PlayStation Portal. Was Sony Project Q (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Right but you said Q costs the same as a PS5, so I was wondering where all the $300 PS5s were.

I meant to say it costs the same as a Switch. And it’s nearly the same as a PS5. If it costs $300.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Except a PS5 is almost double the price of a Switch and the Q is absolutely not going to cost the same as a Switch.

I would be shocked if Sony tried to sell it for above $150.

 

[Bryan^H]

I would be shocked if Sony tried to sell it for above $150.

Thats what I'm thinking. Its an extremely niche product, and in my opinion only useful for an extremely limited group of people. I was thinking $149.99.

And if Sony is trying to get a feel for the handheld market for their next console...this is the wrong path.

 

[DaveF]

Except a PS5 is almost double the price of a Switch ….

How so?
Switch is $300
PS5 is $400

 

[DaveF]

I think my misapprehension of the $300 price was comparisons to a WiFi steaming device from Logitech that cost $350 or so.

Logitech’s G Cloud Gaming Handheld is terminally online

It’s costly, and it can’t do much without Wi-Fi.

www.theverge.com

So Sony Q: no idea

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Umm...PS5 is $500.

 

[Steve Y]

Some people really want to play their PS5 (small text and all) on a handheld. Other people don't mind streaming tech for playing games. A third group doesn't have any device on which to stream these games already. A fourth will only purchase 1p hardware to play games on a console. This strange device is for the intersecting subset of all four populations.

DualSense controllers are already pushing $100, so it's hard to imagine this device being a relatively "budget" proposition. And when you can buy a Steam Deck for a reasonable price, and many of Sony's 1p games are coming to PC, it's easy to wonder why it exists at all.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

DualSense controllers are $70, not quite what I'd call "pushing $100." A 1080p screen plus a wifi network adapter and a small processor chip, added onto a $70 controller, could easily come in under $150.

The Steam Deck is a fantastic piece of hardware (I have one) but it's also basically the price of a PS5. And those Sony first party games don't come to PC until 1-2 years after console release. Depending on the wifi quality in your home, you might get better graphics playing a PS5 game on the Q than playing a PC game at the best settings possible on a Steam Deck.

I get that the Q isn't exactly a mainstream device but if they hit a good price point then I can absolutely see the value in this to sell a few million units.

 

[DaveF]

Umm...PS5 is $500.

$399 for PS5 digital edition.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/playstation-5-digital-edition-console/6523169.p?skuId=6523169

$349 for Switch OLED

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/nintendo-switch-oled-model-w-white-joy-con-white/6470923.p?skuId=6470923

Switch and PS5 are basically the same price.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I guess it comes down to what you consider to be standard models of either one. The OLED Switch is a late-gen premium upgrade and the digital PS5 is an entry-level option. Personally, I see the standard $300 Switch (which is routinely available for $250) as the 'standard' model and the $500 PS5 as the 'standard' model. We could either say the PS5 is twice the price of a Switch or only $50 more than the Switch.

 

[DaveF]

To each their own. The $400 to $350 is for me the practical comparison. I don't buy games on discs anymore so I'm not wasting $100 on a drive; went digital only in 2018 when I bought the Switch. And if I were buying a new Switch, of course I'd buy the OLED model for better screen and better battery life.

 

[Steve Y]

Morgan, I'm intrigued by your suggestion that Project Q could be $50 less expensive than the DualSense Edge. Based on rumored estimates, such aggressive pricing appears unlikely, especially with the runaway success of the PS5 around the world. "Wi-Fi chip between stock LCD" or not, it seems more likely they're going to market this as a portable PS5 and price it accordingly.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Sony was pretty clear in their announcement that it was just an extension of the PS5 for use in the home, making it far from portable. It's also using a 1080p LCD screen (not even an OLED, let alone a 4K one) which keeps the price down.

The Q is essentially a Wii U tablet controller for the PS5. Sony will face a lot of backlash if they're marketing the Q as anything more than a controller with a screen.

 

[Edwin-S]

SONY should have sent the time and resources on a new handheld similar to the Vita with ability to download games from a PS+ account and/or directly from the PS5, rather than on this useless piece of e-waste.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

That would be a ridiculously expensive device.

 

[Edwin-S]

In what way, is this e-waste that SONY is working on not an expensive waste of time and money. Thos useless crap is a solution that no one was looking for, no matter how cheap they make it?

And speaking of cheap, there is no way SONY is going to be selling this for 150 dollars. It's SONY.Tthey are going to try to bleed their gaming customer base of at least 250 and hope there are a pile of suckers out there that are too lazy to just walk into the room where their PS5s are and turn on the power.

I doubt a proper handheld would have been more expensive than the upcoming new Switch. They still have to compete and if they had made a portable unit vastly more expensive than their competitor Nintendo, they would be cutting off their noses to spite their face.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Let's break this into two parts. First off, what do you think the Q is worth in parts? Second, what do you think Sony will sell it for?

If the PS5 controllers are $70 and the only new pieces are an 8" HD display plus a barebones chip with wifi, then I see this easily staying under $150 as the final price. I wouldn't be surprised if it costs $100 or less to even produce.

The PS5 itself is sold at a loss and PSVR2 is priced aggressively. I'm not sure why you think Sony would overcharge on hardware when their real bread and butter is game sales and subscriptions. The profit margins on the Q, even at near-cost and with probably low overall sales, are significantly better than if they made a new PSP/Vita platform with it's own media format and had to make new games to support it. And if you're suggesting they should have made a portable PS5 instead...that's not really possible right now. The most optimistic rumors about the next Nintendo console have it being less powerful than the PS4. The Steam Deck is as expensive as a PS5 or more and it doesn't hit the power of the PS5.

As for this being a solution no one was looking for, a quick Google search shows a LOT of people are actually quite interested in this. I was skeptical when it was first announced but I'd actually be a prime target consumer for it since I like being able to game on a handheld device while something else is on the TV or I don't have to go fire up my entire HT setup just to get like 30 minutes of game time. It's why the Switch has been so great.

 

[Steve Y]

I was thinking "portable" more in terms of being able to play in bed or anywhere in your home, not on a rooftop.

Morgan, you back up your arguments well here. I will say that if Sony prices this aggressively, they'll surprise a lot of people. This thing is going to sell pretty well regardless, but at $150 USD it's going to attract a lot more PS5 owners to a device that, IMO, has a fairly specific use case.

 

[Ruz-El]

Thing with a $100-$150 price points, would it still be able to stream from the PS5 without loss of framerates and what not that the kids all like? (I have no idea, just curious. )

 

[Edwin-S]

Thing with a $100-$150 price points, would it still be able to stream from the PS5 without loss of framerates and what not that the kids all like? (I have no idea, just curious. )

They would most likely have to drop the game resolution down to 1080p to keep the frame rate up. However, on a 7" screen a drop to 1080p probably wouldn't be all that detrimental to the PQ.