Sony Unveils First PlayStation Phone [Slashdot]

[DP ServBot]

KRK-TR writes "Sony Ericsson has unveiled the first 'PlayStation phone,' called the Xperia Play. The device resembles a regular smart phone but has gaming buttons that slide out from beneath the screen." Eurogamer got some hands-on time with the device, and they had this to say: "The recessed digital controls are precise and responsive but have a hard, microswitch-style 'click' to them which contrasts with the soft, springy touch of a PSP or a Dual Shock pad. There are left and right shoulder buttons recessed into the handset – you need to find these with the tips of your index fingers, rather than the joints as you're used to. The most interesting inputs are the twin circular touch-pads between the buttons. These effectively replace the on-screen virtual analogue sticks that blight so many smartphone games – and they do the job well. ... Despite the nominal similarity to PSPgo, it doesn't bear any family resemblance to or design hallmarks of SCE products, and indeed is only passingly identifiable as a Sony Ericsson phone. It's very much an anonymous Android handset with the added novelty of game controls."http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgames.slashdot.org%2Fsto ry%2F11%2F02%2F18%2F2249201%2FSony-Unveils-First-PlayStation-Phone%3Ffrom%3Dfb) http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png (http://twitter.com/home?status=Sony+Unveils+First+PlayStation+Phone%3 A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fi7o8mu)

Read more of this story (http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/02/18/2249201/Sony-Unveils-First-PlayStation-Phone?from=rss) at Slashdot.

http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EDSL4gpSTou8JC6ybe5EbAFGIjU/0/di (http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EDSL4gpSTou8JC6ybe5EbAFGIjU/0/da)
http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EDSL4gpSTou8JC6ybe5EbAFGIjU/1/di (http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EDSL4gpSTou8JC6ybe5EbAFGIjU/1/da)

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Slashdot/slashdotGames/~4/ssr9nmbmuFo

More... (http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotGames/~3/ssr9nmbmuFo/Sony-Unveils-First-PlayStation-Phone)

[PapaStu]

And so it begins......


With android on it i'll never touch the phone. Hoping for the handset provider to continue to support the software releases with new updates is not something that most providers will do as they continue to push out new phones every 4 months. The fact that it's an Ericsson phone doesn't help things either.

[skaar]

Stu it rules, man.

[PapaStu]

Hah! Suuuuuure it does. You can buy me one and i'll let you know about all the great Android gaming on it ;D

From what i've seen, the phone has already been price dropped a few times within the first month or two of it's release and it's currently 99 bucks on VZW. It is a fail phone.

[skaar]

No fail. Just didn't sell a million billion. It's a great piece of hardware for a retro game lover for roms on the go. Been playing mega man all afternoon.

[maxlords]

I've been exceptionally happy with mine and I got it on release. Worked out to almost nothing with the plan I got...just paying for the plan. I use it moderately every day as a multipurpose device. The biggest fails of the device are:

1. Not linkable to your PSN account so you can DL your PS1 games to it. The word was this was "coming sometime" and still hasn't appeared...and with the phone not taking off I don't expect it to at all :(

2. There are almost no good games for the Android OS in comparison to the iOS. Which means that the games that are available mostly aren't useable on the controller.

3. The only games coming out for it are pretty much from Gameloft. Which means minimal selection. Again...disappointing.

That being said, emulators work FABULOUSLY on it and it's a great all around device. I honestly like it because it's thicker than most of the current devices and fits very well in my hand. But I would have been ALMOST as well off with an Arc. Almost.

[DeputyMoniker]

I've been exceptionally happy with mine and I got it on release. Worked out to almost nothing with the plan I got...just paying for the plan. I use it moderately every day as a multipurpose device. The biggest fails of the device are:

1. Not linkable to your PSN account so you can DL your PS1 games to it. The word was this was "coming sometime" and still hasn't appeared...and with the phone not taking off I don't expect it to at all :(

2. There are almost no good games for the Android OS in comparison to the iOS. Which means that the games that are available mostly aren't useable on the controller.

3. The only games coming out for it are pretty much from Gameloft. Which means minimal selection. Again...disappointing.

That being said, emulators work FABULOUSLY on it and it's a great all around device. I honestly like it because it's thicker than most of the current devices and fits very well in my hand. But I would have been ALMOST as well off with an Arc. Almost.

If phones were cheaper & didn't require a 2-year contract, I'd give this a try. It def looks fun to own. If they could make it thinner and an all-around awesome phone, I'd buy. In it's current form, it isn't a "commit to 2 years of use" candidate. If we were looking at a Nexus Prime caliber phone with a really thin slide-out controller on it...I'd be following rumors & planning to buy it. Unfortunately, the Xperia Play just isn't man enough for me. (spec-wise) It was a good thought, but an overall miss in my book.

[skaar]

I got mine used off a local guy for $200, he'd used it for about 5 hours when he decided he wanted an iPhone.

I paid $8 to get it unlocked through a website and popped my SIM card in. Considering the ONLY portable gaming (that isn't for work) that I want is all emulation, I'm 100% happy with it.

[substantial_snake]

They did look like great little phones for emulation. The only downside I've heard is that the screen is either too dark or in general kinda sucks. Any thoughts?

[skaar]

They did look like great little phones for emulation. The only downside I've heard is that the screen is either too dark or in general kinda sucks. Any thoughts?

Screen's nice and bright, but you do have to play with it if you don't want to eat your battery. I keep mine around 60%

[Jacob_h]

It dissappointed me..i hate the screen its too small..it should have bee bigger and more sharper..