Kazuo Hirai, Sony's gaming chief, acknowledged the competition on the portable gaming front from platforms like iOS and Android. But, he added, "The games being played on Android and Apple platforms are fundamentally different from the world of immersive games that Sony Computer Entertainment, and PlayStation aims for."
That might be true now, but the smartphone gaming landscape is changing quickly. Epic Games released its Unreal Development Kit for iOS back in September, and the first Unreal Engine game, Infinity Blade, has already changed perceptions about just what kind of games can be created on the iPhone. Likewise, id Software's Rage HD is nothing short of stunning.
And with casual mobile games like Angry Birds exceeding 50 million downloads, mobile gaming momentum is shifting decidedly to the smartphone.
The question of whether games can be adequately controlled using touchscreens is an issue that Sony seems to be grappling with. Hirai told the Times that touchscreens work fine for some games, but "you can definitely play immersive games better with physical buttons and pads." He added that he thinks "there could be games where you're able to use both in combination."
The combination of multiple devices in gameplay aligns perfectly with recently leaked photos of the rumored PlayStation Phone. Sources told Pocket-lint Wednesday that the device, developed by Sony Ericsson, was slated for an April 2011 release. Pocket-lint also says that the device will debut at the Mobile World Congress in February.
Judging from some of the statements Sony has made over the last few months, our guess would be that the phone, while based on Android, would have its own set of device-specific games and perhaps even its own version of a PlayStation Network store.
On the subject of a PlayStation Phone, Hirai stressed the importance of staying on message with the PlayStation brand, telling The New York Times, "We have to come up with a message that users will understand. It would have to be a product that keeps the PlayStation's strengths intact."