The PlayStation Phone...10 Years Later

Just over 10 years ago Sony released a phone called the Xperia Play that worked to merge their gaming division with their phone division bringing controls similar to the PSP to a mobile phone. Today I wanted to check it out.
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#PlayStation #Sony #XperiaPlay

[@tranquility6789]

Sony really needs to make another one of these, especially with how much more mobile gaming has evolved since

[@_dmfd]

No need to with Gamepass cloud & emulation for PS1 / some PS2 games. Microsoft is cornering this market.

[@jonathansoko1085]

Mobile gaming has DEvolved. Everything is a cash grab and MTX sim

[@_dmfd]

@@jonathansoko1085 it's evolved and taken steps back forsure. But it's definitely evolved since 2011.

[@kastaway-m4x]

I would buy one instantly. Edit: If they made a modern version of this with current hardware.

[@BronzeOrwin]

mobile 'gaming'

[@bonesjackson81]

Sony, the new Sega. Making things ahead of their time that people aren't ready for. And then they don't finish the product to it's fullest.

[@aryinc]

they all have their trials and errors. But the xperia was a nice concept tough.

[@EnriquePage91]

Pretty much though, plus it lunched literally like a few months before phones started coming with completely superior processors for gaming so even if the form factor is great it was actually not a great phone for games even at its time (layout is EXCEPTIONAL though). I wish Xperia play had become a line, the newer ones would be freaking sick

[@weaverquest]

A phone like this would be amazing today with Gamepass. Then again that would be playing into your main competitors hand for Sony .

[@RodaMoonknight]

Ngage: am I a joke to you?

[@idanchen4934]

unlike SEGA though Sony is one of the parties that control the industry flow, since SEGA died since they were the first to try the internet subscription

[@neoasura]

I would kill for a modern Android smartphone with a built in controller. It would be perfect for emulators.

[@ericbazinga]

Same. It'd also be great for modern android games and cloud streaming, but its target market would definitely be emulator users.

[@avocadorable2593]

Check out the moqi i7s ETA PRIME has a video about it

[@beetee7670]

It has a built-in ps1 emulator too, worth searching how that works too. Takes some working around but it's legit

[@seshions]

I had a Samsung intercept with a sliding keyboard in middle school and it was awesome being able to map the keys to a certain button for my Gameboy emulator. Even had arrow keys that I mapped for the movement. Good times 🥲

[@zhenyucai8688]

@@avocadorable2593 He said phone noy a brick.

[@Chris_Ramsay1]

I’d take screws and clips any day over the gallons of glue they use now.

[@djpainkiller3326]

For real so many times go to waste because how hard they make it to fix because of they use glue instead of screws just to make it look more clean without screws but personally the why the screws look never bothered my ass unlike some people

[@jonnyloco6766]

Amen to that

[@jaidsalgado]

@@Matanumi why would you even open for the battery? My phones battery last me at least two or three years lol you be doing on your phone

[@420BassIt]

If you can't handle a little glue you probably shouldn't be repairing electronics

[@raulaxelhernandez5477]

Screens literally pop off the phone like it’s nothing now

[@atko92]

Still got mine! Managed to do something so I could get any PS game into the native loader on the phone. Great for N64, DS, GBA etc emulation too

[@atko92]

@Louie McMillian all those work perfectly. PS is native obviously so no issues there. For DS, I got the drastic emulator and that runs the majority of games at 30fps without issues. There are 2 N64 emulators I got but I remember one called Mupen64 which allows the use of the analogue sticks for movement which worked nicely also. The other emulators are for older systems so no issues there whatsoever

[@Digiflower5]

might be good for game streaming too since it has buttons. Maybe Moonlight might work, Moonlight has an android app.

[@BerserkerBarry]

@Louie McMillian N64 is a bit iffy but playable on lowest settings. The rest is perfect!

[@MrDiske21]

I have mine from back 2013, which the best website to get all this perks? :)

[@atko92]

@@MrDiske21 I believe the majority of the information for getting PS games onto the native loader is through videos on KZbin and XDA forums. The N64 and other emulators are through the Google play store

[@JcGross93]

This was my first smart phone. I loved it so much! Man, those silver physical buttons on the front, the slick slide out mechanism, emulating ps1 games. I miss it a lot.

[@I_was_a_Bullfrog]

It was my first smart phone too. Funny to see how dated it looks nowadays

[@Drivenby]

Not my first phone but it was one of my first Android. I loved it.

