Thursday, January 27, 2011

Sony Brings Gaming To Android - Competition To Marketplace

Sony is all in with mobile gaming. Not only will it release it own mobile gaming device based on Android OS, Xperia Play "Playstation Phone", it is offering a coding environment for developers to create games for this Sony app. And it will require devices running the latest Android OS, 2.3.

How will this change things?

We're not exactly sure at this moment but this is very exciting news. Sony also introduced their next generation PSP, NGP "next-generation portable", that promises PS3 like graphics and gaming, we have to assume that this Android app will be a very different thing all together.

Still, having access to a library of PSP games is great news for Android gamers. These are games from top tier developers that have yet to commit to Android, or for that matter, Apple's iOS devices.

Sony only would commit to 2011 but would not say when that would be. This is likely a good move for Sony but for Android gaming, we might see a shift away from Marketplace if developers believe they can deliver quality gamings through Sony's setup than through Google.

Here are some key points from Sony's press release:

  • Gaming and gamers have diversified. This explains why Sony is deliver a Playstation gaming environment on Android while developing PSP2 in tangent.
  • Will offer a “PlayStation®Certified” license program for hardware manufacturers.
  • Classic Playstation games will be offered - Woohoo!
  • There will be a Playstation Store
  • Will have SDK for developers to create games and sell through the PS Store
  • Will require Android 2.3 and beyond.

On a level of a mobile warrior, this news from Sony is great. We're talking about increased competition for our wallets. It'll be interesting to see Sony's device competitors like Motorola, Samsung, LG, and HTC open up and install Sony's Playstation app.

Furthermore, this really has Nintendo, and maybe Apple, scramble back to the drawing board to come up with an answer. So stay tuned. I get the feeling well get more answers at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.

More at Android Community.

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