Sony is going to change its stance towards smartphone games, especially with regards to the smartphone Xperia Play and the platform PlayStation Mobile. The first big change can be perceived by Sony's silence regarding a new version of the Xperia Play. With almost two years and without any indication of an Xperia Play 2, we can conclude that we will not have a new version of the device.
Sony will invest in the 'cross platform' Playstation Mobile and intends to extend it to more Android smartphones, in addition to the Xperia line. Currently Playstation Mobile will only work with the following devices: Xperia Play, Xperia Arc, Xperia S, Xperia Ion, Xperia Acro (and Acro HD), Sony Tablet S/P, and also HTC One X, One X+, One S, and One V. And of course, PSVITA.
The aim is to inject cheer and cheap games into PSVITA. For this, Sony intends to attract many developers with its cheap SDK ($99) and the possibility to upload unlimited apps and games for a year.
Another change will be the abandonment of Playstation One games for the Playstation Mobile platform. Sounds weird, but that's what it is. The Playstation Mobile platform will no longer have new Playstation games.
Sorry for the Xperia Play, it was a great device, perhaps the best “portable video game” I've ever had in my hands. The idea of those sensors in the middle of the smartphone that served as analogs, bordered on genius. The Xperia Play had it all, great hardware, great Sony know-how to make it tough, and great gaming support, the only problem was the price at launch. The smartphone was very expensive, it cost more than top smartphones that are usually bought by parents. On European soil, where the device was first launched, the Xperia Play cost 539.99 euros ($726.94).
A smartphone with these characteristics, focused on games, has to have an intermediate price. Despite this, I do not consider that Xperia Play ran aground, the device was very well received, especially here in Spain. Even though he's already showing the first signs of fatigue running heavy games, the device is still in high demand.
To finish, nothing better than remembering how the Xperia Play rocked the market. I still remember the buzz in 2010, a “PSP Phone” and how everyone said that the Xperia Play would run PSP games. None of this has been confirmed and the future of the Play line, ex-Playstation Suite and now Playstation Mobile, remains uncertain. It feels like I've seen this movie before. First releasing gaming-specific hardware and then releasing a mobile platform. Nokia did just that with the N-Gage.
Via Playstation Blog
[originally published November 25, 2012]
