Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play - Revolution or Flop?

DeathChill said:
I think the difference is that the iPhone has been designed as a phone first and gaming device second where it seems this will be portrayed as the opposite.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I couldn't help but chuckle at that. What gives you the perception that the iPhone was actually designed as a phone? Because it makes phone calls?

The iPhone is designed as a computer, or maybe a mini-tablet if you want to say. the "phone app" is merely just one of the millions of applications that are on the iPhone. The "iphone" is no more a phone than it is a "facebook machine"

In fact now that double click is needing for multitasking (instead of favorites) this is even less built to be a phone. I just saw a friend's touchscreen phone that could draw letters and symbols from the lockscreen to automatically dial people. that actually aids in it being a phone first.
 
LG Prada was the first capacitive touchscreen phone introduced. Apple just did it better. Nokia N-Gage was the first gaming phone introduced. Sony will make it better. Make. Believe.

It doesn't matter if you were the first. What matters is if you do it the best.
 
Mad Mac Maniac said:
every single android phone is a flop on arrival.... I'm not saying that android sucks... I'm not saying that at all.

But every 5 minutes another android phone is released. Sony, LG, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, Dell, did I leave anyone out? The new galaxy S is out!!! wait now the optimus is out!! wait now the thunderbolt!!! oh wait now it's xperia!!! oh now it's a streak!!! oh now it's the galaxy s 2!! oh now its..... you get the idea. I would hate to be all those companies. They are in a spec war and price war and each release like 3 major android phones a year. Then Apple strolls along upgrading just once a year, adding whatever features they like, charge whatever they want, and sell like hotcakes.

It must drive everyone else crazy!

edit: so just to summarize, yeah android in total sells a lot in total. but there is so much choice out there people basically pick blindly and they all balance each other out.
Click to expand...
That's a good point. You buy the new hot Android phone today, you've got a truly aged model within 4-6 months what with how often they churn those out.

And here I was thinking that a once a year upgrade such as the iPhone was frustrating to see...
 
Warbrain said:
This thing will be a horrible flop. People don't want Playstation-style games on their portable devices. They want quick games like what we see on the iPhone.
Click to expand...
80% of the time I play games on my phone, I'd agree with that. But there are times I would like to play a game of Madden or progress along in an RPG for a half hour or so.

The physical buttons are the biggest thing for me. I just bought Street Fighter IV and NBA Jam on my iPhone and while it's still fun, the onscreen D-Pad and buttons make the playing less than perfect. I get most of my movements right, but those 5-10% button misses or D-Pad directions that don't move right make it an imperfect experience. Playing quick games would benefit from physical buttons, too.
 
maflynn said:
I'm not feeling it for this phone. The slide out controllers really look lame.

Running android may help prop up some sales but who's going to buy it. Its a gaming device, that makes phones calls. Who will be buying that?
Click to expand...
:confused:

It has the specs to do everything that all the other higher end Android phone can do.

It 'makes phone calls'... really???
 
Last time I saw the specs:
The Xperia Play shared the same 1500mAh battery used in the Xperia X10. Unless Sony changes this prior to the release of the Xperia Play in to the market there will be a lot of complaints regarding battery life.
I've owned my X10i close to a year now and watching just one 5 minute youtube video with it eats away 5% from a fully charged battery. I could only imagine what one hour of gaming would do to this battery.
Hopefully Sony will bump up the capacity to at least 1700mAh although 1800 would probably better suited.
 
I don't see many gaming companies committing to this phone after the initial push. At launch theres only 50 titles, and many will just be ports with things like extra levels, not games designed specifically for the device.

Its not a platform, its a one-off, why would anyone commit to that?
 
Can't stand SE phones anymore, had a K800i back in 2005/2006 and it was great but now there phones just piss me off. I have a SE Satio somewhere and that phones just takes the utter piss in more ways then one. Really expecting this phone to flop in a way as well.
 
At first I thought it was an idea that could work. I suppose it still could, but looking at those game play videos, and thinking about it as a concept, and I'm leaning heavily towards the FLOP category.

