We’ve been hearing about the PlayStation phone for months, and it turns out that the leaked images and footage were correct all along. Officially named the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY–we assume just to confuse people–the phone debuted in a rather creepy commercial during the Super Bowl last night. The commercial depicts an old Japanese man stitching realistic looking thumbs onto the Google Android mascot. The result is disturbing, to say the least, but then we get to see the phone, which is actually pretty slick. Hopefully more gameplay footage and details will arrive soon.
Interestingly, the phone doesn’t appear to have any shoulder buttons, but it does have two circular pads that we assume double for control sticks of some kind. It’s unknown exactly how, or how well, the control touchpads work.
The Xperia Play is not a PlayStation phone exactly, but it is PlayStation certified, meaning that it will have access to an exclusive PlayStation library of software titles separate from the Android market. It is unknown how many devices are planned to be PlayStation certified, and if hard button controls are required for such a certification. Then there’s the question of manufacturers. Will Sony open up its store to other Android makers?
Sony first confirmed this phone was on the way during its unveiling of the Sony PSP2, now named the Sony Next Generation Portable (NGP). So far, it appears to feature most everything it needs to survive.
What do you think of the first PlayStation compatible phone? Would you buy a phone mostly for gaming? Is it important enough to you?
