Xperia Play as a replacement for a PSP Go

splinters69

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I am the kind of guy who likes to carry as little technology as possible but still want access to it. I just ordered a Sony Xperia Play after seeing what it can do (particularly emulators such as GBA and N64). I have a HTC HD2 as well as a PSP GO. After playing all the big games on it I now find myself playing lots of retro stuff on it and use the phone mainly for music as well as the usual 'phone' stuff.
I realise it cannot run games like GOW and Metal Gear like the Go can but having seen Dead Space it looks very much like the iPad version so perhaps it has more 'grunt' than I might have thought.
Basically, has anyone had both and can tell me if the Play would be a suitable replacement for my HTC and PSP Go?
 
i own a play, and have owned a go. got a normal psp too.

I find that the play is excellant for emulators, and the odd android game. one of the major disapointments for me was the lack of cross platflorm sharing. you cant upload psp games, minis or ps1 games that you might have for your psp onto the play.

as for replacing the hd2 no worries there. the hd2 is a windows 6.5 phone, youll be amazed at how good android is. if your mainly playing retro stufff, and not the AAA psp games you should be able to replace the go as well.

a minor annoyanbce for me with the go, was its lack of 3g. the best thing about the play is its convergance. it is a great android phone, a great games machine, and really good for music.

as an aside i almost never play my psp now, but the play gets used as a games console all the time.
 
Cheers Ed, that is just what i wanted to hear. I had a look at the handset in a phone shop today and i liked what i saw even though it had a huge cable tie around it so i couldnt use it properly. Sounds like a food solution to my problem. As for the hd2, its already on Android...wouldnt go back to IOS or Bada etc. Love it.
 
I am struggling to get a true comparison between the psp and the play as the psp has a proprietary gpu. Considering the age difference and that the play has decent hardware, why is it the play is only running ps1 quality games? Surely it should be able to at least match the psp. Having seen an N64 runnng perfectly on the Play with full sound, i wonder why my psp cant even do that...:confused:
 
Just a guess, but I imagine it's because it runs Playstation Suite which is designed to be cross-compatible with lots of different hardware (mostly phones). So you won't get the full on 3D games like you would on the PSP as those are made specifically for the PSP hardware, whereas PS Suite games are made for lower spec hardware.
 
Still not downloaded my 3 free gameloft games yet..must get round to it.

Seems the latest update will be putting in HD video recording, as 1 addition, so that's good.
 
Just a guess, but I imagine it’s because it runs Playstation Suite which is designed to be cross-compatible with lots of different hardware (mostly phones). So you won’t get the full on 3D games like you would on the PSP as those are made specifically for the PSP hardware, whereas PS Suite games are made for lower spec hardware.
I kinda get the platform issues and where they want it to go but they seem to push the Play as being capable of running PS1 titles like it sounds impressive. The PSP could run PS2 quality games years ago and they still keep wringing extra power out of it despite its age. Surely a phone released in 2010 can exceed the graphical power of a PSP....if not, why are the N64 games so smooth on the PLay while my PSP Go cannot even run Mario 64 with sound on without it being choppy?
I am just puzzled by it. I realise I will lose access to those games from PSN and the PSP games such as GOW etc. but could they PLay hardware actually run them if they ported them over?
I saw Dead Space running and it looks as good as the iPad version which is graphically much better than the PSP...:confused:
 
EA/Sony are now doing a promotion starting today(1st October), which gives you Dead Space, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Need for Speed - Hot Pursuit, and Need for Speed Shift HD all for FREE!!!

Just open your games browser, and download them through it.

Sony Ericsson
 
Any idea how long it lasts? mine is due to ship on Monday but it may be Wednesday before I get my hands on it...:(
THe terms and conditions in your link say valid from 1st October 2011 to 15th January 2011?!?

Are there already some free games available?
 
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Any idea how long it lasts? mine is due to ship on Monday but it may be Wednesday before I get my hands on it...:(
THe terms and conditions in your link say valid from 1st October 2011 to 15th January 2011?!?

Are there already some free games available?

