The Xperia Play has to be one of the most intriguing bits of hardware to hit the mobile market in a while. It’s not the first ‘gaming phone’ that’s come out (N-Gage, anyone?), but the thought of bringing the Playstation experience to a phone is definitely an exciting one. Android has already proved itself as a mobile gaming platform, but what does the addition of the Playstation Certification bring to the mix?
This is a gaming review, and as such, will be mostly focused on the gaming aspects of the phone. However, the phone side of things is also important (or else you’d just buy a PSP), so we’ll start with that. The Xperia play runs the latest version of Android, Gingerbread. Interestingly however, there are no extra interface modifications to the phone; it’s just stock Android. In a competitive market where every Android-based manufacturer is trying to differentiate themselves with UI modifications, it’s definitely a bold move. With many of the other Android phones, however, the UI feels disjointed and pieced together, while the Xperia play’s stock Android feels clean and smooth, the way it was originally designed. The phone functions as one would expect. With no problems using the touch screen, call quality is acceptable, and the internet browsing experience is typical Android. All in all, the phone itself is quite solid.
No one will be buying this phone just to be a phone, however. Flicking the phone open reveals a full game pad, complete with D-pad and touch pads that substitute for dual analog sticks – even shoulder buttons are included. Flipping the phone open feels satisfying, and the controls have a good ‘click’ feel to them. The screen wobbles slightly when the phone is open, but it doesn’t feel like there’s any danger of breaking it off. The construction feels solid, which is important in a phone but even more so in a gaming device, since you’ll probably be spending a decent amount of time with the phone open, pounding on the controls.
Android already has a well-established gaming base, and the Xperia Play builds on that. The entire Android Market is open for you to download games, of course, but unless they have mappable controls (to take advantage of a physical keyboard), you won’t be able to play them with the built in gamepad. Still, there’s a large market of games out there currently, and if you’ve already bought one from the Android Market before, you can download it again for free to the Xperia Play. Instantly, there’s already a large collection of games at your disposal.
Then there are the Xperia Play optimized games. These are games that already exist for Android, but have been modified specifically to run on the Xperia Play, and are only available on this phone. A few of these are included with the phone, including Asphalt 6, Bruce Lee, Sims 3, and Star Battalion. Being able to use the gamepad controls is a definite advantage in these games; for instance, a fighting game like Bruce Lee becomes much easier to control with physical controls. There are more optimized games available for purchase straight from the phone, such as Nova 2, Assassin’s Creed, and Modern Combat 2, which sell for around $5. While these games are made infinitely better with the addition of the gamepad, they are still, at the core, mobile phone games. No new ground is being broken here, but it feels like you’re definitely getting a more complete gaming experience.
Xperia Play optimized games have their own interface
It’s a little surprising that Sony launched the service with so few heavy-hitting titles available. Maybe the emulation wasn’t perfect on them, or perhaps they’re saving those games for another hardware release. I really would have expected to see some blockbuster titles such as Metal Gear Solid or Resident Evil 2 making an appearance on the system. Launching the Xperia Play with titles like that would have really turned some heads; as it is, Crash Bandicoot is still a solid inclusion and does a great job of showing what the hardware is capable of.
While the Xperia Play is a much better overall gaming experience than any other phone out there, I can’t help but feel there are some real missed opportunities. Other than the Playstation name and the labels on the gamepad, there’s not much that feels like Playstation about it. There’s no PSN integration at all, which is really a big misstep and an odd move for Sony. The PSP integrates very tightly with the PS3, and you would expect that integration to carry over into the Xperia Play as well. Microsoft got it right when they included full Xbox Live integration into Windows Phone 7, and the Xperia Play could have really benefited from that integration as well.
While the Xperia Play ran all available games beautifully, you can’t help but wonder why Sony didn’t include beefier hardware in the system. A 1GHz processor is pretty standard these days in mid-range Android devices, and with dual and quad core processors just over the horizon, it would have been great to have the Xperia on the forefront of that technology, rather than lagging behind.
In the end, the Xperia Play is definitely the best mobile gaming experience out there, mostly because of the controls. Just ask any iPhone gamer; having only a touch screen makes serious gaming hard. The system’s future really depends on developer support and more games that take advantage of the controls, otherwise they’re useless. It’s a solid mid-range Android phone, but hardly a PSP. The lack of PSN support and limited number of games that take advantage of the hardware are really what holds the system back. You should get this phone if you’re wanting a better mobile gaming experience on your phone, but if you’re really serious about mobile gaming, you might be better suited to wait for the Playstation Vita later this year.
Here’s The Rundown:
+Solid gaming controls make for the best mobile phone gaming experience available.
+Playing PSOne games on the phone is fun
+Solid performing phone overall
-Middle of the road hardware
-Mediocre launch lineup of games
-No PSN support
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