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Sony’s new Project Q is missing the most important feature

By Michael Mordenga

PARIS, FRANCE - NOVEMBER 03: A video game controller, Sony DualSense for the Playstation 5 game console is displayed during Paris Games Week 2022 at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles on November 03, 2022 in Paris, France. After two years of absence linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, Paris Games Week is making a comeback in Paris. The event celebrating video games and esports will be held from November 2 to 6, 2022. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - NOVEMBER 03: A video game controller, Sony DualSense for the Playstation 5 game console is displayed during Paris Games Week 2022 at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles on November 03, 2022 in Paris, France. After two years of absence linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, Paris Games Week is making a comeback in Paris. The event celebrating video games and esports will be held from November 2 to 6, 2022. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) /
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Project Q was announced in Sony’s June keynote presentation. It is a dedicated handheld for anyone who wants to play their PS5 remotely. To some, Project Q might be exciting news that puts Sony into the portable race, but I think most of us see this as a step sideways.

Microsoft and Sony have no real plans to get into the handheld market. Nintendo and Steam already have the market cemented. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play the next-gen consoles on a handheld phone or tablet. Microsoft’s Ultimate Game Pass gives gamers a catalog of games that can be accessed on the phone. Sony has a Remote Play app where gamers can play PS5 games.

The ability to play PS5 and Xbox games has always existed, making Project Q, the wifi only portable, seem redundant at best. It will be an 8 inch screen and it will have PS5 controllers built into it. Those are great features. I am sure Sony is going to ensure quality (and a reasonable price tag).

The magic of portability is not in this product. The ability to play games offline or without the help of high speed internet is the missing feature. I understand that the world is run by wifi and even the Switch can’t escape it, but there is something unsatisfying and artificial about unveiling a new portable in 2023 and having it be shackled to your internet.  We have Amazon Luna and Game Pass Ultimate for that. According to Verge, games would need to be installed on your PS5 in order to be playable on Project Q. That means you can’t go rooting around the PlayStation Plus catalog for a quick game to try out.

Project Q is more like a bridge to your PS5 than a new experience. It’s great that Sony isn’t forcing you to sit in your living room to play games, but let’s not pretend that Sony said anything ground breaking about this new tech. They could have advertised a G Cloud or a PS4 controller with a cell phone grip and it would have had the same effect.

Sony is very cautious about letting gamers try their stuff outside of their hardware. The Project Q still tethers you to the PS5. I actually think it would have been more groundbreaking to remind gamers that there is software to play the PlayStation Plus Premium catalog on a computer and a laptop. For $17 a month you can skip the line at BestBuy and pretend you own the coveted system.

I get what Sony was trying to do. With all the hype of handhelds in the market, why not flex the new portable? It has that brand new console smell. Once gamers see that this is just a fancier version of their tablet then it won’t be worth a second look.  I think streaming games on your phone is a cheap way to play the greatest games, but it will never live up to the stand alone power of an actual portable processing console. The Deck, the Ally and the Switch are in their own league.

If Sony had announced that their portable could override the frustrations of trying to find reliable internet that would be a game changer, but that is not the Project Q. This is just a convenient way to get your PS5 games on a big screen without trying to find a suitable controller.

Sorry, the PS Vita 2 is not happening anytime soon.

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