It's 2012..It's already been raised, but is simply a typo. :smashin:

You can get lots of free games on the market, like Angry Birds, Moon Chaser, etc, and there'a also a couple in the games launcher(other games tab), Townspeople 6, Guerrilla Bob, Gun's n' Glory, are the 3, but they are also on the market, but I'm sure are optimised for the Play's control method, via the launcher.

You get Crash Bandicoot, Fifa 10, Star Battalion, Tetris, Sims 3, and Bruce Lee pre-loaded on the phone when you get it.

On top of that, you can get the 4 free EA ones too, so at least something to get you started.

Then if you get the dock, you can download another 3 Gameloft ones, for free. :smashin:
 
Play are selling this for £200 (no contract, SIM unlocked)

I bought one and am waiting for it to arrive - it should be a pretty excellent handheld system (thanks to the emulators for things like GameBoy Advance, SNES, N64, Playstation 1) as well as a pretty capable regular Android phone(it has the latest version on it now as well as a decent 1GHz CPU, good screen and a usable camera).
 
Expansys messed be about and I don't like Play's new 'structure'...but managed to bag one from Chitter Chatter for £149....however, I got my hands on an Xperia Arc and it is a lovely phone. Starting to wonder if I actually need the Play.
 
I kinda get the platform issues and where they want it to go but they seem to push the Play as being capable of running PS1 titles like it sounds impressive. The PSP could run PS2 quality games years ago and they still keep wringing extra power out of it despite its age. Surely a phone released in 2010 can exceed the graphical power of a PSP....if not, why are the N64 games so smooth on the PLay while my PSP Go cannot even run Mario 64 with sound on without it being choppy?
I am just puzzled by it. I realise I will lose access to those games from PSN and the PSP games such as GOW etc. but could they PLay hardware actually run them if they ported them over?
I saw Dead Space running and it looks as good as the iPad version which is graphically much better than the PSP...:confused:

Probably a developer issue – as the PSP is on it’s way out soon it could possibly be difficult to get the developers on board to port their existing titles to the new hardware. I imagine porting them wouldn’t be a simple task given the hardware differences. I'm sure the hardware could manage it though, like you say the PSP is about 6 years old now. EA seem to be keen on mobile gaming which is why you’re seeing Dead Space et al on lots of platforms.
 
Expansys messed be about and I don't like Play's new 'structure'...but managed to bag one from Chitter Chatter for £149....however, I got my hands on an Xperia Arc and it is a lovely phone. Starting to wonder if I actually need the Play.

If I never needed the pad for games, or liked retro, there's no way I would pick the arc, much rather a Galaxy S or S2, more than likely.

The Arc and the Play are very similar, bar the camera, playstation certification, and a couple of other non features.

If you like gaming, get the Play, if you like fingers all over the screen, get the arc or another phone.
 
I bought the Arc off a friend to help him out and it was quite cheap compared to the online prices. It is a far nicer phone to my eyes and the screen is incredible. I think I will let the Play get sent out and try it for myself before deciding. Dont think it will be hard to sell on a mint unlocked Arc.
 
You are going to have to update/flash the Play, to at least 2.3.4, to get the best out of it, as the over the air 2.3.3, still doesn't add auto brightness disable.
I was disappointed in mine when it was on 2.3.2 out of the box, and 2.3.3 wasn't much better, but with the 2.3.4 update, it just flies now.

2.3.4 adds the 720p video capture with constant autofocus, adds auto brightness on/off(which improves the screen no end), updates the psx emulator, speeds up the phone, and improves the battery life, probably more, but that's all I can remember at the mo.
 
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Any idea how I can do this for the Arc (and the Play when it arrives) without waiting for O2...or Virgin/T-Mobile to release it?
 
Well, the play is now on 2.3.4 and i am loving the gaming on this. Only downside? I had an Xperia Arc before it and this is so heavy in comparison.
Anyone recommend some decent games other than the freebies?
 
I take it you got the 4 EA ones I allured to in post #8 above?

Dead Space, Hot Pursuit, Battlefield Bad Company 2, and Need for Speed:Shift.

There's "Sleepy Jack", on the market, only for the Play, which at 99p, is amazing, a brilliant, brilliant shooter.
Think Space Harrier, meets Nights, meets Tempest.

