With a tenacious effort to regain its once unassailable position within the gaming universe, Sony appears set on reasserting its dominance. That’s what Project Q is all about. While it may seem odd to suggest Sony has lost ground, given that PlayStation 5 currently leads the market as its predecessor and the PlayStation 4, once did too, it’s important to acknowledge that the gaming landscape has been quite volatile over the last few years. Barring the temporary setback during the PlayStation 3 period, Sony has essentially dominated the console gaming era in the last three decades, with the PS1 and PS2 being the dominant consoles of the 90s and early 2000s.
Yet, its attempts to breach the mobile gaming fortress with the PSP and PlayStation Vita handhelds fell short. Then it handed over an early advantage in cloud gaming to competitors such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Nvidia. It’s becoming evident Sony’s PlayStation business could face existential threats in the longer term due to the rise of smartphones and cloud gaming. The newly unveiled Project Q is clearly an attempt at countering the headwinds.
What is Project Q
Four years after discontinuing its last handheld console, Sony is re-entering the space with Project Q — an exclusive Remote Play-enabled portable gaming device set to launch later this year.
Project Q is a departure from conventional gaming consoles, designed not to run games natively, but to stream PlayStation 5 (PS5) games via a Wi-Fi connection. This novel approach means users must purchase and install PlayStation 5 games on a PS5 console, a strategy that brings its own set of challenges. One potential hurdle is the device’s reliance on a robust internet connection, which could restrict its user base to those with stable Wi-Fi access only. Details about the silicon it uses and whether it could potentially support mobile networks with LTE or 5G remain scant. Without such support, its utility will likely be confined to home environments. At best, to enable multiplayer gaming when the household just has one TV and PS5.
However, Sony might have the ability to bolster its functionality by incorporating cloud streaming through a future software update.
Featuring an 8-inch Full HD display, Project Q outpaces most standard portable consoles in screen size, and also mimics the DualSense wireless controller’s functionality including its haptics. Thus, it could emerge as a serious contender in the handheld gaming market. Predicted to retail around $200, it’s more affordable than Logitech’s G-Cloud, which is priced around $349 and requires a smartphone. Sony has also unveiled its inaugural PlayStation-branded wireless earbuds, which aim to deliver a low latency, lossless audio experience suitable for gaming, compatible across PC, mobile, and PS5.
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Another legacy mistake?
Yet, Sony’s approach smacks of an attempt to penetrate the portable gaming market without fully committing to the endeavour. The company seems intent on ensuring that the handheld device does not cannibalise console sales. This cautious stance could explain the lack of mobile network support and the need for a PS5.
The device’s launch brings to mind Sony’s initial advantage, and subsequent struggles, in the realm of cloud gaming. Sony acquired startup Gaikai in 2012 with the hope of providing a disc-free, download-free gaming experience. However, after Sony’s acquisition, much of Gaikai’s innovative vision faded, as Sony struggled to capitalise on its technology. Sony’s cloud gaming service, PlayStation Now, launched to lukewarm reviews, with many comparing it to the outdated Blockbuster model.
While Sony did gradually improve PlayStation Now, the company lagged in implementing necessary changes. Even though it eventually allowed PlayStation games to be played on a PC and added a selection of PS4 titles, Sony did not develop a mobile app for PlayStation Now, effectively conceding the concept of delivering cloud games directly to phones.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s foray into cloud gaming, XCloud, integrated with GamePass, its game subscription service, was met with more success. It also ran on custom Microsoft Azure infrastructure that runs stacks of Xbox Series X consoles. It is also testament to Microsoft’s mastery in the cloud as the industry’s de facto number 2 after AWS, something we have witnessed more recently with its advances for OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
And although Google’s Stadia was not a hit, Microsoft seems to have learnt from the search giant’s mistakes. Microsoft has seemingly given up on ensuring the Xbox hardware beats PlayStation in sales. It operates as just another hook for its subscription service GamePass.
What exacerbates Sony’s concerns, and likely contributed to Project Q’s inception, is Microsoft’s recent acquisition spree of major independent game development studios, including Bethesda, behind the renowned Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, and the gaming titan Activision Blizzard for a staggering $69 billion. Sony has been opposed to the mooted acquisition which is why Microsoft has signed agreements committing to launch games like Call of Duty cross-platform for a decade. Nintendo and Nvidia are onboard yet Sony hasn’t relented. Its opposition has resulted in the UK regulator deeming the deal as anti-competitive, but in a blow to Sony’s overtures, the EU has passed it, which will likely mean that the deal will get through even in the US.
This acquisition frenzy, coupled with advances in network bandwidth like 5G and the computational prowess of mobile devices, leaves Sony without an adequate response. Microsoft basically wants users to have the ability to play their favourite games on any device, anywhere — as long as they subscribe to Xcloud and Gamepass. This is why Microsoft’s vocal opposition to Apple’s App Store rules resulted in an EU regulation that will force Apple to open up iOS and iPadOS to third party app stores and enable side loading.
We will hear more about this at Apple’s WWDC conference on 5 June when the next version of iOS is revealed. This will mean an iOS app for xCloud, which will mean a more native experience for triple A games on the iPhone and iPad.
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The innovator’s dilemma
Sony’s PlayStation is celebrated for the exclusive games it offers — ones unmatched by any other platform. However, as Microsoft fast encroaches on this territory, Sony will need to respond swiftly and adapt to the industry’s shifting dynamics. That could involve a sacrifice, possibly even moving away from PlayStation hardware to embrace cloud services or handheld hardware that works both natively and via the cloud.
Sony will need to come out with something unique as it may soon realise it can’t compete with Microsoft on the cloud as it uses Microsoft Azure for PlayStation Now.
But it needs to do something — unique and great!
Sahil Mohan Gupta is Editor, Technology at Acko Drive. Views are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)