Buying the 'PlayStation Phone' in 2024

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play was Sony's attempt at making a PlayStation-esque gaming smartphone. Over a decade later, how does it hold up?

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro
0:42 - Unboxing
4:07 - Sponsor
6:09 - A Smartphone of the Time
8:19 - How "PlayStation" really is it?
11:42 - PS1 Emulation (& more)

Team Credits:

Host & Writer

Executive Producer
@austinevans

Editor
@LukePollack

Denki is an Overclock Media production.
By using our Amazon affiliate links we may receive compensation for purchases through those links.

[Denki]

Smartphones and emulation have certainly come a long way over the past decade, but even still! The Xperia Play is a fascinating device to look back at in 2024 😊

[SKPetel]

this was my first ever android smartphone. Today, with my fold 5 and a clip-on controller I'm living the emulation dream that this phone gave me all those years ago.

[solemems]

Yo I recommend dropping better help as a sponsor, look into the issues with data privacy and stuff, very well documented on YouTube. Love the content tho!

[roadkilljoshua]

Ah, this takes me back! This was my first smartphone and honestly, it was the best for running emulators. I had it for two solid years until the sliding mechanism gave out, and I couldn’t use the controller functions anymore. The touch analogs were top-notch, seriously perfect for emulation, and it definitely holds a special place in my heart among gaming handhelds. I really wish they’d make something similar today. I'd snap it up in a heartbeat, especially with how much mobile gaming has evolved since my high school days. It was a one-of-a-kind phone console that actually delivered on its promises. Thanks for making this video; it really stirred up some good old nostalgia!.

[qfv]

definitely gunna watch this when i get home, thanks for being the best ken

[txcforever]

Loved my Xperia Play but it there were a lot of reasons it failed. For starters the specs were dated even when it was first released. CPU was okish but it only had 512mb of ram and only that amount of storage as well. Might not sound that bad but back then you couldn't even save apps on an SD card and it was such a pain to keep that tiny storage room empty.

Remember having to root the phone and mess with a lot of software just to be able to add stuff to it without constantly deleting other stuff to make space.

Also the damn thing was way too expensive when it launched. It was iphone levels of pricing without the performance, screen or popularity. It got price dropped almost instantly but it was already too late. It was charging flagship levels of money for a niche dated device only a handful of people would want.

Still I really liked it. Gameloft supported it quite a bit and even if their games were cheap imitations of known IPs (from Uncharted and Halo to Starcraft and CoD) they were still fun and Xperia Play was the best way to enjoy them. PS1 games also for the most part played perfectly.

[TurtlePower]

They could easily revive this idea with modern insides.. it would be great

[Belikemik]

Remembered this was my dreamphone back in 2012 😅. Sad that dream didnt go as planned back then because I was still in my highschool years

[The_Laser_Channel]

I ALMOST bought one of these years ago. I went to a pawn shop and they had it. I was on iPhone with AT&T at the time but I stopped by Verizon and checked out their prices. It was roughly the same as AT&T so I told them I would come back with the phone to make the switch. Went back to the pawn shop and they had sold it.

[KingKaze]

For anyone looking for this kind of form factor I would recommend the PSP go instead... Especially for EDC emulation device...
It has the same form factor, extremely easy to mod, and fit in ur pocket perfectly.. The charging cable also USB compatible so you can just plug it on your power bank or ur smartphone power brick... and it can run old game up to PS1 beautifully... 👍👍👍

[wastelander]

I've been saying for years that Sony needs to revisit this concept. A smartphone handheld gaming console hybrid would be massively popular, if done right, that is.

[Hinducoder]

The problem with touch input panels may be due to the fact that the phone is on charge. Unplug the cable and recheck

[frogslayer]

You got the dream job man! You're doing great with your life!

[xnamkcor]

Crash Bandicoot is not an Analog Stick game. and Setting your controller to Analog Mode with a game that doesn't support it can result in non-responsiveness or erratic results.

[aiodensghost]

That microSD slot is actually an M2 slot. A lot harder to come by the 16GB versions of those... but tbh, you might be able to use one of the adapters meant for the PSP Go on that thing.

[apollolux]

I remember back when I first got Minecraft on Android that its controls were better optimized for this PlayStation Phone than for touchscreen. XD

[euns]

If this phone comes out with latest specs, I would buy it over any other phone out there!

[nashurbina]

I had one back in 2013. Great phone for emulation and nothing else. By the time I got it mobile gaming was looking even better so this phone wasn't able to even run newer games properly. The best feature of the Xperia Play was no doubt the physical buttons, they were responsive and felt great to press. Mine broke bc of that ribbon cable and never bothered to fix it.

[Clippers]

Got this phone on launch. Returned it within two weeks. The battery life is ABYSMAL and emulators werent a thing at the time and the games for the controller were FEW and FAR BETWEEN.

[EggTamago]

I remember the other Xperia phones from this time - they were honestly awesome. Way more personality than the Galaxys of the time, IMO. The Xperia Play, though... kinda felt like some Sony exec lead one meeting about synergy, a small team was tasked with taking one of their regular phones and slapping on a slidy controller, they had one or two meetings with the Playstation team, and this total compromise of a device is the result.