Portable gaming devices are seeing some renaissance. While the Nintendo Switch got the ball rolling, Valve’s Steam Deck pushed the market to a whole other level, paving the way for ambitious products like the Logitech G Cloud, Razer Edge 5G, Asus ROG Ally, and many more.
However, Sony’s teasing of its own portable gaming device, Project Q, left many baffled this week. The company didn’t go into many details, but it does seem to let you stream from your console. This is not what the world needs right now. But that doesn’t mean Sony should give up. Instead, it’s the perfect time for a suitable successor to the Xperia Play smartphone.
Although the smartphone generated a lot of excitement before its release, it never really managed to gain ground, as Sony eventually abandoned the project. But the device many have dubbed the “PlayStation Phone” may be able to make a resurgence now that there’s finally a market for handheld gaming consoles.
What does the modern Xperia Play need to succeed?
Source: Verizon
There are a lot of gaming phones out there like the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of game controllers that can turn smartphones into mobile gaming devices. But we don’t currently have a modern smartphone that combines the two and offers the best of both worlds, specifically a modern smartphone with a full console built in like the Xperia Play. You can import some hardware from overseas from brands like MOQI, but most people don’t want to deal with the hassle.
Consumers also want modern components, high-quality hardware, stylish design, and adequate support from a trusted brand. And we know Sony can make great hardware, as you can see with their current range of Xperia smartphones and even older portable consoles like the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PlayStation Vita (PS Vita).
However, one of the biggest hurdles will be content. After all, the Steam Deck gives you access to a robust PC game library when you’re on the go, while Android phones and cool devices like the Android-powered Logitech G Cloud have access to options from the Google Play Store and cloud streaming. Sure, the Xperia Play will be built on top of Android, but how can it set itself apart from the crowd to justify its existence outside of other smartphones?
Source: Sony
If Sony is going to make the Xperia Play now, it will need to offer an excellent selection of games that you can’t find anywhere else to be competitive. If it can get hold of the right technology, it could leverage the existing PlayStation Plus service for mobile players and potentially offer a competitor to Xbox Game Pass. Currently, it offers a variety of perks such as free games, cloud storage, and with higher levels, access to Sony’s classic game catalog, and even cloud streaming.
If Sony can bring its own cloud streaming service to the new Xperia Play, it can really hit the ground running, giving users access to hundreds of games in an instant and solving one of the biggest hurdles the previous console faced. Heck, it can even provide cloud storage for Xperia Play users, giving them the nice added bonus of a place to store photos and videos. This service is already available for PS5, PS4, and Windows PC, so you don’t have to build it from the ground up. This could be a great way to expand its service beyond its current user base, while also providing a really strong backing to support a new gaming smartphone.
With so many great games on the Google Play Store and competition from other portable consoles, this will be an incredible challenge, but Sony will need one to navigate if it wants to produce a successful Xperia Play sequel.
Of course, creating an app for Android could bring many problems to the company. But a potential solution could see Sony use simulation as it did with the original Xperia Play launch. It had some great games like Bandicoot Crash This actually worked quite well despite the poor hardware at the time. We know the emulator on the phone was capable, thanks to this Deep dive Modern classic games Which showed that the built-in emulator can run many PS1 games without a problem.
If all else fails, Xperia Play will have to take advantage of the great games available for Android, including those on the Google Play Store and even game streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming through Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, and more. Users can also download PS Remote Play to stream games locally from a PlayStation console.
And why not produce exclusive games too? We already know that Sony Interested in mobile With PlayStation Studios Mobile Division. With so many great games on the Google Play Store and competition from other portable consoles, this will be an incredible challenge, but Sony will need one to navigate if it wants to produce a successful Xperia Play sequel.
Few other companies have the potential that Sony does
The gaming smartphone category is a very niche one indeed, but as many have found and said, the best gaming device is the one you have with you. There are options to play Xbox or PC titles on the go, but if you’re looking for a PlayStation fix on the go, that’s not currently possible. So if Sony can bring some of that to the mobile experience, it could become a very premium yet powerful product.
The updated Xperia Play could be in prime position in 2023, but as we’ve seen, there are two hitches. There are also prices to consider. Nintendo and Valve are doing well, offering relatively affordable hardware, but also relying on making money through software, which Sony doesn’t quite have for mobile devices. This is where Sony needs to be different and take advantage of the existing PlayStation Network and PlayStation Plus plans to really get people interested in a unique product like the Xperia Play. So is it time for Sony to revive the Xperia Play, or should this device be put to rest?
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