[@DevarshiAggarwal]

It was my first phone aswell. Have sold a lot of phones till date but regret selling only this one

[@omegli8651]

Me too man i remember I did python on this phone jailbreaked it then I played gta vice city,3,san Andreas Damn I was so much of a python programmer now I am a Java guy

[@theWONDERofWiiU]

Review starts: “Oh these are neat, maybe I should pick one up for the novelty of it” Review progresses: “Nevermind”

[@cuphead7100]

Same lol. We now have a market where things like the RG351 exist. This is pointless.

[@kevinfromsales9445]

My Xperia Play's screen died after only 2 years of use and I couldn't get a replacement anywhere. It was such a cool idea but so lazily executed by Sony I just moved on to Samsung and never looked back.

[@therunawaykid6523]

@@kevinfromsales9445 yeah I also had one soon after it came out but I would say this is the classic cool idea but not executed that good

[@Mageman17]

@@therunawaykid6523 released around the time that the vita would be coming out or so. And we all know how that worked out and what it’s issues were.

[@therunawaykid6523]

@@Mageman17 yes I do I still own my original vita I was so disappointed in Sony for just stopping supporting it, seemed like they just wanted to focus on the PS4 instead, I would say the switch is what I thought the psvita would be like but sadly a lot of ports on the vita were watered down versions of the console versions whereas the switch has full games

[@AlexThorn]

I wish the gaming phones of today did a similar design so we don't have to carry around seperate controllers.

[@shobe5235]

Being able to emulate PS1 in 2011 with a mid-high spec phone is kind of mind blowing. It's like emulating PS3 and X360 today.

[@CinnamonOwO]

Eh... No,

[@ConnorSeals]

@@CinnamonOwO in terms of the time frame, yes

[@juanhermosillo7322]

I would love it if Sony released a new phone that is capable of such wonders.

[@MsMRkv]

The Xperia play had already outdated specs for 2011, and ps1 emulation wasn't "mind blowing". The galaxy s2 (also released in 2011) was much more capable and could easily handle ps1 games and even a lot of psp games. My 2011 Dell streak 7 with Tegra 2 easily emulated ps1 games with perfect framerate. Any device with an arm7 processor even if it was single core, could play ps1 games, that includes devices like the galaxy s1 and many other 2010 smartphones.

[@winniewin441]

@@ConnorSeals It was kinda cool, sure. But not really mind blowing when you consider that you could also play PS1 with the PSP and that for a long time .. and in 2011 there were smartphones with twice the hardware power such as the Galaxy S2. the Xperia Play was already quite slow in the apps in 2013. I still loved my Xperia Play anyway. it was my first smartphone and I used it until 2015..

[@BeerBellyDK]

I had this phone back when it was new, and i still consider it the best phone i've ever had, due to those physical controls. I used mine primarily with emulators, in particular PS1 emulation, which worked great, at least for my particular set of go-to games. :) Biggest weakness was those touch sensitive "sticks", and the fact that it only had one set of shoulder buttons, which was a problem for a lot of PS1 titles. i did also use it for nes, snes, and gb emulation. I kept using it as a portable gaming device for a while even after i got a new primary phone. I must have used it on a regular basis for 2-3 years, and the slide mechanism held up fine, although i do remember it grinding a lot, as it got some sand in it at one point, and that also scratched up the surface of the built in controller. Sadly mine broke at some point when it was in storage. i really do want one again, and i still hope that sony takes this concept and revisits it. with how popular mobile gaming is these days, and how popular the PlayStation brand is, i think it could help them distinguish them selves from the competition, and give them a much better position on the phone market. i'd be all over it for sure, at least, i will if it has that built in physical controller. :)

[@therunawaykid6523]

Yeah I agree if Sony released a much slimmer version of this phone in the future with the same controls, a powerful processor, a good amount of on board storage plus great game functionality I’m sure it would be pretty popular

[@Disthron]

@@therunawaykid6523 I don't think it really needs to be slimmer. Just newer hardware.... okay maybe a bigger screen.

[@craigsampson3386]

I owned a PSP Go for years which had basically the same sliding mechanism and it had no problems, felt great.

[@DoorStudios]

You're 100% spot on with the ribbon cable. They often failed or degraded on these phones over time. I had an Xperia Play too, and had to eventually replace its ribbon cable. Think it took around 2 years of intensive sliding.

