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Xperia Play – another N-Gage story?

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Sony Ericsson’s announcement of the Xperia Play (aka the PSP Phone) does not come as a surprise as the online community has already been actively discussing about it long before the official announcement. The Xperia Play runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and user can play PSP game titles. But before you start rejoicing and sell away your PSP on GameTrader.SG, do note that Xperia Play does not come with a UMD drive.This means owner of current UMD PSP games cannot port their game over to Xperia Play.

Apart from this, do not expect Xperia Play to have a whole suite of the PSP game library. Games for Xperia Play must be converted for its Android OS and thus the PSP games from the current PS Store will not work for Xperia Play. Instead of going to PS Store, user will have to go to a separate Sony Ericsson Online App Store.

Comparing Sony’s attempt to Nokia’s N-Gage, I feel that Xperia Play may be able to garner more buyers than its N-Gage counterpart. N-Gage’s failure is caused mainly by the lack of support from game developer resulting in a poor library of titles. The greatest rival to date for Play is ironically the recently announced NGP (Next-Generation PSP). With all the attention now mainly on NGP, developers may unlikely produce titles for this new device. While we are not sure whether the conversion process of PSP titles to Android-friendly ones will require much work from the game developer, if that is true, Xperia Play may have trouble tapping on the current PSP library of games. Developers may simply feel that such investment is not needed.

To me, the price tag will now be an important factor. If Xperia Play which is running Android (my current favorite OS) comes at a competitive price compared to say Samsung’s Android phone or iPhone, I may consider getting one when my mobile plan expires. However, if the price is $150-$250 more than a usual decent android smartphone, I will rather get a NGP when it comes out.

For more information on Xperia Play, check out Engadget.com.

General

Kinect’s First First-Person Shooter.

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It is official, Kinect is getting its very first FPS (first person shooter) title,  Heavy Fire: Afghanistan. According to Kinectaku.com, the developer has confirmed the title as a multi-platform game which will be featuring the Kinect controller-less as well.

However, much of the details are not released yet such as how the player is going to move about in the battlefield and how the shooting system is going to work.

Not too long ago, a guy demonstrated the possibility of playing FPS with a Kinect sensor coupled with a Wiimote.

Personally, I see that Kinect’s ability is undermined in that demo as there is much more Kinect can do other than using it for simple in-game action such as leaning.

We shall wait eagerly for more information on this new game before we can comment more on the feasibility of a FPS on Kinect.

Let’s just hope it is not something like what we see in the video below!

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More of Final Fantasy XIII and Next-Gen PSP

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Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Haven’t got enough of Final Fantasy XIII? Check out this all new gameplay trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII! Blew my mind totally! FF Versus 13 is going to be an action RPG that could be similar to Kingdom Hearts and Crisis Core. While no release date has been announced, I doubt this game will be able to ship anytime this year.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Just when I was getting excited over this FF versus 13 trailer, one more great news for FF fans. Square-Enix would be producing a sequel to the original FF XIII titled FF XIII-2! While I certainly hope it would not be another sequel that disappoints fans as in FF X-2, I am keeping my finger cross hoping that Square-Enix will be able to deliver a great sequel to FF XIII.

Next Generation Portable (PSP 2)

Sony has officially announced the new upcoming PSP2 codename NGP (Next-Generation Portable). According to Sony, NGP features graphics that are comparable to the PS3, GPS for location-based services, cameras, two analog sticks (real sticks unlike the old PSP), Wifi, rear touch pad, OLED multi-touch screen and many more. Sony’s probably hoping to counter the poor performance of its PSP-Go launched last October. And yes, no more cumbersome UMD. Instead game will be available on a new flash storage. I forsee yet another a tough battle with piracy for this PSP successor.

What? Sony is also making its PSP titles available on Android tablet? This is indeed a brave move. If an Android tablet can play PSP games, why get a PSP console? Yet another sign that mobile gaming is now converging. Very soon you will be playing Monster Hunter on your Ipad. Not to mention Sony is also coming out with its own version of mobile phone, the PSP Phone.