Sony Offers PlayStation Content on Android Phones While Revealing the Next Generation PSP

It seems as though electronics giant, Sony, has not only been maintaining its own portable gaming product line, but also keeping its eyes on the growing Android application marketplace. With over 200k applications reportedly available as of this past holiday, Sony plans on jumping on board and offering entertainment software from its vast PlayStation catalog. This announcement arrives almost in parallel with the reveal of Sony's Next Generation PSP portable gaming system.

The Android gaming platform called the "PlayStation Suite" is being readied for developers and publishers to make the move to the Android platform under the famous Sony PlayStation label. The announcement comes at a time when the growing number and popularity of Android based devices is at a high, while reputable games from well-known sources are low and in demand. EA, for example, recently released flagship titles including The Sims 3, and Need for Speed for Android devices last year. By working with both game developers and hardware manufacturers, Sony is pushing to put its oiwn popular PlayStation games in Android phone owners' hands by year end. Initial content is reported to be entertainment titles from the original PlayStation (PS1) library which would ultimately be available through a proprietary application marketplace operated by Sony.

The prospect of playing classic PlayStation titles on an Android phone, however, won't come without its obstacles. For starters, Android devices, including both phones and tablets, will need to be running at least Android's newest OS release, "Gingerbread" 2.3 for compatibility. Devices that would be running the PlayStation content would also need to be hardware tested and logo certified.

As the announcement to offer titles on the Android platform offers new business opportunities for game developers and publishers, it also interestingly comes at a time when Sony begins promotion on its newest portable gaming system. The Next Generation Portable, or NGP/PSP2 which was announced this past week in Tokyo, features a 5-inch OLED display with four times the resolution of current-generation PSPs. The device also includes flash based storage, and has touch pads on both the front and the rear, and dual micro analog joysticks for flexible gameplay. Other announced standard features include dual cameras (one forward and one rear), along with 3G, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity. The new portable also reportedly features PlayStation 3 quality graphics, will be backward compatible, and will also run downloadable PSP titles. Word is that it would be possible to port PlayStation 3 games to the NGP. The NGP is reportedly scheduled to be available for purchase in time for the holidays later this year.

Sources/Resources:

CNET: Sony bringing PlayStation games to Android

CNET: Sony unveils 'Next Generation Portable,' the new PSP