Ben-DutkaIt's weird to call this an "official announcement" because it seems we've known about it for ages.
But at any rate, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play – what gamers and the press had called the "PlayStation Phone" for months and months – enjoyed its worldwide debut during the Super Bowl tonight. If you missed it, the crazy ad is below and while we're never the biggest fans of Sony's bizarre commercials for their new hardware, this one might strike the right chord. …or some chord…of some kind… Okay, it's just strange.
For the record, the Xperia Play will be one of the very first devices revealed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and the exact date and time is February 13 at 6 p.m. GMT. You can also check out the promotional poster seen at Engadget ; it shows a full shot of Gingerbread running along with the aforementioned info.
So, will this be your next phone? Or are you waiting on the iPhone 5? Or maybe you just want to keep PlayStation in the living room…?
I'm pretty psyched for this phone, I like the Xperia ^.^
Me too. I got the Xperia mini pro, and it's the best phone I've ever had. Only problem is the battery life when running stuff – it sure need to recharge often then. But that's both understandable and to be expected.
Me three. Getting it aswell. Maybe not now but definitely later.
Haha, what a freaky commercial…
That was a travesty of a commercial. And DAMN those Packers!
I don't think I'll be getting it cuz I don't use phones much anyway. PSP2 is the way to go for gaming.
I was with the Steelers but the PACKs played an excellent game.
Steelers gave it away too, but I can't say the Pack played bad, I just don't like em. 🙂
Tell me about it. being a "fib", those cheeseheads just might ruin my summer months spent up north.. yay…
Wow, another bizarre commercial from Sony.
Come on, we know you can do much better than that, at least give KB a shot at doing it.
I saw people's reaction to this. It was a "uhhh wtf?" moment for them.
Last edited by CHAOS THEORY X on 2/6/2011 11:08:27 PM
Sorry Xperia PLAY, the Droid Bionic has captured my heart at CES and w/ it's dual core processor and eventual upgrade to 2.3, it'll be the same thing as you sans the physical controls.
seriously whenever sony decides to have new hardware they always have to have some weird as F*** commercials for it.
like this one for instance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqkNPcUMffU
weird as F*** indeed
What about this Xbox commercial?
Hmmm… I thought it was an interesting, if creepy, commercial.
The tag-line is a great one though
"Android is ready to play"
If there is one thing about the Android market place that's a disappointment it's games by recognizable publishers. It's like getting games for Linux, patchy.
So for someone like Sony to come along and put out there that "Android is ready to play", is a great move. It feels kind of like Android has come of age and now real games are coming.
Good point, you just made the commercial even better 🙂
I think the goal may have actually been to simply do something to stand out and make people remember.
At what point during the game did they show this? I watched the whole game and I never saw it. I wonder if it was bumped for a local ad, which would suck.
Anyway, strange commercial. I'll have to wait and see what the reviews are once it's released but it looks cool at least.
this is going to flop big time!
sorry, i just cant see this running toe to toe against apple, even google one of the worlds largest companies is struggling with HTC!
not to mention nokia and motorola the fathers of mobile phones!
i wish sony would stop wasting there money on things that dont matter, things where there going to make no profits off, and focus on what they will.
stop trying to saturate every market out there, and just focus on game consoles, thats what you do, and thats what you do well so stick too it!
you dont see Ferrari trying to make microwaves, or Bose trying to make televisions……… theres a reason for that!
Sony has always had there hands in multiple electronics. Stereos, Walkmans, Phones , TVs, Cameras, Games. You name it. If you think about it this phone will melt all of those together. I say good Luck to them. It wont flop. I may not topple the Iphone but I do not think that is its true purpose. I believe it is another Trojan Horse setting consumers up for the PSSuite and ultimately the NGP.
Last edited by FatherSun on 2/7/2011 1:51:44 AM
Google struggling with HTC? Hardly seeing as how HTC is using Google's OS. And this actually does have a good fighting chance against Apple for two reasons. First this is arguably the world's first mobile phone designed specifically for gaming, so considering how popular mobile phone gaming is becoming this device has a good shot at prominence. And next, Android is already strongly outperforming Apple's IOS and the Xperia Play embrace's Android. Do the math.
And besides the Xperia Play is only one part of Sony's plan for the Mobile device market. We also have the Xperia Arc, Playstation Suite, and the NGP on the way.
Last edited by Looking Glass on 2/7/2011 5:32:28 AM
eh, i cant see that being enough.
i cant understand apples popularity these days, honestly look how overpriced the iphone 4 is and that did not stop it from selling out and staying sold out for over 10 months!
you really think this can do that?
there are heaps of phones out there better than the iphone 4, but there selling so poorly there making enslaveds sales look good!
i just cant see sony turning a profit off this, all i can see is them spending millions on it and it selling a few units.
so many better places they could be putting the money, bringing back the developers they had to fire in the UK cutbacks recently for example.
