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WSJ: Sony to release smartphone that can 'download and play PlayStation games'

G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
PSPhone, at last? A compatible tablet too? Bear in mind, it's nothing official, but a WSJ report.

When I saw the news title I initially thought it would be just like Aino remote-play, but 'download and play' suggests - I think - something more like PSP functionality in a phone.

Apparently the tablet will also mix in 'playstation' but it's less clear in the wording if that'll be its own software platform or will 'play playstation games' like the smartphone supposedly will.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/...s-online-media-platform-sne-aapl--823654.html

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Japanese electronics giant Sony (NYSE: SNE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) is developing a new lineup of handheld devices, including a smartphone that can download and play Playstation games, in order to compete with Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) growing collection of portable devices.

The new devices, slated for launch in 2010, will work with Sony's online media platform due to launch later this month in the U.S. as the company's answer to Apple's iTunes.

A Sony spokeswoman declined to comment.
Click to expand...

More:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-10463873-260.html

The smartphone will be able to play PlayStation games, and the tablet device will be some combination of a Netbook, e-reader, and PlayStation Portable, according to "people familiar with the matter" that spoke to the Journal. The reading/gaming/computer gadget is intended to better compete the Apple iPad and an expected wave of similar devices from other gadgetmakers. Both products are supposed to hit store shelves this year, though there are not yet any details on price.

In a statement, Sony said, "As already announced, Sony and Sony Ericsson have been strengthening their collaboration in the networked mobile space. However, it is not our strategy to discuss future products or business plan before we make a formal announcement. Any media report that suggests details of the product or business is based on speculation."
Click to expand...

Makes too much sense, therefore, impossible :p
 
G

gcubed

Member
they've been talking about the Sony music store for YEARS... are they actually going to launch it? It'll probably offer songs as AAC or something horrendous
 
yurinka

yurinka

Member
I would say they are refering to Playstation 1 games, not to PSP games.

And the tablet/ebook looking like a PSP, I think they are refering to its interface (XMB) and non-games features (movie store, comics store etc)
 
A

AranhaHunter

Banned
gcubed said:
they've been talking about the Sony music store for YEARS... are they actually going to launch it? It'll probably offer songs as AAC or something horrendous
Click to expand...

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/19/sony-to-expand-playstation-network-into-sony-online-service-sel/

Supposed to be coming soon (as well as ebook store being integrated into it) with the Sony Online Service. Sony already had a music store in Sony Connect and has one now in PlayNow with SE, all they need to do is kill PlayNow and integrate it on SOS/PSN. It's supposed to be launching this month according to this.

Anyways there's been plenty of PSP2/PSPhone rumors lately. Possible E3 reveal.
 
D

Dead Prince

Banned
I would love a dual screen tablet where one side allows for the e-ink tech for ebooks and stuff. while bottom screen would be for my games and other stuff. now i have to hold off from getting Notion Ink's Adam :lol.
 
C

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Yeah, lots of buzz about this one being PSP2.

Which is fine with me, as this is really the only route the PSP can go at this point. Bring on the awesome.
 
N

Nemo

Will Eat Your Children
A phone that can download any PS1 game? Sign me up.

Unless they add a worthy game every 3 months a la PS Store, then I'm out
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
yurinka said:
I would say they are refering to Playstation 1 games, not to PSP games.

And the tablet/ebook looking like a PSP, I think they are refering to its interface (XMB) and non-games features (movie store, comics store etc)
Click to expand...

It would be epic fail for Sony to launch a new smartphone/tablet platform and not leverage the large catalogue of PSP software with it from the start. If they want it to be a games platform like the iphone or ipad, starting from scratch with another software platform rather than plugging the PSP platform into it would be just silly.

Of course, this is Sony we're talking about so you are probably right :p But it would be nice to think they could finally align their existing resources and strengths to this in a way that makes sense.
 
V

Vinci

Danish
I personally think this is pretty neat, but I find it kind of suicidal to think going from competing with Nintendo to competing with Apple is somehow a smart decision. Guess we'll see.
 
Sp3eD

Sp3eD

0G M3mbeR
Guevara said:
I'm sure Sony will fuck it up with software somehow.
Click to expand...

Oh come on, there are plenty more ways to fuck it up.

