Sony Ericsson has unveiled the Xperia PLAY - the world's first “PlayStation Certified” smartphone. In regular usage, it’s an Android smartphone with a 5 megapixel camera, 4-inch multi-touch screen, and social networking features. But slide out the gaming control and the phone is transformed into a gaming device. The slide out game pad incorporates a digital D pad, two analogue touch pads, two shoulder buttons and the four PlayStation icons: circle, cross, square and triangle. Qualcomm's optimized Snapdragon processor with a 1Ghz CPU and embedded Adreno GPU graphics processor deliver 60frames-per-second playback 3D mobile gaming and web browsing with “minimal power consumption”.
"Today is a very proud moment for Sony Ericsson as we bring something truly revolutionary to the market,” says Rikko Sakaguchi, executive vice president and chief creation officer at Sony Ericsson. “Living up to our vision of ‘Communication Entertainment’, Xperia PLAY will forever change the way people think about smartphones and mobile gaming.
The phone will run on Gingerbread (V2.3), the latest version of the Android platform. The XperiaTM PLAY will also be the first PlayStation Certified device. This means it will have access to PlayStation game content provided through the PlayStation Suite initiative, currently under development by Sony Computer Entertainment, and due to launch later this calendar year.
The handset maker has partnered with key publishers in the gaming industry to deliver a rich, vibrant ecosystem at launch, with many leading new titles available via Android Market. Leading franchises coming to Xperia PLAY include EA's Need For Speed, Sims 3 and a world-first multiplayer version of FIFA 10 for mobile. GLU Mobile/Activision will be bringing Guitar Hero, while Gameloft's titles include Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell. Sony Ericsson is also partnering with Unity Technologies to ensure a continuous flow of high quality 3D game titles. A pre-loaded app will enable users to easily discover and download titles that have been optimised for game play on Xperia PLAY, access recently played games and see information about the games they have downloaded.
“The launch of Xperia PLAY could not have been possible without the close collaboration of both Google and Sony Computer Entertainment,” adds Sakaguchi. “The commitment of so many industry leading game publishers further demonstrates that Xperia PLAY will deliver on the long-held expectations from consumers the world over."
Google’s vice president of engineering, Andy Rubin, describes the Xperia PLAY and PlayStation Certified gaming as: “great examples of the kind of innovation that's possible in the open Android ecosystem."
And Gameloft president Michel Guillemot says the company will support the phone with more than 20 titles over the next six months, including 10 at launch. "My vision since the creation of Gameloft was to turn video games into a true mass market form of entertainment,” says Guillemot. “This vision is realized with the launch of Xperia PLAY, which combines a perfect smartphone for daily use, as well as a real game controller to provide the best gaming experience ever seen on a mobile phone.”
The phone will be available in selected markets around the world from March 2011.
Content partners at launch include:
Content partners at launch include:
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- Digital Chocolate
- Digital Legends
- Electronic Arts
- Fishlabs
- Gamehouse
- Gameloft
- Glu Mobile
- Handy Games
- Namco Bandai Networks
- Polarbit
- PopCap
- Trendy Entertainment
- Unity Technologies
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