for example, when they will be able to play with this new console. According to rumors, it could be available from the end of 2023, end of year celebrations oblige! Let's come to the price. It was not communicated by Sony during the PlayStation Showcase. However, speculation is rife among console experts. In all likelihood, it will be necessary to expect to pay 200 to 300 euros to take advantage of this new console.