After months of rumours and a deeply creepy Superbowl ad that saw black market doctors grafting a pair of human thumbs onto Google’s green Android mascot (see sidebar), Sony Ericsson has finally taken the wraps off the Xperia PLAY, the device referred to by many until now as the PlayStation Phone.
At first blush, the Android 2.3-powered device, which sports a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 4-inch multi-touch screen, and a pair of cameras, will function much like any other smartphone running Google’s popular operating system.
However, turn it to landscape orientation and slide down a console filled with PlayStation-style controls—including a d-pad, a pair of analog touch pads, two shoulder buttons, and a quartet of action buttons marked by PlayStation’s iconic quartet of symbols—and you have a device that looks a fair bit like the PSPgo, the latest (and my personal favourite) version of Sony's handheld gaming system.
The PLAY will be the first mobile device to host Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation Suite, a new platform for select Android devices announced at the PlayStation Meeting in Tokyo in January. Set for release by the end of 2011, PlayStation Suite will provide access to original PlayStation titles, such as Wild Arms and MediEvil. It will also serve as an outlet for select PSP games and function as a framework for the development of original content.
In the meantime, Sony Ericsson says we can expect plenty of other titles designed to take advantage of the PLAY’s game-focused hardware, including The Sims 3 and FIFA 10 from Electronic Arts. These games and others will be available through Android Marketplace.
Official launch dates and pricing has yet to be set for Canada, but we will be “among the first in the world” to lay hands on the device this spring, according to a joint press release from Sony Ericsson and Rogers, the device's exclusive host at launch.
Details about Sony Ericsson’s new handset came just two days after Microsoft and Nokia made public a partnership that will see Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 become the primary operating system for its line of smart phones. That means Microsoft’s burgeoning new mobile gaming platform, Xbox Live, will be found on most of Nokia’s more advanced phones, greatly increasing its potential reach among mobile gamers.
Even as Sony prepares to take on Microsoft and Apple in the world of smart phones it’s preparing to launch an as-yet unnamed but much more powerful next-generation portable device dedicated to gaming. This successor to the PSP, which has sold 66 million units in its six years of existence, will do battle with Nintendo’s stereoscopic 3DS, due out in Canada in just over a month.
Clearly, Sony is unwilling to place all of its eggs in just one basket. That's probably wise, given the tumultuous nature of the on-the-go-gaming industry. However, I hope to see a little more in the way of compelling PLAY-exclusive content prior to launch. Lest we forget lessons learned from Nokia’s ill-fated Ngage, game selection is clearly a determining factor in the success of any purpose-built gaming phone.
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