New details on the so-called Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone have emerged, with the handset tipped to use BRAVIA branding for a display that’s supposedly on-par with the iPhone 4’s Retina Display. According to MobileCrunch’s source, the handset is on track for a Mobile World Congress 2011 launch in February next year, since it is “no where near ready” for a holiday 2010 release.
What’s left unclear is how the phone will be branded; it seems Sony Ericsson will be sticking with their XPERIA name, since the PlayStation Phone most likely won’t be able to run actual downloaded PSP games. Instead, it will get custom mobile games, specially created for the platform and priced at sub-$10. The handset itself is internally expected to come in at around $500 unsubsidized, including a five game bundle.
As for “Z-System”, that’s supposedly the umbrella title for both the Sony Ericsson gaming platform and the distribution system, and it’s undecided whether games will be distributed separately to the Android Market or, as Google is apparently pushing for, in a new, custom section of the Market. The tipster – who apparently has a track record not just of successful information but with mobile gaming – reckons it’s “the best gaming experience [they’ve] ever had on a mobile device,” which leaves us eagerly anticipating MWC in a few months time.
SOunds great im ready for it
if this is dual core and 2.2 android . I will be in line for this one
I can live with not being able to play existing PSP games, but it would be a crime against common sense if PlayStation Minis and PS One Classics don’t run on this device.
If they run it would immediately give the phone a boost because you would have PSP and PS3 users who would already have purchased games that they could download on the new system.
If they don’t run, then a PSPhone would have to build its library from scratch, and Sony would be sending a message to their users that downloadable PSN games don’t transfer to new devices.
I buy Android phones because I have the guarantee that software that I use now can be transferred to a new Android phone. I have a PS2, PS3 and PSP1000, and I would buy both a PSPhone and a future PSP2 if I knew that a fair amount of my current content would transfer over. Without that guarantee I might just get another company’s Android phone
I would be very surprised if the phone used Bravia branding though.
Previously Bravia branding was added to phones that could view digital terrestrial TV broadcasts. Remember, Bravia is associated with televisions, not with screens in general.
If the phone has a TV tuner inside for the Japanese market, then I could well imagine it being a Bravia phone.
As a gaming phone device, I think that it will probably be either PlayStation or Xperia branding.
Perhaps they could revive the old PSX branding…
…PSXperia? 🙂
Android? haahaaaaa!! I don’t see buying my kid an android phone so he can play games. It sounds like the Happy Meal of phones, you buy the android OS so you can get the PSP Games. too bad they decided to use a throw away OS.
@Mark – I hear ya. My kid always wants to show his friends “Dad’s XBOX LIVE phone”. The phone is pretty freaking cool though, I guess I can’t blame him for wanting to show off my phone. heehee
The only way this might work is sony to create a system that would enable developers to create games on this phone and have a simulation package that would enable it to run the game also in the psp 2…. all these games will be under the title of minis….. this is already available for the playstation… but if they are able to do what microsoft has done in the xna…this will be a major hit… otherwise dont bother making the device in the first place… from now i can tell you if they make gamescape… FAIL.
What cell carrier will have it? I hope it is verizon wireless.