PlayStation has announced a new handheld device, likely to compete with other devices like Steam Deck. Handhelds have been making a pretty big comeback in recent years. The Nintendo Switch proved the handheld gaming device is still very much in demand, but will likely only succeed if hardware makers can make something pretty powerful. The bar has been raised to allow people to play games on the go without much compromise. When it came to the PSP or Nintendo DS, developers often had to make two versions of the same game to go on these handhelds, but the handheld version was usually far more inferior. Now, thanks to things like Steam Deck, players are seeing the possibility of playing major AAA games on the go.
PlayStation seems to want to get in on this action after having been out of the portable gaming device business for quite a while. The company announced a new device called Project Q at the PlayStation Showcase. It’s a tablet that’s essentially fused with a DualSense controller, similar to the Backbone controllers that have been released for phones. The device will be able to stream games that are installed on your PS5 over WiFi. It’s unclear if you have to be connected to the same WiFi as your PS5 or if you’ll be able to play this on a WiFi connection anywhere in the world. Similarly, it sounds like you won’t be able to play Project Q if you don’t have a PS5.
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As of right now, we have no idea how much this thing will cost, when it will be available, or much more about how it will even function. Either way, PlayStation is clearly interested in cornering the handheld market in some capacity. Whether or not it will do enough to make anyone interested remains to be seen. There seems to be more interest in a PS Vita 2 or something similar than another streaming device, but we’ll see what comes of it.
What do you think of Project Q? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
