Xperia Play misses United States in initial release
The era of the PlayStation Phone begins as Sony Ericsson releases the handset to nearly one dozen markets. The United States, however, will have to wait.
Sony Ericsson announced via its blog today that the Xperia Play has gone on sale in 11 markets around the world. The United States, however, is not among them.
While the "PlayStation Phone" is available today in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Russia, Verizon Wireless customers in the United States will have to wait a couple of weeks at least. At CTIA last month, Sony Ericsson said the device will launch by early next month, though a recently leaked Verizon document predicts an April 14 arrival. That fits with a recent admission by Sony Ericsson that six addiitonal markets will see the Xperia Play over the next two weeks.
Another country that can be lumped into the near future is Canada. MobileSyrup is reporting today that Rogers will be offering the Xperia Play as well as the Xperia Arc in late April. The price for both is 99 Canadian dollars ($103) with a three-year commitment.
Sony Ericsson also has announced that more than 60 games are launching with the Xperia Play. Among the titles are familiar PlayStation games like Assassins Creed, The Sims 3, and Splinter Cell. Also, since the Xperia Play is the first PlayStation-certified device, it will have access to a massive library of former PlayStation games. Sony has partnered with more than 20 top publishers from around the Android space, including Electronic Arts, Glu Mobile, and Gameloft. Looking ahead, gamers can expect to see more than 50 titles offered in the near future.
In another sign that the United States will be seeing the Xperia Play in short order, the Android Market is already listing a number of games for sale.