Gaming handhelds are experiencing a bit of a renaissance. While the Nintendo Switch got the ball rolling, Valve’s Steam Deck really 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 others.

However, Sony's tease of its own handheld gaming device, Project Q, left many baffled this week. The company didn't mention a lot of specifics, but it appears to just let you stream from your console. This isn't what the world needs right now. But that doesn't mean Sony should give up. Instead, it’s the perfect time for a proper successor to the Xperia Play smartphone.

While the smartphone generated a lot of excitement prior to its release, it never really managed to get its footing, with Sony eventually abandoning the project. But the device dubbed by many as the "PlayStation Phone" might be able to make that resurgence now that there's finally a market for handheld gaming devices.

What does a modern Xperia Play phone need to succeed?

There are plenty 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 convert smartphones into gaming handhelds. But we don’t currently have a modern smartphone that combines the two and provides the best of both worlds, specifically a modern smartphone with a full controller built in like the Xperia Play. You could import some devices from overseas from brands like MOQI, but most people don’t want to deal with the hassle.

Consumers also want modern components, quality hardware, a sleek design, and proper support from a reliable brand. And we know that Sony can make great hardware, as you can see with its current crop of Xperia smartphones and even its older handheld 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 gaming library while you’re out on the go, while great Android phones and devices like the Logitech G Cloud that run on Android have access to options from the Google Play Store and cloud streaming. Sure, the Xperia Play would be built on Android, but how could it differentiate itself more from the crowd to justify its existence beyond other smartphones?

If Sony were to build an Xperia Play now, it would need to offer an excellent assortment of games that you can’t find anywhere else to be competitive. If it could get the right technology in place, it could leverage its existing PlayStation Plus service to mobile players and possibly offer an Xbox Game Pass competitor. Currently, it offers a variety of perks like free games, cloud storage, and with higher tiers, access to Sony's classic game catalog, and even cloud streaming.

If Sony could bring its cloud streaming service to a new Xperia Play, it could 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 struggled with. Heck, it could even offer cloud storage to Xperia Play users, giving them a nice added bonus and a place to store photos and videos. This service is already available for the PS5, PS4, and Windows PC, so it wouldn't have to be built from the ground up. This could be an incredible way of expanding its service beyond its current user base, while also offering a really strong pillar of support for a new gaming smartphone.

Of course, building an app for Android could present many issues for the company. But a possible solution could see Sony utilizing emulation like it did with the launch of the original Xperia Play. It had some great games like Crash Bandicoot that actually worked quite well despite the weaker hardware at the time. We know that the emulator on the phone was capable, thanks to this deep dive by Modern Vintage Gamer that showed the built-in emulator could run many PS1 games without issue.

If all else fails, the Xperia Play would have to utilize the amazing games that are available for Android, including the ones on the Google Play Store and even game streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming through Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, and others. Users could also download the PS Remote Play to locally stream games from a PlayStation console.

And why not produce exclusive games too? We already know that Sony is interested in mobile with the PlayStation Studios Mobile Division. With so many great games on the Google Play Store and competition from other handheld consoles, it'll be an incredible challenge, but one Sony will need to navigate if it wants to produce a successful Xperia Play sequel.

Few other companies have the potential Sony does

The gaming smartphone category is already an extremely niche one, but as many have found and said, the best gaming device is the one that's with you. There are options to play Xbox or PC titles on the go, but if you're looking to get your PlayStation fix while on the go, that currently isn't possible. So if Sony can bring some of that to a mobile phone experience, it could become an extremely niche but powerful product.

An updated Xperia Play could be in a prime position in 2023, but as we've seen, there are a couple of hurdles. There's also pricing to consider. Nintendo and Valve are having a good run, offering relatively affordable hardware, but they're also banking on making money through software, which Sony doesn't exactly have for handhelds. This is where Sony would have to be different and leverage its 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 resurrect the Xperia Play, or should this device just be laid to rest?