Sony Ericsson has said that there's no need to make a sequel to its gaming phone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, stating that the Play's hardware is more than capable of wrassling with powerful new mobiles like the Samsung Galaxy S2.
A Sony Ericsson exec said, in an interview with Eurogamer, "This device, with the GPU integration, has been optimised for gameplay."
"It's not going to be outperformed that quickly."
We agree with Sony Ericsson when it says it doesn't need to make a new version of the Play, and not just because having suffered through the first version, the thought of being subjected to a second Play makes our kidneys shrivel up in fear...
Software woes
The problem with the Xperia Play isn't the hardware. In fact, apart from a slightly dim screen, we were impressed with the comfortable physical controls and overall smoothness of the interface.
The problem was the software, which felt rushed and inconsistent, with nary a decent downloadable game in sight. We reported back in May that not one of the Play's launch titles had managed to hit 1,000 downloads.
Recently the Xperia Play nabbed an exclusive on Minecraft Pocket Edition, with the block-busting indie game optimised for the phone's gaming controls. Minecraft will be coming out on other Android phones soon enough, but a period of exclusivity could make the Play slightly more tempting.
With the iPhone 5 looming large, we suspect the temptation exists for mobile manufacturers to rush out rival phones with slightly meatier specs. But increasingly the worth of a gadget isn't determined by its processor or port selection, but by the amount of compelling apps and software you can download for it.
Fingers crossed Sony Ericsson stays true to the plan and sticks some decent games on the Play, rather than just building another phone.
Do you own an Xperia Play? Are you impressed by it? Or does Apple own your heart? Let us know in the comments section below, or on our Facebook wall.
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Comments 7
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anonymous 8 September, 2011 00:52
i like it
anonymous 11 September, 2011 19:32
On the one hand, I agree that a CPU upgrade isn't currently necessary on the Play, and I think that improving content delivery and adding PlayStation Store downloads should be a bigger priority, but I hope Sony Ericsson realise that there are other things that should be upgraded on the Play
Sony Ericsson's own Xperia Ray is in stores now, with a much brighter Reality Display, 8.1 Megapixel Exmor R camera, slim form factor and metallic case of superior build quality
If you hold an Xperia Ray and Play together, the Ray feels like the more modern, premium device, even though the Ray is cheaper than the Play. In that sense, the Play is in need of an upgrade.
anonymous 3 October, 2011 13:15
Typical CNET 'journalism'. Clearly they haven't done their research - the software issues that were widely reported at launch are now all fixed.
Another CNETism is that they seem to believe that everything revoles around Apple. If the Play was branded 'Apple Xperia Play', they would no doubt love it...
anonymous 3 October, 2011 15:52
I love my Xperia Play. I'm not sure why you are saying there are a lack of apps for it though. Last time I counted there were over 150 games that are Xperia Play optimized. The only thing I would consider an upgrade for would be a bigger screen.
anonymous 10 November, 2011 03:34
I love the play. BUT I want a freaking HDMI. The screen is great. Dim? Heck no. Could it be brighter? Of course. I would have to say more ram and a duel core are worthy upgrade options if Sony ever did bring a sequel. What they need to intergrate is a multi purpose touchpad instead of a game pad. This touchpad would display a keyboard when not playing games. This would free up your screen but allow the gamepad to project during games. All in one. Those who need a physical gamepad might be put off by this.
anonymous 9 January, 2012 01:27
I got the play a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised at how good a phone it is, in addition to being a phone to play games like Crash Bandicoot flawlessly. I had a nexus one before and I was expecting a downgrade by switching , but it hasn't been one. I prefer it and wish I actually got it sooner.
anonymous 6 September, 2012 14:20
issue with no "need" for a newer Xperia Play is the fact that technology is evolving fast, sure it still is powerful but its been over a year since it was released and it does have issues like the fact that it becomes glitchy within a few weeks, the screen tends too get scratched to easily even though they say there's a coat of stuff that protects the screen from scratches already on the phone which means there isn't enough of it then and the screen protecting covers you can buy are irritating to put on and can trap crap under them as well as the air bubbles that are a pain if you put it on wrong.