In-Depth Look At the Xperia Play 39
Eurogamer has done an extensive evaluation of Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play device, a smartphone that's also a dedicated gaming platform complete with controller-style buttons. Here's some of what they had to say:
"On the subject of internal parts, gadget fiends are certain to feel aggrieved by the lack of a dual-core processor. Although the Xperia Play's 1GHz CPU performs admirably in general tasks, it lacks the future-proofing of a more advanced chip. ... The negativity quickly dissipates once you slide open those glorious PlayStation-style controls, however. Although we've seen gaming interfaces on mobiles before (on the N-Gage and the under-appreciated Sagem MyG-5), they pale into insignificance next to what's presented here. ... One aspect of the Xperia Play's gaming portfolio that so far hasn't been bellowed from the rooftops by Sony Ericsson's PR is emulation. Such reluctance is perfectly understandable, given the shady nature of ROM-sharing and the like. ... However, the fact remains that retro gaming emulators are freely available on the Android Market, and they open up an entire world of gaming brilliance."
ugh (Score:4, Interesting)
"glorious PlayStation-style controls"
OK, they're almost certainly better than the ngage, but "glorious"?!
In general, Sony has an absolutely awful record with controllers... The (in)famous Sony "dpad of pain"... the awkward analogue stick placement on the dualshock and descendents.... the crappy PSP nub... the cramped and awkward PSPgo controls... ugh. Sony has many strengths, but designing gaming controls isn't one of them.
A quick look at the article isn't very reassuring: The "Xperia Play" has (1) the dpad-of-pain, and (2) some awkwardly-placed "touch sensitive disks" with no tactile feedback...
PSPgo2 anybody?
Did we forget Sony are cocks? (Score:3, Interesting)