Exclusive contract with Boost mobile. No other carriers will get it.
 
S

Safe Bet

Banned
PS

Search GAF history on the subject of gaming + phone devices.

Its almost as embarrassing as our Wii predictions.
 
T

Triple U

Banned
xtop said:
the only part that worries me about a psp phone is the controls for games.
Click to expand...
we'll get this:lol
N-GAGE_QD_Front_1.jpg
 
X

xtop

Member
Withnail said:
Wouldn't mind betting it will be Playstation minis.
Click to expand...

that's pretty much what i expected, and if they can give us more than just mini's, then all the better
 
G

Green Biker Dude

Banned
i don't like where this is going

psp had a hard time getting games already. if they have a machine like that, i can see the real games going to the ds2 and the simpler ones ending up in the apple store, with this new system getting, at most, ports of the simpler games

gonna flop hard gaming wise imo, even if turns out to sell well, or turn a profit or whatever. and we'd be going back to basically 1 handheld.
 
B

Byakuya769

Member
dayum.. it's looking like I am being completely proven correct in my assesment of portable gaming with every passing article on the industry.

wait till search function returns, so I can serve up ownage.
 
R

Riskbreaker23

Member
Withnail said:
Wouldn't mind betting it will be Playstation minis.
Click to expand...

This is probably what they mean. Unless it is a PSP2, i dont see how you could make a phone that would play PS1 games well (control wise). Minis are pretty much cellphone games already so they make the most sense.
 
V

Vinci

Danish
Safe Bet said:
PS

Search GAF history on the subject of gaming + phone devices.

Its almost as embarrassing as our Wii predictions.
Click to expand...

No doubt, but I still have a hard time seeing any wisdom in directly competing - on even ground - with Apple of all companies.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Green Biker Dude said:
i don't like where this is going

psp had a hard time getting games already. if they have a machine like that, i can see the real games going to the ds2 and the simpler ones ending up in the apple store, with this new system getting, at most, ports of the simpler games

gonna flop hard gaming wise imo, even if turns out to sell well, or turn a profit or whatever. and we'd be going back to basically 1 handheld.
Click to expand...

The PSP software situation can't really get any worse.

This would offer another avenue for new customers of PSP games, so it can hardly hurt.

If Sony wants to build a tablet, IMO it makes all the sense in the world to take the PSP tech, the PSP software platform, and to build it upon that.

The PSP has in fact, to a degree, been a tablet platform dressed as a games system. You've got games, net browsing, media handling, an 'app store' and more recently new more 'general' apps - like the digital comicbook stuff. You can see where this is going...

I'd go as far as to say that it would be completely moronic for Sony to build a tablet/smartphone platform around any other base, tbh. A greater bulk of the necessary work's already sitting there in a different form (i.e. PSP). Not that it's beyond Sony to be completely moronic when it comes to things like this, but it does make so much sense that it would be terribly disappointing if it were otherwise.

Also might be worth noting, re. mapping controls to a phone or tablet, SCE actually filed a patent relatively recently about doing just that.
 
T

Trailblaster

Banned
A PSPhone or a PSP-Phone? The first being a smart phone bring able to run emulated PS1 games and the latter being abvle to run PSP games. Although I would LOVE to see a fully fledged PSP phone, there would be some real technical and logistical hurdels to overcome.

Whould it have a totally new Formfactor or would the PSP Go's sliding style be good enough and small enough for phone use and game play?

The current PSP chip set is much to power hungry to be used in any type of Phone device. So if it is the rumored new ARM's based chips set of the PSP2, How will they get PSP1 games running on it?

Would it have Touch screen?

Battery Life?

PSN Music store?
 
D

Deku

Banned
PlayStation games are not well suited for that environment. Or rather, iPhone has established the norm of what people can expect from a mobile device in terms of games, and none of the traditional strengths of the PS library is well suited for it. The best selling games on mobile devices remain fairly casual pick up and play experiences.

So to compete, they'll need to create their own suite of downloadable games, and iPhone has an immsense advantage already. Heck even DSiware has a better selection of titles in that category

Not to say we haven't seen this thing coming from a mile away, but they've sort of been in that space for a while now with PSP playing PSN titles, and it hasn't really helped them outside Sony audience.

