Sources have revealed a slew of information about Sony's purported new handheld gaming device, codename "Q Lite." Given the recent handheld gaming craze, as kickstarted by Valve's own low-powered Steam Deck gaming PC, it's not overly surprising that the original creator of the legendary PlayStation Portable would jump into the fray, but the situation is a bit more complicated than it might appear at first.
Sony's Q Lite handheld gaming console would get pushed onto the market years after the untimely sunsetting of the company's previous handheld outing, the PlayStation Vita. Whereas the PSP enjoyed essentially universal acclaim and remains a popular choice for legacy gaming, Vita hasn't had the same sort of luck and ended up never truly breaking into the mainstream.
As unsurprising as the apparent existence of Q Lite may be, the surprising bit lies in its niche and functionality. According to Tom Henderson via Insider Gaming, Q Lite will not go toe-to-toe with the Steam Deck and its many competitors. Instead, Q Lite is, apparently, going to be a dedicated PlayStation Remote Play device, focusing on this particular type of game streaming over the Internet. Henderson claims that Q Lite will support up to 1080p streaming at 60 FPS, and would require a constant Internet connection in order to function.
Henderson also claims that Q Lite is a major new piece of PlayStation gaming kit and that it's going to feature the same sort of design language as a regular PS5 DualSense controller does, albeit with a "massive" 8-inch LCD touchscreen display as its centerpiece. Q Lite is now allegedly in its quality assurance testing phase, and it's supposed to launch before the previously rumored PS5 Pro, but after the PS5 model with a detachable disk drive.
The same source previously discussed the existence of a detachable disk drive PS5, only to claim that an actual, full-fledged PS5 Pro is also undergoing active development as well. All these gaming consoles are supposed to kickstart a new phase of PS5's lifecycle. The particularly notable bit is that Henderson believes the PS5 Pro is targeting a holiday 2024 launch, meaning that the handheld Q Lite shouldn't be too far out, either.
Even though there's no Steam Deck 2 on the horizon at this time, everything that Henderson has mentioned so far means that the fans of PC gaming, in particular, shouldn't worry too much about a new console coming in to take its lunch. For better or for worse, Q Lite is seemingly going in an entirely different direction, and it remains to be seen whether that might pan out for Sony in the end.
Source: Insider Gaming