If they'd done this a couple of years ago then I think it could have been a success. Now I think the mobile gaming market is being gobbled up by casual players and cheap games. You're trying to hook so called "real" or "hard core" gamers into an idea like this and I think even there the market for this device is smallish.

It's a tough sale regardless, but I suppose if the big gaming developers can develop and easily port PSP games to this system then it might stand a better chance. If they have to work hard or spend much money developing the game for what amounts to separate platforms then this is a failure from the get go.
 
You have to buy the PSN downloads again! :mad: Damn it! But I can understand this because of the different specs and resolutions.

With that said, Kaz Hirai will still be smiling from ear to ear when both XPERIA PLAY and NGP come out. ECOSYSTEM, ECOSYSTEM, ECOSYSTEM. It is what makes Apple succeed right now and why people feel comfortable with their set-up. PlayStation Suite is probably the bigger gaming revolution than the XPERIA PLAY itself. It will spawn more gaming phones. You have to think of phones basically like the PC in the 1990's. Every few months, it is going to improve. I am hoping the next XPERIA PLAY gets real dual analog sticks by Version 2 or 3. As I type this, Sony Ericsson is already thinking about that as well as improving the hardware for the next update.

N-GAGE actually did sell like 3 million in four years. And it wasn't discontinued until 2008. Surprising. I think XPERIA PLAY is just the start the same way Motorola had the Droid for Verizon in late 2009 and now currently has the ATRIX 4G which could be the best Android phone out there. Or the HTC G1 was for Android. Look at all the awesome HTC Android phones since G1 after over two years.

2003 - Nokia N-Gage entered the market. It was at the peak of GBA SP sales.
2004 - DS and PSP were released.
2005 - RAZR was all the rage in the cell phone industry
2006 - DS lite at $129 starts to outsell PSP.
2007 - iPhone. Nuff said.
2008 - The App Store opens. Android was introduced.
2010 - Android blows up. Nintendo is losing money.
2011 - 3DS, NGP, and XPERIA PLAY are announced.

The game has changed. New era, more competition.

SONY gaming consoles = 10-year life cycles.

NINTENDO gaming consoles = 5-year life cycles.

Nintendo is losing money right now and I don't think 3DS or even a Wii 2 (another gimmick) will save them for the next round in the longer-term. PS3 will likely outsell Wii this year because of the price dropping and how Wii has already saturated its sales early on. But PS3 could still live on for another 3-4 years while Wii's future is already bleak. Nintendo is like that escort that gives you cheap thrills on weekends. She already gets bored after she took your money and finished screwing you!

That's why SONY has it more covered with pocket aces. By the time Nintendo is thinking about getting into the cell phone/tablet industry because they are losing their casual audience and have higher-cost games, Apple and Android/Sony could already be dominating the mobile gaming industry. Nokia already allied themselves with Microsoft and XBOX.

3DS and NGP are both already overpriced for handhelds and cost more than home consoles and neither one are really as powerful as them. The sweet spot for the mass market is UNDER $150. That's what made the DS LITE sell so well. $129. Basically, handhelds really are just watered down experiences from consoles. But since casual gaming is everywhere, NGP offers something a little more unique. You release the XPERIA PLAY on all carriers, and it will be the biggest Android phone ever. The price with contract will be no higher than $199, but even FREE - $99 can happen in retail stores after a few months. Beats out 3DS at $249. Bigger game changer than either 3DS or NGP because people will start to realize they want to play on their phone than carry a second device with them with $40+ games.

XPERIA PLAY = G1 OF ANDROID GAMING and will succeed where the two generations of N-GAGE couldn't because it has Android and the mobile gaming's current popularity.

LG OPTIMUS 3D (TEGRA 2). 3DS is not that unique anymore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3bSGosFtOA
 
Last edited:
Savor said:
You have to buy the PSN downloads again! :mad: Damn it! But I can understand this because of the different specs and resolutions.

