One of the most interesting announcements of the week was the confirmation that PlayStation is working on a device dedicated to streaming games from your PS5.
After some rumors about its existence, PlayStation confirmed in its Showcase the existence of ‘Project Q’, a portable device that is closer to a control with a screen than to a stand-alone console by depending entirely on a PS5.
Among all the doubts that have surrounded this announcement –of which there is still much to be known– there are three questions that could be decisive in your success or failure. Here we present them to you.
Remote play away from home
The official description of Project Q notes that you can play PS5 titles installed on your console via Wi-Fi. Technically, that’s the remote play that you can currently do with devices such as a phone, tablet or computer that have access to the PlayStation App.
With remote play you can play remotely while away from home. If your console is turned on and connected to the internet, you can connect from anywhere in the world -via the internet- to continue playing, although the latency depends on the connections, both at home and where you are.
Can Project Q be played away from home? The official information we have so far seems to suggest that this feature will not be available. and that the device will be limited to playing at home on the same Wi-Fi network. However, if the possibility of using remote play outside the home does exist, that could be an interesting advantage that, added to the comfort and functionality of the integrated controls, has an attractive point for consumers.
Play directly from the cloud
With the rise of cloud gaming It is not a bad idea to have devices dedicated to the game from the cloud. Although Xbox has been one of the main drivers of this technology with the ‘xcloud’ services integrated into Xbox Game Pass. PlayStation also offers cloud gaming for PlayStation Plus subscribers in some markets, formerly known as PlayStation Now.
We know Project Q doesn’t have the processing power to run games natively, but will it be able to connect to the PlayStation cloud to directly play compatible games without a PS5?
As with remote play away from home, the available information suggests that there is bad news and that this will not be possible. Apparently Project Q won’t be able to connect directly to the cloud and its operation will depend entirely on being connected directly by Wi-Fi to a PS5. There is no official answer on this topic yet, but if it had that function, we would already be talking about a device that could compete with other cloud gaming laptops on the market.
For now there is no information to suggest that Project Q will have its own operating system.
Some PS Plus subscription levels offer cloud play, will these be directly accessible from Project Q? It seems not, but we will wait to confirm it
How much is Project Q going to cost?
If at the end of the day Project Q is only a device to be able to enjoy remote play within your own home, its price will determine whether players decide to give the accessory a try or keep the devices they already have and that allow them to do remoteplay with PS5.
According to insider Tom Henderson – who was already talking about the device before its announcement – the price of Project Q should be close to 200 dollars and that is something that sounds reasonable for what it offers.
Project Q may very well be more expensive than a Nintendo Switch Lite that functions as a fully self-contained console.
Putting this price in context, it would be the same as a DualSense Edge, the premium version of the Sony control that in Mexico costs just under 5,000 MXN. Comparing it with hardware from other brands, It’s the same as a Nintendo Switch Lite costs that, although it does not have state-of-the-art technology, it is a completely autonomous console capable of running some of the most popular games on the market such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
A accessible price will be decisive when Project Q is an interesting proposal for consumers to complement their gaming experience with PS5.
DualSense Edge is the premium PS5 controller that costs $200. Project Q could be in the same price range
What advantages are there in Project Q compared to other devices where remote play can already be done? Well, what? this is a dedicated device and as such should offer a flawless remote gaming experience, a transmission without cuts or interruptions like the one we saw on the Wii U GamePad controller at the time. In addition to the above, its controls have DualSense functions (adaptive triggers and haptic support), as well as a 1080p screen with support for 60 frames per second.
There is nothing left to do but wait a bit to be able to answer these big questions, according to insiders Project Q It could be released this year, so it won’t be long before we resolve all our doubts.