Had one of these. Loved it. Only real problem with it is it was underpowered at the time based on other mobile phones of the time.

This was my favorite phone. I used it for emulation and everything for Years, and would've continued using it if it wasn't stolen.

I feel like if Sony went back to something like this now, it might do a lot better. Having a phone with a built-in controller with remote play for the PS5, streaming for older titles and a easy button mapping for android games. I would pick it up for sure.

I still have one of these in a closet. I absolutely loved it, aside from the terrible specs and extremely low storage. The phone has like 400 MB of internal storage and only took up to a 32 GB micro SD card. The touch analogue sticks were pretty sweet though. I had a couple games that made use of them (Tomb Raider and a Gameloft dungeon crawler I can't recall the name of to name a couple). It took a little getting used to, but they were pretty sweet. I really wish they would've done an upgraded version that could've played PSP or PS2 games.

I had an Xperia Play and the problems I ran into was the fact that it had only a single core processor and not enough internal storage or memory. It was great for emulating NES, SNES, and Genesis but not so good at N64 or even PlayStation especially with it's limited specs and emulators kept getting heavier. To make matters worse for the Xperia Play competing companies launched dual core phones with twice as much memory and storage around the same time including Sony themselves. It really feels like they just didn't care enough to keep the Xperia Play going after they launched it. After all we got an Xperia Z, Z 1, Z 2, and so on but never got an updated Xperia Play 2.

I remember that Sony didn't push Android ICS update to this phone unlike the other 2011 Sony Ericsson branded Xperia phones. It became obsolete quickly as it only has a single core processor and a very limited RAM and internal memory.

Got mine at launch . Still have it but haven't powered it on in years . Have a new battery for it too . Loved it for emulators like NES , SNES Atari 2600 , etc . Their PS store pretty much sucked . It was also my first smartphone ever so I was in love with the thing .

This phone absolutely deserves a follow up

Love your channel keep it up 👍🏼

Bruh, the PSP GO is actually one of my favorite portable systems…

Still have mine. Was a decent phone too after unlocking the bootloader.

Your nan sounds like a badass! I just recently got the Dark Cloud games on the PS4, but I haven't started them yet. Only FF I ever played was the first game, but I want to go through and play a few different ones, 7 included. One of these days, I'll get through my RPG backlog.

Awesome video! I also bought my Xperia Play when it launched and it’s still in use today with keeping the Retro Asphalt series alive! I actually have FOUR Xperia Plays fully usable ( white, blue and two black models… needing to buy the orange one someday). I hope you can do another video on the Sony S Tablet that was also PlayStation certified! I still have that too 😅

Those ads with Kristen Schaal are the best.

Always a vibe when lady decade postes

I HAD THIS!!! Got mine day one bundled with the branded case, dock, and what to this day was my favorite pair of Bluetooth headphones Sony MW300's cuz I worked for Verizon at the time! What made the headphones so cool was they had individual buttons for everything, power, phone calls, fast forward, rewind, play pause, volume slider all separate physical buttons! Also had a built in fm radio and you could plug in your own standard headphones in to the connection and pair up to 3 devices all in the size of a device that could clip onto your collar and was about half as big as a lipstick. But the phone! While I loved it and still do to this day, the design was rushed for some things. Like the branded case would protect the phone great, but could not be used with the branded dock, so eventually I ditched it as the weird 2 piece case and it's the only phone I ever cracked. 😭 But yeah playing game on it was a DREAM! No more thumbs on screen crap, I was full on playing console games on it! And with emulators you could play almost anything. Now we take for granted having Bluetooth controllers, just pair up your x box or playstation 4 controllers and go, but back then it wasn't so simple. Very few controllers worked and the ones that did were LAG-GY fr. But then here was this godsend of a product built in controller, decent enough phone, it would've prob done better if the specs were better, but I will say the optimized the hell out of the single core cpu. It felt as good as dual core flagships of the time imo, played games way better.

Ahhh the SmackDown 2 music in the background makes this video even better

nice touch with Smackdown 2 music in background

It was way ahead of it's time! Came to early

You, my friend, have the greatest show case of gaming known to man/woman kind! Love it.

Love the smackdown ps1 music in the background. Old school vibes 😊

We got one of these in at the thrift store I work for a while back. Unlike many older Android phones from the era, it was still working fine and sold very quickly.

Thank You!!! Your AWESOME!!! Huggs

I used it as my phone until the screen broke. I later bought another one but couldn't use it as a phone anymore due to it being on the obsolete 3G network.

Zed... as a Canadian I can't get enough of that.

I thought that gracious living bit was going to get old. She pulls it off with such perfect tone and conviction, I can't help but love it. I also like the fact that despite the fact that many of us know Top Hat Gaming Man has a real name and what it is, she doesn't cheat us of the THGM name.

I HAD ONE AND LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!! man I would love to have another one again

Mine from 2012 still works, though I did replace the slide ribbon that connects the two parts of the phone together in 2014. I did quite a bit of SNES emulation on it back in the day.

