Sony PSP Phone Is More Real, Codenamed "Zeus"

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Sony PSP Phone Is More Real, Codenamed "Zeus"



After a Sony rep originally said the photos of the PSP phone were fake, more sources are coming forward to verify its existence.

We reported yesterday [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/104751-PlayStation-Phone-Photographs-Surface-UPDATED] on the photos of what looked to be a Sony Ericsson cell phone with gaming controls on a slide-out tray. After the photos were posted by tech blog Engadget, a Sony representative said that the pictures were definitely fake and that they would give no further comments on rumors and speculation. Now though, Sony sources closer to the actual production of the phone claim that the pics are real. More details emerged including one source saying that the prototype is based on PSP 1 technology, it uses the Android OS, and it is codenamed "Zeus."

While not directly commenting on the existence of the PlayStation Phone, Peter Dille senior vice president of marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment of America, did point out to CNN [http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/10/27/sony.playstation.phone/] that gamers are unhappy with the iPhone as a gaming platform. He said that the games that you can play with Apple's device are largely unsatisfying. "These are largely time-killers," Dille said. "Gamers aren't satisfied with that."

Dille also hinted that the lack of a cellular connection may be negatively affecting sales of the PSP for gamers who want a more ubiquitous internet connection. "The PSP is a Wi-Fi device," he said. "People are used to having always-connected devices."

While the chief Greek god Zeus is certainly a great name for such a device, perhaps Sony should have called it something a little less mystical. After all, the track record for a gaming cell phone is not so good. The PSP begs direct comparison to Nokia's failed N-Gage, which never found an audience.

On the other hand, with the success of Apple's iPhone and the games on its App Store, perhaps the common consumer is more familiar with the concept of gaming on their communication device than they were when the N-Gage came out in 2003.

Would you buy a phone that could play PSP games? What about a Nintendo phone/DS hybrid?

Source: VG247 [http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/27/the-playstation-phone-is-still-real/]

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Onyx Oblivion

Borderlands Addict. Again.
Sep 9, 2008
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Persona 1 + 3? Disgaea 1 + 2? Power Stone Collection? GTA: Vice City Stories and Liberty City Stories? God of War? All those PS1 games from the marketplace, like Spyro and Crash? On a phone.

[HEADING=2]FUCK YES, I'D BUY A PHONE THAT PLAYS PSP GAMES![/HEADING]

And a DS/Phone hybrid would be even nicer for my gaming needs, if likely to be ugly and awkward to use.
 

Jack and Calumon

Digimon are cool.
Dec 29, 2008
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Peace Walker? On a phone? With Birth By Sleep? AND CRISIS CORE?

Man, I might need a new pair of trousers if all that's true.

Calumon: So I can call people while playing on LittleBIGPlanet? Awesome!
 

sneakypenguin

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Jul 31, 2008
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I thought it was gizmodo that got the prototype iphone4?

That said if this thing is running gingerbread and I can put a HTC sense rom in it and still keep PSP functionality that would be amazing.
 

funksobeefy

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Mar 21, 2009
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Id rather have a psp phone then any apple phone that comes out. I need a better phone and this would be pretty cool
 

Electrogecko

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Apr 15, 2010
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So this is NOT the PSP2? Interesting.
I'm not sure how much I really care about the all in one concept. The thing will need an incredibly beefed up battery.
 

mad825

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Mar 28, 2010
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I will once again point out the glories of flaws, I guess the battery life is going to be crap.

the main problem with "all-in-one" electronic devices is the power supply, by allowing to have other devices to do other things allow a person to dedicate the power to one purpose while allowing the main function of a mobile phone (in this case) which is allow communication, having it's own supply allows the mobile phone to remain connected for as long as possible.
 

Little Duck

Diving Space Muffin
Oct 22, 2009
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Didn't something like this already happen called the n-gage.

I'm going to go by the old saying of something that tries to do everything does nothing well. I doubt god of war zeus edition will be so awesome when mum calls you every 5 minutes. Still, we'll see. Personally, I think the hardware should be focused, not it's a games console AND a phone. Just it can be one OR the other and the other aplication can be focused into it, which is partly why the iPhone is as succesful as it is. It's focused around what it wants to be, not and it does this as well as this.
 

Darkwolf9

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Aug 19, 2008
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I'm not sure if I would or not, but for the sake of those who have already spent money on the GO maybe they should think about a possible cellular update. I doubt that is possible. I would find this interesting if They released the GO as feeler for this phone. If as many people bought it strictly for the gaming, which was low comparatively to other hand-held systems, then you stack on the amount of people who would by it because it is a "good" phone. You may end up with something that sells as well as the iphone. I wonder if the iphone has an app for that...
 

Xanthious

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Dec 25, 2008
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I wouldn't buy it so much because it plays PsP games but rather I would buy it because it is an Android phone with a slide out D-Pad and Gaming Buttons. That would make all the emu's for Android soooooo much more useful.

I think what is being lost on people is that this won't be a phone that only plays PsP titles. If this runs on the Android OS, as it appears to, then it will also have access to the entire Android library. A library that already has quite a few really awesome games and apps and emulators and the like that would only be made better by the slide out controller on this phone.

I can't speak for everyone, however, I know that more than a few people other than me absolutely hate having to use an on screen controller or make due with an awkward keyboard when gaming on our phones. That slide out controller alone will be a major selling point to people like myself regardless if it plays PsP or DS or nothing besides whats already on the Android Market.
 

WeAreJimbo

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May 17, 2010
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I'm more interested in this than either a PSP2 or an iPhone.

I can't see an analog doo-dad on it unless that odd looking patch between the D-Pad and Sony buttons is some sort of touch pad thingy. I think the PSP2 is rumoured to have one of them on the back.

If its got good music playing capabilities as well as being able to play psp games then I would probably swap my Nokia 5800 XM for one.
 

Jikuu

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Mar 3, 2010
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Considering that I never use a phone for more than making phone calls and feel like the cell phone industry charges a ton for services, I wouldn't get a PSPhone. It's a nifty idea, though.
 

Egitor

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Jan 28, 2010
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While I do use my phone for a lot of things, I prefer to keep my gaming systems separate from this. I'm not sure why it feels wrong, it just does. Maybe making it more accessible makes it less special, less valuable to me.
 

Shynobee

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Apr 16, 2009
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If this is a 3G device, I would definitely consider picking one up. It also depends on which phone carrier Sony ends up using for the phone service. We'll just have to wait and see...