[@MrSurfingPikachu]

I remember wanting this phone so badly back in the day. I may be picking one of these up.

[@SonyEnthusiast]

Did you get one? I recently bought one, but need help to get emulators on it

[@MrSurfingPikachu]

@@SonyEnthusiast nah I'm broke

[@AndyStriker13LP]

i still have mine and the slide mechanism held up almost perfectly, and that was from heavy use so it is durable

[@SonyEnthusiast]

Cool, do you have emulators on it? I just bought one recently and I wanna play Turtles in Time on it

[@jsjhdhg533]

the slider was well engineered people just get paranoid of sliders mine lasted years of constant use

[@weebsquit347]

"Now phones are a little easier to come apart" iPhone 12: *literally needs lasers just to even open it up*

[@herbertholland924]

Also, the fact that batteries are now soldered to the boards.

[@kennekekenneke]

Had it for several years, remember sending MVG the link to aliexpress. The headphone jack issue was not that big. went snowboarding with it while playing music it was fine. The sliding mechanism killed it eventually. The ribbon cable started to give up and it was losing touch input and after a while it lost display. Loved it, If they would make a version with current gen hardware would jump on it in a heartbeat. You could find bigger batteries for it I used one of those, it helped with the ergonomics a lot. There are custom roms (I remember skellrom) wich allowed a little overclocking but at this point it won't make much of a difference.

[@dynamicentry6808]

This phone was the envy of the town back in the day

[@TheSergio7514]

8:45 The rails and the moving mechanism held up perfectly but the ribbon cable breaks over time and is the most common piece to find on the internet since it has to be replaced after 2 years or less

[@TN_AU]

My flex ribbon gave way I think, the digitiser stopped working. Didnt use it for months and turned it on recently, touch screen stopped working. Cant find a replacement cable.

[@VEN0M415]

I remember my friend having a white one in college, such a cool idea but definitely felt very odd to use in fast action games for the first time, dpad was so nice.

[@TerryTurner]

Just imagine Sony making an updated PSP Go now...🥰

[@Raiders-wm5kb]

Apple needs this

[@atodamadre3197]

Loved my psp go. Got me through a deployment to Afghanistan

[@BiriBiri925]

YES PLS

[@danyp127]

I had one back in the day. It was already considered low to mid-range specs by the time it was released

[@SummonerArthur]

Let me guess, the display stopped working?

[@danyp127]

@@SummonerArthur No it still worked but processor was slow. I couldn't really play any of the more demanding Android games. Also only came with 400 mb of storage which was laughable even for 2011. At the time, I didn't know about rooting and storing apps on an SD card

[@SummonerArthur]

@@danyp127 oh, got it. I asked that cuz everyone I knew that had one of these ended up with a damaged ribbon cable

[@itchyisvegeta]

Has it been 10 years already? I freaking loved this phone, easily the best phone I ever had. I'd still buy them if they made newer versions.

[@MarioMadness1]

I remember really wanting this phone.. thought would be cool for emulators

[@ochiamu]

I played Minish Cap on mine

[@That_Guy-]

It was

[@idkanymore3382]

@@Matanumi No sh*t you are so annoying lmao

[@bland9876]

@@Matanumi he ment back then he wanted one obviously not anymore.

[@deevbunnyan3742]

Same... Got one and was disappointed.

[@JuanD817]

I just love how every year at least one person talks about this phone on KZbin 👍

[@ericbazinga]

It's a great concept that needs to be revisited

[@JuanD817]

@@ericbazinga ikr it's kinda strange not seeing something similar considering gaming phones are rising in popularity

[@therunawaykid6523]

@@ericbazinga yeah I agree the things I didn’t like about it when I got one soon after it came out was: too bulky and heavy to carry around in your pocket, very small on board memory and not that easy to play other games and emulators

[@Mite000]

I've had an Xperia play for about 8 years. I was using it as my main phone for a couple of years, and then as a portable emulator for the rest. The sliding mechanism held out until just a few months ago where the ribbon cable finally died. I tried to replace it, but I only made it worse lol. Also, the input lag you experienced was definitely a thing with the Xperia Play. I remember the .Emu emulators even had settings specifically for addressing it

[@farbodnaseri2078]

I had one of these for 3 years! This brings back a lot of memories... And in case you’re wondering, it did held up quite well!

