The player

With the first PS mobile phone poised for release, an Irish firm is looking for a piece of the action, writes CIARA O'BRIEN

THE XPERIA Play, Sony Ericsson’s first PlayStation-certified mobile phone, is about to hit Irish shelves, bringing the company into this fast- growing market.

It’s a move that has been heralded for some time. The iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices have made serious inroads into the mobile gaming market. And while Sony has its PSP, which has sold close to 68 million units worldwide, the handheld console is in need of an update. That will come with the NGP (Next Generation Portable), but that still won’t really address the challenge from smartphones.

The Xperia Play, however, could be the answer. The device runs on Android and has all the functions you’d expect from a Google- powered phone, but also has controls similar to the PSP. It feels more like a touchscreen- enabled PSP Go.

The games are currently limited: the Play ships with classic title Crash Bandicootpreloaded; others have been promised.

But it’s not just mobile manufacturers and games console makers who are eyeing up the new market. Mobile gaming is opening up the new markets for Irish firms.

Irish company Havok has done a deal that will see its technology available to developers making games for the new Sony PS Suite and the Xperia Play. Available to Android-powered phones, the PS Suite is expected to be available later this year.

Mobile gaming is an area that Havok is keen to develop. The company has had a long relationship with Sony, although this is the first deal it has done with Sony Ericsson, Sony’s mobile joint venture.

“One of the reasons the Xperia Play is particularly exciting to us,” says Havok’s David Coughlan, “is that, while it’s an Android platform, it’s being packaged through to consumers in a way that is familiar to gamers.”

With Havok looking to broaden the range of platforms for its technology, mobile gaming – small enough to fit in a user’s pocket – is the perfect jump.

Mobile gaming may not be a new thing as such, but it is the growth in the popularity and power of smartphones that it is making it possible for technology such Havok’s to move to the mobile platform.

It’s unlikely to spell the end of the console. Coughlan says that mobile gaming, even with the new technology, won’t be quite the same experience as a high- definition console experience in your home. “It’s still something that is a genuine immersive 3D experience.”