With that said, Kaz Hirai will still be smiling from ear to ear when both XPERIA PLAY and NGP come out. ECOSYSTEM, ECOSYSTEM, ECOSYSTEM. It is what makes Apple succeed right now and why people feel comfortable with their set-up. PlayStation Suite is probably the bigger gaming revolution than the XPERIA PLAY itself. It will spawn more gaming phones. You have to think of phones basically like the PC in the 1990's. Every few months, it is going to improve. I am hoping the next XPERIA PLAY gets real dual analog sticks by Version 2 or 3. As I type this, Sony Ericsson is already thinking about that as well as improving the hardware for the next update.

N-GAGE actually did sell like 3 million in four years. And it wasn't discontinued until 2008. Surprising. I think XPERIA PLAY is just the start the same way Motorola had the Droid for Verizon in late 2009 and now currently has the ATRIX 4G which could be the best Android phone out there. Or the HTC G1 was for Android. Look at all the awesome HTC Android phones since G1 after over two years.

2003 - Nokia N-Gage entered the market. It was at the peak of GBA SP sales.
2004 - DS and PSP were released.
2005 - RAZR was all the rage in the cell phone industry
2006 - DS lite at $129 starts to outsell PSP.
2007 - iPhone. Nuff said.
2008 - The App Store opens. Android was introduced.
2010 - Android blows up. Nintendo is losing money.
2011 - 3DS, NGP, and XPERIA PLAY are announced.

The game has changed. New era, more competition.

SONY gaming consoles = 10-year life cycles.

NINTENDO gaming consoles = 5-year life cycles.

Nintendo is losing money right now and I don't think 3DS or even a Wii 2 (another gimmick) will save them for the next round in the longer-term. PS3 will likely outsell Wii this year because of the price dropping and how Wii has already saturated its sales early on. But PS3 could still live on for another 3-4 years while Wii's future is already bleak. Nintendo is like that escort that gives you cheap thrills on weekends. She already gets bored after she took your money and finished screwing you!

That's why SONY has it more covered with pocket aces. By the time Nintendo is thinking about getting into the cell phone/tablet industry because they are losing their casual audience and have higher-cost games, Apple and Android/Sony could already be dominating the mobile gaming industry. Nokia already allied themselves with Microsoft and XBOX.

3DS and NGP are both already overpriced for handhelds and cost more than home consoles and neither one are really as powerful as them. The sweet spot for the mass market is UNDER $150. That's what made the DS LITE sell so well. $129. Basically, handhelds really are just watered down experiences from consoles. But since casual gaming is everywhere, NGP offers something a little more unique. You release the XPERIA PLAY on all carriers, and it will be the biggest Android phone ever. The price with contract will be no higher than $199, but even FREE - $99 can happen in retail stores after a few months. Beats out 3DS at $249. Bigger game changer than either 3DS or NGP because people will start to realize they want to play on their phone than carry a second device with them with $40+ games.

XPERIA PLAY = G1 OF ANDROID GAMING and will succeed where the two generations of N-GAGE couldn't because it has Android and the mobile gaming's current popularity.

LG OPTIMUS 3D (TEGRA 2). 3DS is not that unique anymore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3bSGosFtOA
Click to expand...

they r not LOSING money!!!
 
The iControlPad is out now! It adds dual analog nubs and buttons to the iPhone. It works over bluetooth. It also has a battery and charges the phone while you are gaming.

I was getting sick of attempting to and failing at controlling Street Fighter and NOVA 2 (not to mention emulators) with the touch interface, so I'll be picking one up. Dual analog sticks is such a glorious addition to iPhone gaming imo.

http://www.icontrolpad.com/

I would rather get the Xperia Play than the iControlPad though, the former just looks so much sexier. The only problem is, I would lose all my purchased apps. So I'm pretty much stuck with apple for now. :(
 
Honestly when I heard I have to rebuy my PSN downloads just for the Xperia Play I was disappointed. My phone contract expires in another year, I'd rather get an iPhone 6, iPhone 5GS, some sort of super android based phone that comes out.

I'll stick to the NGP when that comes out, sorry Sony. Sony wouldn't reset the devices linked to my PSN account just because my PSP that got stolen was a Japanese model.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back