Loved this phone and still have it 😍

Love the use of the SmackDown! 2 menu music.

My favorite phone I ever owned. I played so many emulators on it in class in high-school. Wish they made a successor to the Xperia platy.

For mobile gaming I use an NVIDIA Shield. One of the old ones with twin thumb sticks and the flip up display. It's perfect for emulating PS1 games, and SNES games and that's perfect for me.

omg as i took a closer listen the menu music from WWE Smackdown 2 : Know Your Role!!!! 4:00 - 6:00 i remember this phone and the hype around it

I got this phone at launch too! I loved it! I just remember killing so much time with it back when i first got into college; and traveling. It was a great emulator machine because of Android, and playing PS1 games on this was awesome!

Very funny episode.

I like this idea

I looked at the Xperia Play when looking for new phones. But, I ended up passing because the Play's specs were behind the curve even at the time it was being sold as well as the Android OS version.

Yeah I remember this I still own it this very day I still love it

always wanted 1 of these....

I tried to love this phone. The form factor and comfort was there. But the hardware was obsolete when it came out.

First RPG was Ultima on the NES, my brother came home from the Army w/ it.

Canadian here, we say Zed too, everywhere not the USA does

Iv always wanted an xperia play. I still kinda do even though it would be another redundant piece of tech I don't need and would never use lol. Interestingly enough that Sony media bar does remind me of the navigational front end of retroarch. I'm not sure which came first though

I had one of these, didn’t get on with it so didn’t have it for very long!

14:07. Omg, did I just hear the word naff? That made me feel really old

I bought one of those new back in the day. Emulation was awesome on this device, I remember particullarly enjoying Lone Ranger on the Nes and using the gamepad for the regular stages and the touchscreen for the Zapper stages. One of the first things I did was installing a custom rom that allowed for the micro sd card to act as a system partition and then apps would be installed on the 32gb sd card. This custom rom would also leave a lot of ram free, allow for better processor governors, overclocking and etc. Only complaint I have about the device is that both the touchscreen and the flat cable that connects the screen to the mainboard are very prone to failing. But all in all it's a very nice device even if I have to perform some necromancy on mine after some years.

Anyone else recognize that Gamegear ad right at the start? The guy playing the Game Boy was about to smash himself in the head with a dead squirrel, so he could see colours while playing Game Boy. It was one strange, awesome advertisement.

I had just gotten an iPhone 4 when this came out. Had there been a follow up to it it would have been my next phone. I love slide-out phones

Hey, it's my phone! That controller was awesome! I would still use it if it wasn't 3-G only. I had to jail-break it & put Ice-Cream Sandwich on it. It essentially plays PSP-Minis. It rules! Great emulator for the old systems. Worth every penny if yu decide to buy this ancient marvel! -Thank you, Lady Decade, for covering this! (Cheers to Top-Hat!)

Is that smack down 2 music playing in the background

QUEEN

I noticed the box had QuickTime on it, I'm kinda surprised that Sony had some apple software in it while trying to be in direct competition with Apple. I also don't recall ever seeing QuickTime on Android phones other than this when seeing the box.

I always wanted one of these, even if I did already have a psp. And this vid has me wanting to buy a psp 3000 and return to that nostalgia.

OMG OMG OMG! We finally got the lady in black from the sequences, instead of the substitute teacher that always does the videos! ❤😇.. I'm kidding, keep up the awesome work Lady Decade! 👍.. That being said, I think you should have gone with your original idea of dressing up for the decade you would be doing a review on the item in question. I thought that was a stroke of genius and very original even for KZfaq.❤

Ur right

HA HA I Set my camera up with that SAME GIF on my webcam but i was able to key the texture a lot better as a glowing rim

I remember buying the Xperia play when it was released, however the salesman in the phone shop advised me against it! (Probably from the phone functionality point of view), but my interest lay in the gaming side, and enjoyed playing emulated games and games dedicated for the phone.

Heh, I mentioned the Xperia Play like a day or two ago on the PSX video. I never owned one, but got to play with the store demo model quite a bit at my old job at the time. It was a cool concept, but it was weak in execution. Probably just a few years too soon to market. I don't know how viable it would be, but I'd be interested to see this revisited with today's technology.

I remember that mine broke after it was dropped once, but I didn’t care too much because I couldn’t get it to connect to the internet

I have 3, all faulty now. Still my favorit phone ever. Play 2 please!

My favourite phone for all times. ❤️

I had no idea this existed.

