Sony bringing PlayStation games to Android

Sony's new Next Generation Portable will be able to play games designed to run on Sony's Android gaming ecosystem.

(Credit:Sony Computer Entertainment)

Sony, apparently eager to profit from the still relatively immature Android gaming market, announced a program to bring olderPlayStation games to Android devices--phones andtablets--that pass the company's certification tests.

The new PlayStation Suite initiative "will not only deliver the PlayStation experience to a wider base of users around the globe, but will also be able to offer game developers and publishers the potential to further expand their business opportunities to these devices," the Sony Computer Entertainment division said today. Also announced is an accompanying developer program to make it easier for programmers to create suitable games.

Sony plans to deliver the first games later this year, but there are a number of qualifiers. First, Sony will begin with original PlayStation 1 games, not the latest titles for newer hardware. Second, phones will require the newest "Gingerbread" release of Android, version 2.3.

And third, hardware makers must sign up for the PlayStation Certified license. Through it, device must pass tests "to ensure the delivery of PlayStation quality experience across various devices" before Sony will grant a license to use the appropriate logo.

And as is increasingly common in the world of Android, there's another app store to reckon with.

Sony "also plans to open PlayStation Store where users will be able to download content in an easy to use environment, directly via the Android based portable devices," Sony said. It's not immediately clear whether that will be the sole means of distribution.

As the developer kit indicates, the program isn't just for legacy PS1 games. And games developed for Sony's Android gaming initiative will also work on the newly announced Next Generation Portable, Sony's successor to the PlayStation Portable.

Also unclear at this stage is which device makers might participate in the licensing program. One obvious one is Sony itself, of course, with its expected Android-based PlayStation phone.

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Sony reveals PlayStation Suite framework, store for Android gaming

Sony just dropped a bomb on the Japanese stage -- not a single PlayStation Phone, but a PlayStation Phone experience for everybody. The company unveiled a cross-platform software framework called PlayStation Suite, which sounds rather boring in those words, but what it amounts to is an official PlayStation Store filled with games for your Android tablets and cellphones. Sony's starting with an emulator for existing PlayStation Portable titles and is promising an Android game store later this year, but soon it might be much, much more: the company's calling PlayStation Suite a "hardware-neutral" development framework to make games portable for all sorts of handhelds.

Sony will sponsor a first-party licensing and quality-assurance scheme called PlayStation Certified, and provide the marketplace as well, likely hoping to attract major game developers to build top-tier titles for mobile and get a piece of the action too. If your device doesn't have have a pop-out gamepad handy, it looks like PlayStation Suite will emulate touchscreen controls, and you won't necessarily need a phone to get in on the action, as Sony says the next-generation PlayStation Portable will be compatible with games developed for PlayStation Suite right off the bat. Doesn't look like we're getting any details on game prices or compatible devices, but we imagine one particular phone will change all that at Mobile World Congress next month.
Sony reveals PlayStation Suite

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