[@ArgonautArcade]

If they revisited this with a digital library storefront with more modern games, cloud gaming and 5g, it'd sell like hot cakes

[@phoenix0828]

I think they'd not even had to compete with Nintendo in the market, but with for example Apple with their Apple Arcade and their gamepad compatibility (every iOS 14+ device can use Xbox, PS4,5 and Switch Controller) and many Android tablets, phones and handhelds

[@Gravy1255]

@@Matanumi you have to be stupid. When Sony gives consumers stuff. They don't buy it and then later on people like you complain lol. Why should they try shit when aside from the psp. People looked over their stuff.

[@APeterson95]

The gaming iron is so hot right now it would absolutely do well. I really hope they come back to handhelds at some point

[@Syutaku]

@@Gravy1255 Well if Sony didn't do stupid ideas like hard locking a handheld to overpriced proprietary sd cards and fail to support the device out the gate it would potentially last and sell well. Vita would be alive and well today if it wasn't for Sony's decision comprehension skills being dumpster water, more people would buy their stuff

[@__1201]

@@Matanumi Good point, and I think that's a big reason why you don't see the cell phone and modern gaming integration from the big three (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft). Can you imagine Nintendo partnering with a cell phone manufacturer for a switch phone?

[@D3sdinova]

I had to replace the screen cable 3 times in about 3 years of using it. After the last time i always kept it open, and it still broke. The biggest downsides are: The flex cable breaking quite easily. Almost no internal storage memory. And no 3D sticks, always felt like they shouldve used those 3DS sticks, even if it wouldve been a bit thicker.

[@kurtissilva8951]

Or psp sticks

[@SSR_RedDevil]

I had this back in 2014 - 2019 ish. I remember it being picky with what it could install and the sd card slot was a god send. Apps2SD saved me a handful of times, aswell as getting it rooted, to get rid of the bloatware. I found it was easy to use, in terms of getting emulation to work. As mentioned here, yes, my screen failed in spectacular fashion. First the screen started to flicker going from horizontal to vertical. The camera had a weird green hue if the body of the phone was twisted slightly. Eventually the screen died all together if it was in the vertical stance. My sim tray also stopped reading sim cards. I sold it on ebay. To sum it up, it was a fun phone. If it had more internal storage and a dual or quad core cpu, it would have fared better. For what it was emulating, 512mb ram seemed adequate. Good effort, Sony.

[@winniewin441]

Did you really use it until 2019? I also had one, but from 2012 to 2015. The smartphone was cool, but the hardware was already quite weak compared to other smartphones when it was released. My Xperia Play was getting pretty slow back in 2013. Surfing and KZbin wasn't fun anymore. impressive that it worked for you.

[@SSR_RedDevil]

@@winniewin441 I bought it second hand. I'll be honest, I knew it wasn't the most powerful phone out there. I bought it cause I love playing emulated games. I heard it was tough to root/put games on and what not, but it wasn't all that difficult. I liked the look of it, too.

[@bfg9k_]

I remember the Galaxy S2 had a crazy audiophile-tier DAC that ROM/kernel hackers went nuts with

[@theshadowdirector]

Now we demand a video on the N-Gage.

[@HenryFlores4]

This was my first ever smartphone. From 2011-2014 this phone was my life lol. There was methods to convert any PS1 title for this phone including most PSP games. Not to mention retro emulators. When GTA Vice City and San Andreas came out on Android, this phone was king. Man... good memories from my old Xperia PLAY. Sony should definitely make a PLAY 2 or something... bring back some Vita titles. Great review, brought me back to simpler times.

[@shotgunmasterQL]

Ayy, I still got mine, and I used one until 2015 I think, at which point I got a Sony Xperia Z2. The slide actually has held up really well. I think at one point something got inside the slide and left some smudges and scratches on the panel area, but the slide mechanism is still slick and feels as good as new. The shell is also tough as nails. For some reason this phone just fell and slipped a ton of times for me. Never cracked the screen, and only at some point when this phone was my secondary device, one of the plastic corners cracked and chipped off, which revealed anither layer of plastic. This thing was a tough brick. Only thing I had issues was the power button. It became pretty stiff and require me to press it down really hard. I will say that one of the biggest problems with the phone was the lack of memory.

[@JM-ii2yk]

I had one of these and unlocked the bootloader when I got the go ahead from Sony with my particular model. Verizon forced an update and bricked it. I probably should've immediately flashed a custom rom. Loved being able to emulate any ps1 game

[@MisterSouji]

I had one of these back when it was new. I still have it and it works great. I used it for emulation, and there was a community for it for a while doing updates. The ps1 emulator was even reverse engineered to be able to reload other roms.

