- The Playstation phone is quite mysterious nowadays...
We’ve heard plenty about the Playstation Phone through Engadget but we’d like to hear more from Sony. The company hasn’t really confirmed or denied the handset and we’re interested in more statements from execs to try and figure out whether they’re trying to hide the device and we might get to see it in the near future. VentureBeat has tried to keep all of Sony’s statements up to date and come to the conclusion that the company still hasn’t given any indication of whether this handset actually exists.
Sony’s chief financial officer Masaru Kato and Gen Tsuchikawa, the senior general manager of investor relations have both talked about this matter when questioned about the Playstation Phone. In a call in Japanese which was later offered in English, the two execs revealed that the company is interested in coming up with mobile gaming products in the future. “Of course, we can’t talk about specific products, but smartphones and tablets … it is difficult to tell you how we can put the games on them” they said. The statement goes on to explain that last April the company introduced network services it will come up with prototypes for various content in that particular field. Sony is currently trying to figure out what can be done on that specific market but can’t give any information on what products will be created and released. During a second call that took place with US analysts the same two executives were asked to clarify their declarations. An exec stated that Sony finds mobile gaming to be a very important business area but it’s impossible to discuss specific products and features in a conference call.
- The back of the Playstation phone prototype, photo from Engadget
While Sony started out with the PSP as a portable gaming console offering many years ago, since then the market has evolved a lot and gaming is now available on mobile phones, tablets and other types of devices. The executive also mentioned that PSP was more concentrated on the core gaming segment and less on the casual gamer that tries to make time pass while commuting or waiting in line. Sony is now trying to appeal to the casual gamer as well but can’t offer more information on how it plans to do that or what product it will release on the market for that purpose. One thing the exec could say was that the company has “those markets addressed and (it) will come out with products and services to capture the broader gaming market”.
Finally, the Sony exec admitted that this is far from a clear-cut answer but requested that everyone waited until the company is ready to announce whichever products and services it manages to come up with. The conclusion? We’re not sure. We could spend hours and thousands of words speculating on this. It somewhat sounds like Sony has already started on something and might get it finished in the next few months or half a year but doesn’t want to spoil the surprise by revealing what that product is.
If a Playstation phone didn’t exist, wouldn’t it be easier for the company just to come out and say it’s not working on that type of device? There’s no reason why they wouldn’t deny it, right? To make everything even more confusing, different translations of the statements above showed up on the web. The only thing that’s left to say is: let’s just wait a while longer until things clear up. Engadget has posted photos of the Playstation phone on multiple occasions and I have a feeling that we’ll get to see more photos and details in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, what do you think about the Playstation phone? Would you want to buy one if Sony released it?
via Metrolic.