I am however interested in their tablet product, given how gimped the iPad is as a computing device.
 
S

ShockingAlberto

Member
I wouldn't mind a gaming system that's also a phone, I suppose. I have my own phone, but a new handheld is a new handheld.

I don't particularly care for phones that are also gaming systems.
 
D

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
Sony will screw this up by having it priced too high at launch, all the while claiming the price is high on purpose.
 
X

xtop

Member
i suppose it wouldn't be too big of a stretch to just take the pspgo and make the phone portion all touchscreen. its small enough to fit in your pocket. i don't see battery life being that big of a deal, most smartphone's can't go a whole day on a charge anyways, and we're all used to that by now.

i guess it begs the question, why a psp2 when a psp2-phone could do the same thing and more?

tho, i'd prefer the 4.3 inch screen come back. (but as the hd2 has shown us, nothing wrong with that)
 
S

Safe Bet

Banned
Vinci said:
N..I still have a hard time seeing any wisdom in directly competing - on even ground - with Apple of all companies.
Click to expand...
Nintendo in one corner, Apple in the other, with Microsoft circling the ring searching for an opening.

Yeah..

I envy not the decision makers.
 
S

speculawyer

Member
gofreak said:
PSPhone, at last?
Click to expand...
That is what comes to my mind. That would be pretty smart . . . automatically create a big market for PSP games. There is an issue with pricing though. PSP game makers are used to $35 or so game prices. iPhone users are used to $2 to $10 games.
 
S

spwolf

Member
gcubed said:
they've been talking about the Sony music store for YEARS... are they actually going to launch it? It'll probably offer songs as AAC or something horrendous
Click to expand...

those days are long gone, these days sony is all about supporting open formats, like epub for the reader...
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
DarienA said:
Sony will screw this up by having it priced too high at launch, all the while claiming the price is high on purpose.
Click to expand...

When you're looking at Sony's $500+ tablet, and it's basically a reskinned PSP Go with a higher res touchscreen and mobile broadband connectivity, $249 mightn't have been been so bad in hindsight... :p
 
S

spwolf

Member
speculawyer said:
That is what comes to my mind. That would be pretty smart . . . automatically create a big market for PSP games. There is an issue with pricing though. PSP game makers are used to $35 or so game prices. iPhone users are used to $2 to $10 games.
Click to expand...

thats why there are psp minis.... plus, if they increase sales of software, maybe publishers might be looking to lower the prices as well...
 
T

Trailblaster

Banned
gofreak said:
The PSP software situation can't really get any worse.

This would offer another avenue for new customers of PSP games, so it can hardly hurt.

If Sony wants to build a tablet, IMO it makes all the sense in the world to take the PSP tech, the PSP software platform, and to build it upon that.

The PSP has in fact, to a degree, been a tablet platform dressed as a games system. You've got games, net browsing, media handling, an 'app store' and more recently new more 'general' apps - like the digital comicbook stuff. You can see where this is going...

I'd go as far as to say that it would be completely moronic for Sony to build a tablet/smartphone platform around any other base, tbh. A greater bulk of the necessary work's already sitting there in a different form (i.e. PSP). Not that it's beyond Sony to be completely moronic when it comes to things like this, but it does make so much sense that it would be terribly disappointing if it were otherwise.

Also might be worth noting, re. mapping controls to a phone or tablet, SCE actually filed a patent relatively recently about doing just that.
Click to expand...

While I see what your saying Gofreak and I mostly agree. I just don't see how Sony can use current PSP tech going forward. The chip set while very powerful by 2005 standards, is too power hungry to use any any smart phone or Tablet.

BUT, from what I understand the PSP API is pretty clean and psp games aren't "coded to the metal" like PS2 games were. It could be possible for Sony to move to a new more power efficient architecture and run PSP games. It may require doing what they did for PSminis once they became playable on the PS3. Namley reformat PSP games on PSN so that they include a wrapper that allows them to be playable on this new device.
 
K

krae_man

Member
Maybe its just PSP Minis?

I'd like to know how they think they can compete with the ipod phone/touch when stuff like Lets Golf is $2 on the iphone and launced at $7 on the PSP.


Hopefully this will force them to abandon the $40 price point for downloadable portable games which is causing everything to be overpriced.
 
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