Don't you know?
Apple has a large and fanatically loyal fanbase.
But that's hardly an issue for the Xperia Play because the Android market share is already superior to that of the Iphone. And as I said mobile phone gaming is becoming increasingly popular. So for those who like to play games on mobile phones the Xperia Play could be a very attractive option.
And another thing is that the Xperia Play may not even have to do particularly well because it's merely one part of a multi-pronged attack by Sony. For those who aren't all that interested in mobile phone gaming there is the Xperia Arc. And even if there are people who still choose a non-Sony Android phone Sony can still reach these consumers because of the upcoming Playstation Suite. And on top of that Sony has also expressed interest in bringing Playstation Suite to the IOS.
And last but certainly not least, there is the upcoming NGP. An extremely promising device that could really shake things up in Sony's favor.
Sony is pretty much launching an attack on all fronts and there is a good chance that this strategy is going to pay off.
Last edited by Looking Glass on 2/7/2011 7:49:19 AM
I will never pay for an iPhone. Yeah it sure looks nice and the iOS is so much better than the Windows Mobile OS, but it's so freaking expensive! Not that I cannot afford it, but other smartphones could easily beat the iPhone feature-wise and not cost me a fortune. My next phone will definitely be using an Android OS, but whether it's going to be the PlayStation Phone remains to be seen. I'm more interested with the NGP/PSP2 after all.
Funny that you wrote this while I was wroting the comment below. They match perfectly 🙂
@Beamboom and ZettaiSeigi, Android and its open sysytem is the way to go. It allows so much more room for development. Android is gaining market share exponentially. Google knew exactly what it was doing when they purchased the platform. I wont knock the Iphone. It is an excellent device but something about just doesn't vibe with me.
Last edited by FatherSun on 2/7/2011 2:11:13 AM
I agree. I don't see the PlayStation Phone beating the iPhone anytime soon, but I don't think Sony is trying to do that with the Xperia XPlay. That said, it sure is going to be interesting how the PlayStation Suite would open the doors for more games to be available to Android phones (at least the certified ones).
also dudes, you dont want to have to jailbreak for something android does out of the box. I have an lg ally on android 2.2 and I had an ipod touch, the ipod I had to jailbreak to do anything I wanted other then music, android is just the best phone os out, and the xperia play will be a good addition to the android fam, get one if u want a smart phone, unless u like keyboards like I do.
Ps. I like missed the commercial even tho I watched the superbowl, I even was lookin for the thang. Musta happened durring the 5 minutes I wasn't watchin the screen, damn ppl screwing me and sh#t!
iPhone has not got a chance. Not in the long run. Open platforms has always beaten closed platforms. Firefox is larger than Internet Explorer now. Linux is the most used operating system on anything but desktop computers – and is gaining momentum on desktops every year (I've used Linux exclusively for many years now). The free development kits and open markets on Android makes it *so* much easier to develop for this platform. The phones are cheaper, ergo more bang for the bucks. This matters to the majority of buyers. You have to be an apple-head to not see this.
I have the luxury of changing phones every few months so I will definitely be getting this. I will let you guys know how it performs. Engadget seems to like it and believe me I have seen them tear some tech apart so I have a good feeling about it. Cant really compare it to anything else because true game controls on a phone is a first but I will do my best.
I am sure that this will not be the only commercial. Sony picked a perfect time to debut it to the world. You cant beat Superbowl viewer-ship.
Also, did you see some of the other commercials? Doritos can ressurect the dead and babies can be thrown into windows. Fake babies anyway. So why can't and Android have thumbs?
I don't think the ad was that disturbing, but I could see why some people would feel uncomfortable after seeing it. I actually want a a replica of that Android mascot on my desk. It adds to the overall geekiness of it. Haha!
And Fathasun, since you have the luxury of changing phones every month, can you be my friend and be a recipient of your kindness? LMAO! Just kidding buddy.
On the one hand this commercial is a bit on the bizarre side, although it does have a good tagline. On the other hand I'm not so sure if the target audience of the Superbowl would mind all that much.
Last edited by Looking Glass on 2/7/2011 5:29:39 AM
People are talking bout it: the commercial worked.
I really like my Iphone, so this is a miss for me, especially knowing that NGP will be a day-one buy. Why would you want this and the NGP?
You would want this and the NGP if you are in the range of tech nerd that I am. I love gadgets, and the ones that I can fully utilise, like ones that are running open source code. Ones that cost less and do more, and can have more done with them.
Well, my Moto Droid is over a year old now, so I will be able to upgrade, assuming that Verizon carries the phone of course.
@TheHighlander
That of course is a distinct possibility. The Android OS does have many carriers. Verizon among them.
Last edited by Looking Glass on 2/7/2011 12:50:45 PM