So hows about Nintendo games makin it to my iPhone...

Loru

sony better pull something big out of their ass if they want to make this idea remotely promising!

but hey i would also love to see what they come up with!

vokey25208

If Sony is looking to fuse devices, they should combine the PSP with the MYLO and give the PSP enhanced online capabilities and a keyboard. I'm quite certain I'd never want a phone-PSP combo.

weatherman

sometimes i wish the big boys could get along. the fun of the wii and ds, with the power and expansiveness of the ps3 and psp...that'd be awesome, if not expensive.
but alas, without the competition, the innovation would disappear.

EMoShunz

ummm... nokia nGage anyone?
looks like it'll be either a HUGE phone or a diminute console...

huggy

Like anyone didn't see this coming. There's been Walkman phones, Cyber-shot phones, even Bravia phones. And mobile phone gaming has been the "next big thing" for a while now.

I think a PlayStation-branded phone could actually be more successful than the PSP. The target young adult demographic might not be too keen on carrying around a large handheld game system (And let's face it - the PSP's multimedia capabilities haven't exactly taken off, either. In fact, most of the people who buy PSP games in my store are kids.), but a sexy gaming cell phone? Sure! And when I think of a PS Phone, I don't think of N-Gage - I think of something more along the lines of Nokia's N81, only a bit less brick-like.

I almost see a PlayStation phone as the heir apparent to the PSP. They'll coexist for a good long while, I'm sure - after all, a phone can't top the PSP's huge screen - but I sort of see the PSP as a dead end product. I don't mean that in a bad way - I have a PSP, and love it - but I'm not exactly sure how Sony can follow it up. The UMD format hasn't exactly been a rousing success, so it's hard to imagine Sony investing even more resources into "BluMD" or whatver - and as far as graphics go, the big improvement this generation has been HD visuals, which isn't really going to mean much for a handheld. I'm not saying Moore's Law will grind to a halt and there will be no way to improve the PSP, but I have trouble finding a lot of meaningful improvements - gameplay-wise, there's no game you can't make on the PSP that you'd be able to make on a PSP2. And I'm not sure if I see Sony adding a touchscreen and motion control to the eventual "PSPii," either.

So, since there isn't really anywhere else the standalone handheld game system concept can go, and since the concept hasn't exactly been a huge success for Sony anyway, the PSP will evolve. It will either grow towards the mylo and gain a keyboard and a hard drive (or, hopefully, a lot of flash memory) or it will grow toward the phone, the "ultra personal computer." Hell, since both of those things seem to be on a collision course anyway, it might grow towards both of those things. Just like how the PS3 evolved into a more complete entertainment computer, the PSP will evolve into a handheld device that does more than just games. (OK, games and UMD videos.) Hell, it could be Sony's answer to the iPhone.

You didn't think I would get through all that without an iPhone mention, did ya? :)

Gizmog

nGage sucked big time, no doubt. But there have been many advancements in cell phones since the days of the 'taco'. The problem isn't the graphics or processing capabilities, but nailing down the right form factor. I think that's the biggest hurdle Sony is facing with any PlayStation branded phone. How do you have a phone that game friendly, but also doesn't look too much like a little kid's toy to appeal to the target demographic?

I think you may see something like a cross between the iPhone and the DS: A wide touch screen with a slick interface, but in a slider form to show a gamepad instead of a fully qwerty keyboard. Or in a clamshell form like the Voyager. This with the standard 5MP camera on the back, of course.

The downside to a 'PlayStation' phone? You would have a phone with enough power to play (hopefully) some nice software, but it would be locked down to prevent it from being a useful smartphone. But this wouldn't be marketed as such, anyway. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

TKWarrior

didnt we see a (i guess only potential) psphone a while back and it was basically a nice looking phone with the standard sony OS on it?

i see this phone as either

A: something of a failure, since it'll be little to nothing more than a phone, ooorrrr...

B: they are releasing something that is in direct competition with one of their own major products.

if B does happen, and the psphone winds up surpassing the psp (and as a result, Sony more or less dropping rh psp) then you're going to be looking at one annoyed early adapter.

jrghoull

@jrghoull: The iphone is a direct compeditor with the iPod and it hasn't slowed sales on either down any.

draconis2941

@TKWarrior: I agree about the slider but perhaps a dual slider. Slide it one way and it exposes controls, slide it the other and you get full qwerty. I much perefer the tactile reponse of an actual keyboard than just an onscreen.

draconis2941

Well that would rock if there was a PSPhone I'd want to buy it but it would without a doubt have to have 3G capabilities with the 4G network capability
Quite frankly this is what people were saying when Play Station was developing the PSP if i recall correctly it started as rumors then we all got the coveted PSP one of the most popular handheld devices (first handheld devices of a line) that was that successful.
(PSP was the first handheld by Playstation and its one of the most popular ever for a first version)

SneakerFiend