0:04 Randy, My Name is Earl

It’s crazy how back in those days I was always intrigued by the ngage but was so attached to my blackberry’s at the time that I could never make the switch. The 9900 was the ultimate phone back in the day. Recently picked this phone up in the rare white variant, this is a great PS1/GBA emulation system. Better than the Miyoo Mini as it’s more pocketable and has bluetooth

I used to have one of those it got stolen by old boxing David Harris in Tulsa Oklahoma about 8 years ago I loved it until it disappeared then when he told me that he took it I did try to fight him he ran off like a coward and then grab a crowbar to fight me God bless as they would say I hope you had better experiences with yours only had mine like a year before it got stolen didn't have very much fun with it didn't get the emulator to work quite right for PlayStation 1 it just didn't work

Lady Decade: A necessity for gracious living 😍

I had the white one and loved it 😊😊😊

I wore on out. Best phone ever. Emulation of classic consoles sucks without a physical controller, the Xperia play nailed it. Awaiting its spiritual successor

I came very close to getting one, but I went with the Droid 3 Global and it was a good choice. Those membrane buttons are annoying.

Sony just wasn’t ready to tackle the concept of an iPhone

I wanted this phone so bad at a time lol

On Monday, Sept 12, 2022, Sony will be having a press conference about another dive into playstation gaming on their cellphones.

"Sony didn't even come close" 90 Million is nothing to scoff at. Especially when 154 million units sold, 26 million of those were likely users rebuys from the base model to the lite. I doubt the DSi got so much over lap, but the Lite was a game changed for the DS in terms of sales. No one kept using the base unit if they had a choice. I won't get into special editions either, but undeniably thsoe played a part. Overall I'd say Sony got close and undermines the accomplishment of the PSP. As far as the PS Phone, trash. Effort wasted that would have been better spent on making the NGP what it was meant to be instead of what it became with the Vita.

Us Brits cannot be corrected on how we pronounce things, ive lost count how many times ive laughed at an American who told me, an Englishman that i speak English in a funny way and pronounce things wrong lol

Never had this but I did rock an n gage as a phone and I actually liked it.

I loved my Ngage, I seem to be the only person on the planet who did. The controls were great for a phone, the loud speaker was quite loud, due to the card slot I could load it up with music as well. I know I had a gameboy emulator on it because that's how I finished all the Final Fantasy Legend games. I also found a way to, lets say, "try before you buy" Ngage games and some of them were alright. What were other people's phones doing at the time? Playing the Crazy Frog midi ringtone? Peasants!

Still got mine, though the battery is missing lol

I just want to say that you're very pretty and I love your accent!

Where do you find these wonderful toys, lady decade. 🦇

Lady Decade must have been down the gym, imagine holding up a phat PS3 like that without breaking every bone in your arms.

I bought this phone twice! I had them for years. One got wet and the other I don't remember what happened to it. I wish phones were designed more for games

Twisted Metal theme!

It be awesome if they remake this phone new and approved

In direct competition with the DS in 2011? - I think I had the DS(i) by then

I think the Xperia Play had a manufacturing issue as all the units I saw had broken touch 😕

Got mine in 2012 new and half priced. Great for using emulators.

I wanted one of these but in the end i didnt bother. Funny you mentioned blackberry. I got the first ever touch screen blackberry off vodafone on contract and hated it. It was my one and only brush with blackberry as a brand and vodafone blacklisted me after i sent in back, bastards. Had the first ever experia but the lack of multitouch made it near impossible to play decent games on. Actually thought id found one of these a few days ago in cex but it turned out to be a psp go

Are we just gonna ignore all the clips of Kristen Schaal (The voice of Louise on Bob's Burgers and Mabel Pines on Gravity Falls) talking about the Xperia?

I would love Sony to do a new Xperia play. If they used the latest chips we could emulate most consoles

I still use mine every day although Google for reasons known only to themselves won't let me log in any longer.

What ever happened to that other game phone the sikekick?

I had this phone for a while. I have fun playing it games like killer instinct eternal champions also Street fighter played well on it. I never did figure out how to get anything other than the crash bandicoot it came with The 400 megabytes at that phone had even backed then was a joke. The kicker was we were promised to get an upgrade to the next version of Android but they did not release it, probably because this phone was a little bit underpowered to keep the price down I'm certain

I like history but I don’t play video games. I still enjoy your videos because they document a rarely studied aspect of cultural history, the evolution of gaming technology guided by the influence of popular culture. You have provided a unique window to the past.

Great video as always but i am going to have to completely disagree with you regarding your thoughts on the N-Gage. I am still hunting out games for it today and i think its very playable. Calling it an abomination is a little harsh. Commercial failure. Yes. But not an abomination

Wow Android ... Gingerbread? Ice Cream sandwich? The OG play store What a blast from the past I had one of these a bit after launch. Pretty sure I just flashed a custom rom to it as I was obsessed with doing so back then.

I totally forgot this Sony phone existed

I owned one. At the time I debated hard between this or the iPhone 4s in Hs. And I went with this. And I wasn’t even mad. I was playing Mario kart and smash bros in class. I was racing crash or playing his solo classic. Same with Spyro. I mean the classics I had on mine were endless. The only complaint? Sony literally quit on it. And quit updates on it almost instantly.

Xperia Play is the first smart phone I bought

The Sony PlayStation Phone (aka the Sony Xperia Ericsson Play) was basically a copied, pasted and edited version of the Sony PSP Go.

XMB is my favorite PS UI.