Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

“The first thing for Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play to worry about is filling up its game store with exclusive content – and quick. But even if it fails in that it, will have accomplished something. For one, it proves people wrong who thought the gamephone went extinct with N-gage.Secondly, it’s the first thing in a long time to really question touchscreen as the only direction worth heading towards. And who knows – if the industry has caught the gaming bug for real, the next thing to expect is perhaps a better second try at motion based gaming.”

“What can we say, the chubby green robot just grew opposing thumbs, as there aren’t any smartphone alternatives with a dedicated gamepad now, although we shouldn’t be forgetting Nokia’s efforts with the N-Gage line once upon a time. What we think Sony is trying to do here is to create a PlayStation Certified mobile gaming platform, which will be accessible from future phones, portable consoles, and maybe even its tablets, in order for the company to have a chance against Apple in mobile gaming. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is a bit rough around the edges, as all first efforts are, but it might very well be a harbinger of things to come, and it’s good to have a front seat for some fun in the meantime.”

“The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play's hardware is good. But its fragmented, unintuitive software quickly sucks the fun out of gaming, leaving the Play little more than a porky Android phone with nothing to offer over its slimmer, lighter brethren.Sony Ericsson's failed to embrace what made iOS and Android gaming so popular in the first place -- the availability of a broad selection of affordable games that are conveniently arranged and easily accessible. Instead, we're offered a sparse selection of undesirable and expensive titles, and expected to cough up on the premise that gaming with physical controls is better than gaming on a touchscreen. It may be better, Sony Ericsson, but it's not that much better. We'll stick with Tiny Wings, thanks.If you like the look of the Play's interface, and want a high-spec smart phone, check out the Xperia Arc instead. If you want a portable console, the Nintendo 3DS is the cream of the crop.”

“We've reached out to Sony Ericsson asking for a roadmap of when we can expect the PlayStation Suite and more PlayStation One titles to roll up on the Xperia Play bandwagon and make it worth joining. As it stands today, on the day of review and the precipice of its launch, the Play is looking out on a pretty barren gaming landscape. The Android titles up for grabs are not exclusive to the device and don't necessarily benefit all that greatly from its unique control scheme, whereas the catalog of classic PlayStation content stops after just one entry.So with almost no differentiating software of its own, the Play is really relying on the strength of its gamepad to round up willing participants in its gaming revolution. We concur that that's indeed the phone's main strength, with good ergonomics and an extremely durable sliding mechanism. Nonetheless, the poor quality of the screen and good, but not great, hardware spec force us to be reluctant about recommending it as a sage purchase at present. Perhaps it picks up a loyal following, from both developers and fans alike, and within a few short weeks, we're all looking at a device with a rich ecosystem of compelling tailor-made content and a ton of reasons to own it. But as for today? We'd rather spend our cash elsewhere in the Android cosmos and hold out hope for the PlayStation Phone 2.0.”