> The phone is said to be running [Gingerbread](http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/06/leaked-android-30-details-hint-at-tablet-potential.ars) with a custom, phone-specific skin, and will be able to play a variety of classic PlayStation and PlayStation Portable games digitally. It makes sense, in a way: this would give Sony another way to monetize its existing portable gaming content, and Google’s mobile platform would get a powerful portable gaming boost. Apple is known for its iPhone games, but thus far the Android platform has not enjoyed the same level of support for gaming.
via [arstechnica.com](http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/08/report-sonys-playstation-phone-running-android.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss)
It makes sense, I guess, if you want Android to be even more fractured than it already is. So this one Android phone out of the hundreds of models available will run Playstation portable games. Great. How does that help Android get a better reputation as a gaming platform? It’s not like all those PSP games are suddenly going to run on your Nexus One, or Droid X, or Droid Eris, or Incredible, or the G1, etc. These are two different platforms, with very different hardware requirements, being slapped together with some Elmer’s glue and rubber bands.
And I really fail to see the advantage for Sony. If this is their reaction to the popularity of the iPod Touch as a gaming device, they’re pretty much doomed. At least Nintendo tried to differentiate themselves with some interesting, if not cliché, 3D screen technology. This offers no advantage whatsoever over the current PSP or the iPod Touch.
This seems like something a PSP enthusiast dreamed up as his personal Utopia machine. But will it appeal in the general market? I seriously don’t think so.
If this rumor is real, which I’m still not certain it is, my guess is that it was cobbled together without any real thought or investment, which means the entire experience of using it will be as schizophrenic as you might imagine.
For instance. I want to buy a new game for my new device. Where do I go? Do I go to the Android Marketplace, or a special Sony Store? Well, depends on the game, I guess.
Hey, a new software update came out today. Okay. Where do I download it? From Sony or from Google? Or from the carrier? Will Verizon be in charge of whether or not the game portion of my machine gets updated? How is Sony going to feel about that?
Put this one on my “I doubt if it even exists, but even if it does, it’ll be DOA” list. Unless I’m missing something.