[@K0LZEN]

I remember my dad got this phone a couple months after it came out, wow so many memories of using it back then

[@i_am_raph]

daily drove one of them during my TAFE years and actually completed both GBA Golden Sun games on it.

[@bland9876]

Finally being able to play your favorite games without the stupid password system was nice.

[@bmth2111]

I remember when Cingular was still a company. So long ago. I do remember seeing the Xperia at an AT&T store when it came out. It was like I saw God. I heard angels and saw it glowing in a bright aura. Now it’s so bad when comparing to phones today. It was cool for its time then.

[@bland9876]

this then the shield and now the steam deck long live open system gaming.

[@Mageman17]

@@Matanumi is it as bad like the Samsung Galaxy Beam? That’s my poster object for phones released with specs and OS two generations behind on its launch day.

[@Zakzattak]

Those tiny tactile buttons are such a product of it's time

[@94dodgedude]

This was my first smartphone. Loved it! I got it a week after it was released. It worked well for emulation and the slide out held up really well for I believe three years of use before I went to a 4g Motorola. I've lost mine but some day I'll pick another up. Loved that phone

[@DrWakey]

I still have my Xperia Play. Back in 2011 i used it as daily driver, until 2015. The mechanisms held up pretty and it still works today, nothing has become loosened or so.

[@PKspectre]

I had this one during high school, lemme tell you it made it all the better, being able to play PS1 games as well as a ton of emulator stuff. I still have it, although when I turn it on it just shows a garbled mess of pink and blue pixels. I hope they try something like this again in the future.

[@spazmochad]

This phone was great for PS1 emulation. The lack of RAM crippled it and the slider mechanism had a tendency to break the ribbon cable for the screen.

[@Sean-D78]

My dad had this and I loved it so much, I used it as my Minecraft machine lol

[@shotgunmasterQL]

It was pretty swell for minecraft, especially when Pocket Edition started shaping up to actually have some decent features. The only sad thing is that the last version of Pocket Edition I have downloaded on my old Xperia Play is a version where they somehow broke the controls, the analog sticks no longer do what they should, you can turn at all. Not very fun to revisit.

[@KellyAesop]

I had this phone all through high school. At some point I had to find a new one though because of two failures: the volume rocker (the thing in the middle in between the L and R buttons) literally FELL OUT of the chassis and it wouldn't simply pop back into place, and the left touch pad just completely stopped working. That wasn't an issue for most games I wanted to play, except Minecraft. Despite these problems I think the thing held up well for the sheer amount of use I gave it. I never noticed the sliding mechanism failing or the headphone jack location bothering me.

[@AntonioCunningham]

I missed sliding phones. It's one of the reasons why I bought a LG Wing. I never understood the "thin" craze. Why would I purposely want a phone to become harder to keep hold of? I'll take a thick phone anyday over a thin phone.

[@horacegentleman3296]

Me too, by all means double the battery capacity I don't care if it makes the phone thicker. Back when you could replace your battery you could get thicker batteries along with a bigger back plate. I miss that.

[@Danielsworlds]

i had one of these back in the day and once it became obsolete as a phone it became a portable emulation device for me for several year. Put a custom kernel on it to improve performance. Got a larger battery and back housing and the largest SD card it could support. Believe it was only 64gb. And carried it with me everywhere for like 3 years.

[@Danielsworlds]

ALso I played through the whole of tomba 2 on mine and 100%ed the game with little to no issues. Mine held up well physically and the slide out was a common fidget toy

[@ZealousChuck]

Xperia play is still great in 2021 although I would be really pleased to see its successor in the near future🔥🔥

[@SonyEnthusiast]

Hey I just bought one recently. Can you please let me know how to install emulators on it? I wanna play Turtles in Time on mine

[@robjones721]

I’m trying to get mine updated/hacked so I can use it as a phone now

[@ZealousChuck]

@@robjones721 you cant really do that. Perhaps you can make calls and send messages but all.the other apps.might not be supported as the android is very old. I wouldn't recommend using it as your main device..maybe as a emulation gadget

[@SonyEnthusiast]

@@ZealousChuck Hey I just bought one recently. Can you please let me know how to install emulators on it? I wanna play Turtles in Time on mine

[@ZealousChuck]

@@SonyEnthusiast install the apk of desired emulator and of course android needs to support it

[@dsimpson530]

Fun fact Minecraft pocket exclusively debuted on the Xperia play, announced at e3 2011. Notch was at the e3 booth showing it off

[@jaydoubleyubeatz9154]

I had this phone for a very long time. I enjoyed my time with it alot however the biggest weakness this phone had was the flex cable. I changed the flex cable on mine at least 3 times.

