The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play has been leaked so heavily, handling one for the first time almost feels like meeting an old friend.
We’ve just got to grips with the Android 2.3 gaming machine – perhaps better known as the PlayStation Phone – at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and we’re surprised at just how slim it seems. The smooth curved back is like a cross between the Sony Ericsson Vivaz and the Google Nexus S, but the front is pure PSPgo – it looks nice but doesn’t feel as solid as a PSP proper.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play: A social-networking superhero
We whizzed through a few games, and noticed Asphalt 6 loaded considerably quicker on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play than the LG Optimus 3D prototype we tried out yesterday. All the controls have been mapped properly, and we found you could hammer through all the menus just by tapping X as with a real PlayStation game – and the touchpads work great, even for driving games.
Honestly, we can’t say whether the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play will prove a worthy endeavour (or purchase) until we see clear supoprt of some great game support. The foundations are definitely there though – Gameloft and others are onboard to tack PlayStation controls onto their top Android games, and you can bet we’ll be trying those out for you during the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play hands on shots right here.
