Sony Ericsson officials stopped short of confirming a recent report that the company is developing a smartphone that can download and play PlayStation games, saying only that the company is working closely with Sony on handset access to PlayStation games.
On March 5, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sony Ericsson was working with Sony to develop a smartphone capable of playing PlayStation games and designed to compete with the iPhone and other Apple products. The smartphone and other products that Sony is working on, including a new online service, are "critical elements" of the company's turnaround plans.
Asked about Sony Ericsson's plans to help Sony bring a PlayStation handset to the market, Hirokazu Ishizuka, corporate vice president and head of Asia-Pacific for the handset maker, hinted that something is in the works but he didn't offer details.
"What I can say today is that what we're trying to do is make sure our users can enjoy PlayStation gaming titles with our phones. We're not ready to mention anything about that [handset]," Ishikzuku said in an interview on Tuesday.
Sony Ericsson will have more to say about its PlayStation plans, "when the time comes," said Peter Ang, the company's vice president of marketing for Asia-Pacific.
Mobile gaming is a core component of Sony Ericsson's handset strategy and PlayStation games are a major part of that, although gaming access isn't yet available. Last year, the company took a first step with the introduction of Aino, a handset is are capable of playing media content stored on a PlayStation 3 console, but not games.
"Of course, we continue working with Sony closely," Ang said.
this was part of the info on the 5th of march that the wall street journal ran:
Sony is working with Sony Ericsson, a venture with L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. of Sweden, on the new smart phone, the people familiar with the matter said. While the capital structure of the 50-50 joint venture hasn't changed, Sony is taking a more active role in developing handsets for the partnership because of how central smart phones are becoming to the company's overall strategy.
Bloomberg
Sony's PlayStation Portable Go At a wireless industry trade show last month in Barcelona, Mr. Stringer said Sony Ericsson phones will connect to Sony's online service in the future.
He didn't specify what content would be available for mobile-phone users.
Sony Ericsson, which was formed in 2001, has lagged behind rivals in developing smart phones. It plans to introduce its first smart phone, Xperia X10, built on Google Inc.'s Android operating system in April.
The main responsibility for delivering Sony's gadgets of the future has fallen to Senior Vice President Kunimasa Suzuki, who was promoted as part of a management shuffle a year ago. He is in charge of Sony's Vaio computer business and the new team developing mobile products. He also serves as PlayStation chief Kazuo Hirai's deputy at both the videogame unit and the Network Products & Services division.
Mr. Suzuki's various roles within the company represent the blending of business divisions inside Sony, placing him at the center of Mr. Stringer longstanding ambition to bring down the "silos" separating the company's various operations.
last month!