[@TeamBringIt8]

I had one of these and it was a real head turner in High School, sooo good for emulation! Really miss this phone actually

[@gabe3095]

I actually bought one of these when they came out. It was neat at the time and ran snes and gba emulators pretty well. Once I got over the novelty of it though, it was just basically a mid range phone that wasn't too special

[@HatredInTheFlesh]

It ran some gba games with input lag iirc

[@Frigid_Kev]

I recently found my old Xperia Play, which I though was gone forever, and as soon as I found it, the nostalgia hit me. Sadly the screen was already broken so it's no longer functional, but now I've put it on my shelf for display right next to my PSP and Vita. Showing off this phone to the kids in school were the good ol' days

[@kennypowers1945]

If they made a new much improved one, I’d sell my iPhone and buy one of these lol. That would be the only Sony console I’ll get besides a ps2 🤣

[@lotan9398]

Same I’d give up my iPhone

[@aiodensghost8645]

I'd give up my Samsung for one. But I'd love for it to remote play with my PS4 Pro and PS5.

[@Hack_The_Planet_]

You do realize the PS3 is probably the greatest console ever created right?

[@jumpyman9754]

@@Hack_The_Planet_ nothing will ever beat the virtual boy

[@christiankneupper7011]

@@jumpyman9754 I dunno man the CDI really butters my biscuit

[@manamaster6]

I loved this model, but I couldn't afford it at the time, last year I was tempted to buy it when it was around 50 to 70 USD in AliExpress. This phone had so many accessories, like extended battery, metal backplates, comfort grips, etc.

[@undercoverduck]

God I remember wanting this phone SO BAD when it came out

[@KellyAesop]

I had this phone and played all the time during breaks in high school - and it also made me kind of popular. "Woah is that GTA3? Smash 64? Can I play?" I'm hype for Steam Deck, but I've really wanted a sequel to the Xperia Play for years now.

[@emmae11685]

This actually seems like a really good idea. Sony has started making phones recently that interface with their cameras so why not make phones that work with their consoles?

[@DecibelAlex]

xperia z phones and tablets support dualshock 4 controllers and ps4 remote play

[@AlucardWolverine]

I can tell it barely lasted a year.. I had it replaced twice. It was badass especially with the FPSe emulator but it had a motherboard issue with the display cable shorting out and causing the screen to look like static. It was my first smartphone

[@smooveleader]

I had it while I was in early high school and loved it until I had accidentally dropped it in the school toilet and never worked again.

[@ericbazinga]

I'm sorry for your loss, man

[@Darklord_tK]

Having this in highschool was the biggest flex lmao everyone that had an iPhone or galaxy was jealous cause i had a fucking psp phone

[@AltaryaDeFlammes1996]

held up well for me as a teen, had it from 2012 until 2016, but eventually the screen ribbon cable started failing, which'd cause the screen to not light up but show its pixels like an old school unlit gameboy, was really fun tho i used it until it basically broke completely, zero regrets

[@winniewin441]

Same. My Xperia Play had the same issue. I had it from 2012 until 2015 when it broke.

[@spamoman]

I had literally no idea this ever existed, but if I had I totally would have bought one in 2011. The idea of console games on my phone is something I've always wished I could have, and I've never been satisfied with what mobile gaming has done in lieu of that. I know that's not a popular take, but I think this whole concept is awesome and I'd love to see a modern take on this idea.

[@GenMars]

if a new version of these came out it would sell super well

[@zomannfamofficial]

Hey dude is it possible to find apk and Obb for the game Nova 2 and BC2 because I have an Xperia play and I just need the apk and Obb so I can connect the Xperia play to the laptop and just drag the files to download the games

[@germaineliew2012]

This is one of the coolest smartphones ever made. Oh I really wanted one back then.

[@Over_Toasted]

I had one. It was awful.

[@animedrawer69]

It looks to have the same sliding mechanism of the PSP Go. I still have mine that I used an absolute ton and it still works great. The sliding was so satisfying.