Also, Guerilla Bob, if you were ever into Ikari warriors, or Smash tv..top down shooter, dual control, using both analogues.

Failing that, Get mame4droid from the market for it...
 
I bought one from play last week and i`m really happy with it. I also bought the dock as well which is great but i`m now trying to find a case that doesn`t stop it from being docked as most seem to make the phone too chunky to be docked.
 
Anyone recommend some decent games other than the freebies?

You can also add Muffin Knight to the list of games too, from the makers of Guerilla Bob.

****ing useless Unicorn Turds...:rotfl:
 
I take it you got the 4 EA ones I allured to in post #8 above?

Dead Space, Hot Pursuit, Battlefield Bad Company 2, and Need for Speed:Shift.

Didn't know these were free, I was expecting it to let you down load, then ask you to pay to play them. When I am back home and using WIFI will down load them. What is the correct way to access the free games, confused by the Android store and "other" stores.

Liking the phone other than its size! It seems slick in operation and media playback is A1 :thumbsup:

Got PS1 emulation working, Rainbow Islands/Parrappa/GT2 and Ghost in The Shell all on there, the only problematic thing has been audio on GintS, its a bit choppy, shame as that is the highlight of the game, rest are perfect - N64+Golden Eye would be interesting, or even Doom of sorts.

Downloaded Angry Birds and Dogfight (nice idea, needs buidling on!), my lad loves playing FIFA10, given Star Battalion/Bruce Lee/Tetris a look, all seem of a decent quality, just not my thing.

It is a shame its not got PSP compatbility, I am sure it could handle the games, I would pay for some if the price was right. IMO this is the kind of device they should sell cheap, but at the same time launch a market place jam packed with (PS) games at £3-£5 each, may be new ones higher £8-£11.

It would be an added bonus to link it with the PS3, i.e. remote playback. I have kind of got the devices to see each other, but it stops short of linking up properly. With the speed of the device remote play would be excellent.

One work around is BSPlayer Lite - this allows streaming from NAS and works very very well :)

All in a great phone, a great gaming device if retro / decent controller is your thing... but its not a direct PSP, which it could have been, and still has the potential!!! At the price I paid (£199) I would even be happy with the phone if it didn't have the gaming element due to its speed.
 
Didn't know these were free, I was expecting it to let you down load, then ask you to pay to play them. When I am back home and using WIFI will down load them. What is the correct way to access the free games, confused by the Android store and "other" stores.

Open the browser, load up the Xperia bookmark, or click on this link, from your phone:

Sony Ericsson - Home

and it's one of the top 4 links..just scroll down a bit, and you'll see it.

download the starting file, quite small, a couple of meg max, then select it from your downloads, or notification bar, then just start the game, and it'll tell you it needs to download some files, so just plug it into a usb socket(so it doesn't go to sleep, make sure the setting for keeping the screen awake in development when charging is set to on), and sit back and wait.

FYI, Dead Space's intro graphics are really nice..and it looks like they use some sort of smart Anti Aliasing or other effects, as the jaggies are pretty much nil, and the lighting effects are nice too.
Need's to be played with headphones on though, the sound is very nice also.

Then just select play game, and that's it..free forever.

For other good games, I love Sleepy Jack, Muffin Knight, and Death Worm, emulators are mame4droid, gensoid, snesoid, and an n64 one too.

Update 2.3.4 adds 720p recording with continuous autofocus, fixes battery life issues, and adds the disable auto brightness, but you lose the psxperia emulator, so if you run FPSe, it'll work just the same..

I think the phone and their tablets will come into their own, when they release Playstation Suite, which means that all devices which are Playstation Certified like their tablets, xperia play, psp, Vita, and PS3, will all run games from the same or one marketplace, but obviously with graphical differences..but it's a sort of guarantee that what you buy on one, will be playable on another, kind of like the psmini's, on ps3 and psp.
 
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Having played the free EA games (as mentioned above - Thansk Rotten Fox) the Xperia Play is a very capable machine - it could easily do PSP games + some HD tweaks. Only gripe is that I do find the L1/R1 buttons a bit fiddly (small!). A great machine for £200.
 

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