Amid all the extreme excitement over the PSP2 – Sony’s first new dedicated gaming device announcement in more than eight years – there was one detail that somewhat got overlooked and is worth a second look.
Yes, Sony’s Next Generation Portable (NGP) looks awesome and we can’t wait to get our hands on it. But for those who aren’t huge gamers, Sony announced something that every Android owner will get to take advantage of.
The PlayStation Suite Android app will launch alongside the NGP device, and will allow anyone with an Android 2.3+ phone to play classic PS One games on their phone. The exact same app will also be available on the NGP.
On the mobile front, this is a feature only Android phone owners will get to enjoy. Sorry, iPhone nuts. You’re not getting any official gaming support from Sony.
It all comes as rumors began circulating around a “PlayStation phone” being developed by Sony Ericsson. While that looks to be a real device, the special PlayStation software it runs will be much more open.
In addition to tweaking classic PS1 games to work with Android touch-screen controls, Sony will create new mobile games for the platform. This is easily the biggest gaming-related announcement Android has ever had.
“SCE will vigorously enhance the entertainment world delivering the PlayStation experience to a wider base of users,” wrote the company in a statement.