[@KztrinAlejandro]

This was my first ever purchase. I was SO happy with that phone, i could play all kinds of emulators, basically all what you dreamed for at the time. Sadly, the screen didn't last. I think this was due to the slider bc if I wiggled the screen then I could see it turning on again. All things considered that was a really nice phone, i wish I could buy it again

[@SummonerArthur]

Yeah, everyone I knew that had one of these had that issue, or worse, the screen would completelly fail.

[@malo6748]

My first android experience was with a xperia x10 mini pro. It had the same form just a full keyboard on the bottom and the size was even smaller. Still got the phone today. Man, Emulation was so great on this thing.

[@pocketsuke]

The xperia play was my daily driver for 6 years. Fantastic for emulation with hardware controls. The only reason I retired it was because I cracked the screen :( The siding screen never failed me tho, however it did start scuffing the plastic off the controller section where the rails were.

[@Darklord_tK]

My then baby sister threw mine at the ground and cracked the screen and a few years later the L button got stuck on something on my Jeans and broke off and i never found it so I had a missing trigger for a few years but mapped the l button to the menu button in most emulators so it wasn't an issue, but overall really enjoyed the phone and it was the biggest flex in high school when everyone else had an iphone or galaxy i had a psp phone though switched to the galaxy S4 after a while

[@LiEnby]

Do you have any PlayStation Mobile games on there that might not be backed up (because alot are missing)

[@pocketsuke]

​@@LiEnby unfortunately not :(

[@JoseReyes-gj2di]

Iv had mine since 2011 and the slide feature is still going strong. I love this phone for all my emulators

[@chubbyadler3276]

To an extent, I'm wondering why I don't see many groups trying more of these ideas that get off the beaten path--not just the few eInk phones I've seen, but especially, stuff like these gaming phones with actual gamepads in various configurations.

[@faisalali2001]

Mostly because past experimentation failed, and research n development costs a lot. Companies are scared to try these things again and fail again

[@chubbyadler3276]

@@faisalali2001 That is true, but at the same time, I think the market desperately needs these targeted probes into the market with devices that are designed to do one thing well, while still able to do core functions well enough to stay relevant for a few years. Something like, in this case, a PS-Vita based gaming phone with analog controls. Otherwise, the Samsung Galaxy S S21 is pretty much the same as the Google Pixel 5, which is the same as the One Plus 9. At the same time, I keep waiting on the Hisense A-series to hit the US. (Actually had an A5 and loved it, but my network didn't like it.)

[@faisalali2001]

@@chubbyadler3276 yes, and unfortunately those clones of phones sell very well. That being said, Samsung and a fee other brands are venturing out into the foldable phone market. But the prices are extortionate and sales aren't as high, so I won't blame them for stopping.

[@vadnegru]

Gaming phones have shoulder buttons. For me, chinese clip controller is just perfect, beat Bully, playing some PSP games from time to time on my mi 9t.

[@gmoney0505]

I had this phone on AT&T and this is when I came to the realization that I don't play games on the phone like that for real. I maybe played a game on this phone for like an hour and never played anything else on it again. Every phone after that I really never played any games on it.

[@EnriquePage91]

Damn bro, I remember when I started following you at 2 k (it’s been a while my switch news man). Good to see you’re doing well, definitely still some of the best news for gaming out here. Cheers bud, nice to see you do one on this massive idea but failed product :C. I loved mine, that’s all I’ll say. Great for playing Zelda games in class lol

[@korianthos]

Still have mine from the first run. Slide still works. Battery intact. Still loads and plays with sd card installed. Used to use it for remote play on the PS4.

[@TheBreadSliceMaster]

Well there was actually a PSX emulator on android back then that worked very well and it worked better than on this phone, better optimizations and more options. The emulation on this phone was very limiting in terms of options and adding your own games required some bit of modding. The Samsung Galaxy S2 could emulate almost any PSX game without any issues. I remember being able to run Final Fantasy IX on the FPSE Emulator on an old HTC Tattoo (which is a really really old phone and way weaker than the Xperia Play at the time). Literally the only thing this phone brought that other phones couldnt do as well was the controls. Emulation was done better on FPSE which was released before this phone even got announced.

[@gcforreal]

With how powerful phones have gotten , how advanced the communication between phones and consoles have gotten , and the advancement of mobile gaming ...a update to this phone would be great

[@boxxwiition2928]

Don't get the Verizon one! From my xperience, you can't jailbreak them.

