All Articles: Mobile

Information Solutions Group, on behalf of PopCap Games, announced today the findings of a survey exploring the tremendous shift towards mobile phones in the video game industry. According to the study, 33.6% of all adults in the United States and United Kingdom constitute ‘mobile phone gamers,’ having played a game on their phone at least once in the last month. Probably the most staggering finding is that this demographic considers their mobile phone as their primary gaming device, “leapfrogging video game consoles and personal computers in less than two years.” Of course, a lot of people who play games on their mobile phones probably weren’t your typical gamer to begin with, so the traditional manufacturers probably don’t have too much to worry about. Also of note is that 52% of respondents have played a game on their mobile phone at least once.

The study concludes that not only is mobile phone gaming prolific, it’s growing at an astonishing rate – the numbers have gone up dramatically since the last study they did in 2009. Still, I’m sure most of us continue to prefer their DS or PSP, despite the Xperia Play coming out next month blurring the lines between a mobile phone and traditional gaming handheld. You can view the full findings of the survey here.

Sony’s “PlayStation Phone” was revealed earlier today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and it looks like it may be everything gamers on the go are looking for in a phone/handheld hybrid.

The Xperia Play (the phone’s official name) will launch in the US in March and exclusively be available through Verizon. No pricing details were announced, but gamers will receive a phone that comes equipped with a D-Pad, two trackpads for analog control, four PlayStation-branded face buttons and two shoulder buttons. In other words, the Xperia Play is nearly a complete portable PlayStation experience.

As the first PlayStation Certified device, the phone will run all of the PlayStation Suite software in development at Sony and at third parties like Activision, Electronic Arts, Namco Bandai, PopCap and Ubisoft. Xperia Play buyers looking to get their game on won’t have to wait long after its out of the box, the phone will come pre-loaded with Asphalt Adrenaline 6, Bruce Lee, Star Battalion, The Sims 3, and Tetris. Other games in development for the Xperia Play include Need For Speed, a world-first multiplayer version of FIFA 11, Guitar Hero, Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell.

In total, more than 50 games are in development exclusively for the Xperia Play, in addition to all of the games found on the Android App Store, which are also supported by the super sexy phone.

Augmented Reality’s Ogmento Inc. announced Paranormal Activity: Sanctuary for iPhone, which is a location-based “reality game.” Players can use their surrounding environments – namely public locations – to enhance the thrill of the game, which urges players to keep demons at bay by announcing their presence at any given location through the app.

Ogmento’s co-founder Brian Selzer says: “The Paranormal Activity franchise embodies the powerful psychological space between what’s real and what’s imagined; we wanted to encapsulate that feeling in an iPhone game and use augmented reality to accentuate the overall game experience in a way that has never been done before.”

Now I’m scared. No, not because of how scary Paranormal Activity was, moreso because the Paranormal Activity movies just weren’t good movies (in my opinion). And now a game? Well, alright. I shouldn’t judge it just yet. I always thought that the integration of real-life locations into “swarm-type” games were cool. Give Paranormal Activity: Sanctuary a shot, even if only because it’s a free app.

The latest “worst kept secret in gaming,” the Xperia Play phone, was officially unveiled by Sony Ericsson yesterday.

Engadget has all the details on the so-called “PlayStation Phone,” including the date and time of the Xperia Play’s worldwide debut at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 13th and the crazy Super Bowl ad.

Did you miss the Xperia Play commercial during yesterday’s Super Bowl? Check it out after the break below. (more…)

Last night was a pretty insane time for gaming as Sony unveiled the next-generation successor to the PSP, codenamed NGP. But before Kaz Hirai got into details of their powerful new handheld, PlayStation Suite for Android smartphones and tablets was announced. This is a content delivery service in which devices running Android 2.3 or higher will be able to experience “PlayStation quality” titles. To maintain the good will of the brand, the “PlayStation Certified” program will provide development support and licensing. The service is set to launch within the calendar year, and although no formal lineup has been announced, PlayStation oldies like Cool Boarders 2 and Medieval were spotted at the conference last night. It looks like PlayStation-style buttons appear on the touch screen and players control the games that way.

Despite the ever-increasing relevance of Apple and its iOS in the gaming industry, many have complained about the lack of depth thus far seen on smartphones. Hopefully this service will bring more substance to the market. In addition, SCE’s own touch device, the NGP, will also support PlayStation Suite titles. So you can have PlayStation Suite on your PlayStation… sweet!