Sony has announced that the transaction to acquire Ericsson’s 50% ownership in the company’s mobile division “Sony Ericsson” is now completed. The deal was made back in the fall of last year, but until now hadn’t been finalized.
While Sony may not have had the best Q3, Kaz Hirai isn’t letting that get him down, as he sets his sights high for the future of Sony Corp. and the PlayStation brand in particular. During Sony’s quarterly financial call, Hirai shared his intentions to take the PlayStation brand to the number one spot in the industry.
So far, the PlayStation Certified program hasn’t been that impressive, only offering a few PlayStation One titles with added touch controls. But the program looks to be taking the next logical step and adding more recent PSP games.
Weeks ago rumors surfaced of a potential buyout of Ericsson’s half of the Sony Ericsson mobile business. It was one of those rumors that just made sense, and today has been confirmed.
The day we’ve all been waiting for is here! The PSLS Live Wallpaper is up on the Android Market. Now we just sit back, kick up our feet and count the billions of dollars… oh damn, it’s free. Looks like it’s back to work!
It looks like Sony doesn’t want to limit to PlayStation Suite platform to just in-house hardware, as the company is currently looking to expand to other devices.
A joint venture established in 2001 by Japanese technology giant Sony and Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones, Sony Ericsson has always had a rather troubled life. While the company has managed to create a few great phones, especially in the camera department, most Sony Ericsson products have failed to have a serious impact on the mobile market. That may be all set to change, as recent reports suggest that Sony are preparing to take full control of the mobile phone company.
Here at PlayStation LifeStyle the only thing we love (almost) as much as PlayStation is Android. To that effect, we have been working on some new and improved PSLS mobile apps, starting with the Android version. The full app is still baking (do I smell Gingerbread?), but in the meantime you can satisfy your app hunger with this Live Wallpaper. Before we submit it to the Android Market we wanted to give our readers a sneak preview.
The Xperia PLAY is the first gaming-centric phone since the ill-fated N-Gage. The PLAY had a bit of a troubled launch – initially released in Europe, some wireless providers even halted the launch due to some technical problems with the gaming phone. The phone was finally officially released on May 26th in the US after a round of pre-orders. After spending well over a week with this curious phone/gaming hybrid of a device, and allowing the 50+ games to actually launch for the platform, it’s time for a proper review.
The time is upon us in the United States. The Xperia Play has officially launched at Verizon Wireless stores across the country, after being available for pre-order last week online. While the phone may have disappointed some with its hardware specifications, there are still plenty of people who see this smartphone as a unique gaming-centric device. Curious how the launch games perform on this phone? Find out in our newest feature after the break.
Are you pining for the newly-launched Xperia Play, Sony Ericsson‘s first ever PlayStation Certified Android-powered smartphone? Are you currently ineligible for an upgrade with your current phone contract, or do you just not like the idea of being tied to one in the first place? Well, Verizon Wireless has an off-contract option for you, but as expected this comes with a heftier price tag.
Analysts and gamers have been calling for a fusion between PlayStation and Sony Ericsson ever since the PlayStation Portable was announced, with many touting the “PlayStation Phone” as a true iPhone rival. While the Xperia PLAY is more Xperia than it is PlayStation, it is still the first truly dedicated gaming phone since the ill-fated N-Gage, with a slide-out gamepad and the might of Sony Computer Entertainment behind the product. But one month in to the device’s European release, has the phone been a success? Will it be big in the States? And what’s left to come for the device? We asked these questions and many more in an exclusive interview with Dominic Neil-Dwyer, Head of Market Development at Sony Ericsson.
Having both your mobile and your PlayStation handheld combined into one sounds like one of the greatest ideas ever, and that’s exactly what Sony Ericsson are hoping you think when you hear about the Xperia PLAY. Already out in most of Europe, and coming soon to the US, the phone has yet to prove itself as a serious contender in the gaming market. However, that may all be set to change as the phone manufacturer is preparing to make some big announcements at this year’s E3.
After talking to Gameloft’s Digital Marketing and Community Manager, Callum Rowley on the day of the Xperia PLAY’s European launch, we caught up with the publisher’s Managing Director, Julian Stocker to find out not only how successful the company has been with the platform, but about the importance of developing for “the next big thing”, and why traditional publishers have been so slow to adapt to digital distribution.
While the Xperia PLAY did suffer various launch problems, from a “freight issue” to a mobile provider pulling out from the launch due to bugs, the platform’s biggest publisher, Gameloft, has announced that the phone is “already a top device” in terms of game sales, beating out tough competition from other Android phones.
