Xperia Play release date announced. 50 games at launch

Xperia Play PlayStation Phone screenshot
The Xperia Play “PlayStation Phone” will be released in March 2011 and will include a whopping 50 games at launch.

The first concrete details on the device were revealed by “Sony Ericsson” CEO Bert Nordberg at the “Mobile World Congress” press conference in Barcelona.

Officially called the “Xperia Play” (nope, no “Sony” in the title), the device is the first ever “PlayStation-certified” device. Running on the latest version of Android, the phone will include the PlayStation Suite and PlayStation Certification program shared with the upcoming New Generation Portable (PSP2). These programs enable Android-devices, including but not limited to the Xperia Play, to feature PlayStation content.

That content will be downloadable via the PlayStation Store on the device along with coming pre-loaded with software including classic PS1 title like Crash Bandicoot. There will be at least 50 title available at launch with over 20 publishers pledging support. The first game shown was called “Dungeon Defenders” from Trendy Games, and Sony promises that the number of newly released games for the Xperia Play will increase on a weekly basis.

The device will be offered in black and white color-schemes with a 4-inch multi-touch screen that’s at 480×854 pixel resolution (FWVGA) with 16,777,216 possible colors. The screen can be pushed up to reveal the controls underneath, featuring the iconic PlayStation D-Pad and four face buttons (Square, Triangle, X and Circle) as well as a touchpad. Included in the box with the device will be a battery, stereo portable handsfree headset, 8GB MicroSD Memory Card, charger and Micro USB cable. Battery life is “up to 5 hours and 35 minutes” depending on what you are doing.

Here is the official trailer for the Xperia Play.

Companies involved include EA, Gameloft and Glu Mobile. Guitar Hero, Dead Space, FIFA, Assassin’s Creed and more are now confirmed for Xperia Play. With tech-company “Unity” also being involved and ensuring a “steady flow of premium content”. Sony is promising that the Xperia Play will offer “true console-quality games” so that you don’t have to “play just touchscreen Angry Birds the entire time”, taking a shot at the App Store and its content.

“This is a mobile device that can really stand up to rowdiness. You really expect a lot out of your game controller, oftentimes you’re just beating the crap out of it. You need a certain sturdiness to a game controller in order to beat the crap out of it and play the kind of games we want the end user to play.” In other words, the phone will apparently be able to take some punishment and keep on kicking more like a PlayStation DualShock controller than sensitive touch-screen device that can easily break.

Sony also confirmed that Xperia Play content will be separate from content purchased for other Sony devices. So if you bought something on the PS Store on your PS3 or PSP, you’ll have to do so again on your Xperia Play phone if you want to access it there. Sony also insists that the Xperia Play will not compete with the PSP2.

Here is a second trailer.

“We don’t see it as competition to a console like the NGP. That’s a dedicated gaming device you’ll use this more as a compliment, a different type of entertainment and for different situations,” VP head of product line, Christopher Bulcher, told PocketGamer.

Battery life
Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 8 hrs 25 min
Standby time GSM/GPRS: Up to 425 hrs
Talk time UMTS: Up to 6 hrs 25 min
Standby time UMTS: Up to 413 hrs
Talk time CDMA2000: Up to 7 hrs 40 min
Standby time CDMA2000: Up to 405 hrs
Game play time: Up to 5 hrs 35 min
MP3 playback: Up to 30 hrs 35 min

Here are the phone’s full specs:
Camera
5.1 megapixel camera
Auto focus
Flash / Photo light
Geo tagging
Image stabiliser
Send to web
Touch focus
Video light
Video recording
Video blogging
Music

Album art
Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
Google Music Player
Music tones (MP3/AAC)
PlayNow service
Sony Ericsson Music player
Stereo speakers
TrackID music recognition application
Internet

Android Market
Bookmarks
Google search
Google Voice Search
Pan & zoom
Web browser (Webkit)
Communication

Call list
Conference calls
Facebook application (from Android Market)
Google Talk
Noise Shield
Polyphonic ringtones
Speakerphone
Sony Ericsson Timescape
Twitter application (from Android Market)
Vibrating alert
Messaging

Android Cloud to Device messaging (C2DM)
Conversations
Email
Google Mail
Instant messaging
Picture messaging (MMS)
Predictive text input
Sound recorder
Text messaging (SMS)
Design

Auto rotate
Keyboard (onscreen, 12 key)
Keyboard (onscreen, QWERTY)
Picture wallpaper
Touchscreen
Wallpaper animation
Entertainment

3D games
Dedicated gaming keys
Flash Lite
Gesture gaming
Motion gaming
Video streaming
YouTube
Organiser

Alarm clock
Calculator
Calendar
Document editors
Document readers
E-Manual
Flight mode
Google Calendar
Google Gallery 3D
Infinite button
Phone book
Set-up Wizard
Widget manager
Connectivity

3.5 mm audio jack
aGPS
Bluetooth technology
DLNA Certified
Google Latitude
Google Location Service
Google Maps with Street View
Media Transfer Protocol support
Micro USB Connector
Modem
Synchronisation via Facebook
Synchronisation via Google Sync
Synchronisation via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
Synchronisation via Sony Ericsson Sync
USB 2.0 high speed support
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi Hotspot functionality
Other stuff

Size: 119 x 62 x 16 mm
Weight: 175 grams
Phone memory: 400 MB
Memory card support: microSD, up to 32 GB
Memory card included: 8GB microSD
Operating system: Google Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Processor: 1 GHz Scorpion ARMv7

Via VG247