Sony's Xperia Play phone has a great many things going for it. Unfortunately, its inability to honor PlayStation Store purchases isn't one of them. This past weekend, Sony Ericsson dished the juicy details of its android-powered smartphone in Barcelona, later revealing off-stage that all previously owned PlayStation Store games will need to be re-purchased in order to enjoy them on the Xperia Play.
In an post-presserinterview with Gamespot UK, Sony Ericsson UK's managing director, Nathan Vautier admitted, "[Xperia Play owners] will have to re-purchase the games, so it's not totally integrated."
Attempting to justify the company's strategy, he added, "I think the exciting thing is that there are games which people are very, very aware of."
Shady? Yes. Understandable... just barely. The Xperia Play is a different beast from the PSPGo, so a direct transfer of digital content isn't as straightforward as one would assume. What's more, the Xperia Play falls into Sony Ericsson's camp, meaning that Sony's gaming arm, SCE, isn't completely to blame for this off-putting pricing strategy.
The Xperia Play Phone is scheduled for release this March. It will be preloaded with an assortment of PS One games, with more titles available for download via the PlayStation Store.
Feb 14, 2011
[Source:Gamespot UK]