[@Brolylover007]

We need a modern 2021 version of the Xperia Play. I am sure gamers will love it.

[@greendayfreakrct]

I played mine so much that when you slide the controller out the phone freezes now. Something is broken in there. It's almost tempting to send it to Spawn and see if he can do a video and fix it.

[@isaiahchapman7660]

My dad had one of these, but I couldn't really understand the controls.

[@JoBo52]

We need phones like this nowadays with Gamepass/Xcloud becoming insanely good.

[@bluedog2302]

I had this phone and it is still one of my favorite phones to this day. I wish they would release an updated version of this. Had to stop using this because the video ribbon (for lack of better words) broke and i got another phone. I was super sad :(

[@OctavioVLT]

I had this phone and used it as my daily driver well into 2015 when I finally retired it. Never had a problem with the sliding mechanism.

[@robmccune7949]

I was born in 92. Been a gamer my whole life. I have never heard anyone reference “x” as “cross” before this video.

[@Karmakaluas]

Day One Sony Xperia Play user here. The sliding mechanism was the best, never had a problem with it, I only heard about a handful of cases regarding that ribbon. The last update it got was Android 2.3.4 or 2.3.7 depending on your region, if you rooted it you could install Android 4. Nowadays you cannot even go online on this thing, you can only play locally. The only problem was it’s extremely small memory, I mean it only had about 200 MBs for Apps and PS games. You had to root it and install Link To SD, partition some space from your SD to make the phone think it has some more space available. The best thing is that you could reverse engineer Crash and then convert any PS1 game to play on this. In my 3 years having this as my primary phone, I have to say I have played more on it’s beautiful 480p screen than on my PSP or my Vita. Having your PlayStation games on your phone, with normal buttons is way better than carrying 2 devices. PS those speakers were awesome AF.

[@MarcosCodas]

Friend of mine had it for literal years, had no issues with the sliding mechanism. He's a pretty chill dude, so I doubt it was submitted to abuse. But it did work really well.

[@xpacerx]

Android version Minecraft Pocket Edition was initially launched exclusively for the Xperia Play on Google Play when the R800 launched. It was one of the exclusive games on the phone when it launched for about 2 months.

[@adamsmasher9738]

This was my first phone way back in 2011, 13 year old me was so excited to show this to all my new classmates

[@Semparo]

I had the Play 4G back in may 2012, one of my favorite things was the dock for the phone. Had used it as my alarm clock with the Alarm app from doubleTwist. Barely had it for a year before i moved on to the HTC One X in Jan 2013

[@klaxcorenightcore5050]

The fact that when the 8th gen started people were still using phones like that, it's crazy to think about that

[@TheMucusMan]

I still have one and the sliding holds up great. It just has a little bit of wear on the paint from the sliding rails.

[@DecibelAlex]

I had the Xperia Play in 2011. I went to a nightclub one evening and forgot it at the table I sat in, it didn't take more than 2 minutes for me to notice but it was already gone. The most expensive phone I've ever bought to this day and I only had it for about 2 months. I'm still kicking myself for it

[@reallyharsh]

SUCH a missed opportunity

[@BennTheGreaT]

the ribbon cable on the screen actually can be replaced. just open the back panel of the screen u will see, the ribbon can be change if it snapped or broken.

[@macgyver6999]

The fact it had a 4g option then is amazing !

[@joegardner851]

I remember my ex girlfriends brother had one of those. He wasn’t a big fan of it. He was a big ps fan boy. I guess he wasn’t a big handheld. He just kept it because it still worked as a phone.

[@dariusmackenzie9863]

I had one of these things. As far as the build goes it never broke, it held up great... but I didn't use the gaming function that much because the UX was bad and they dropped support for it immediately. It's pretty much the reason I don't do early hardware adoption anymore.

[@SteveGameSDG]

I miss this phone... it got so much use that the ribbon cable holding the screen on snapped... after I gave the phone to my cousin...

[@Ray3D]

I had the non gamepad cousin of this phone, The Xperia Neo V. What a gem of a phone it was.

[@starwars551]

The sliding mechanism itself was rather durable, but the ribbon cable was a major point of failure. Most refurbished units on sale nowadays have replaced the T ribbon cable for the top half.

[@aaronpeery7868]

Having this when it came out the biggest issue was that Sony quit supporting it as soon as it came out and they didn't release the update to allow you to play games off of the SD card.