Develop Bugs

Play satisfaction

I have an iphone 4 now but i dont to play games on it due the small screen. Im looking a 2 scenarios. Keep my iphone and a actual handhelp system like the 3ds or psp vita. Then ive seen bestbuy has the play 4g for free with an upgrade. So im really wondering how are all of satisfied with the play as a gaming device and a phone? I really want the physical controls but does the obsolete hardware hinder it?

What is this obsolete hardware you speak of?

If you want actal high quality games buy a 3DS or PS Vita, If you want emulators get the Play. The real Xperia Play optimised games are nice but they are cheap and buggy iphone ports, so if you want high quality gaming get a hendheld.

People on here seem to try to deny it but yes the Play is somewhat sluggish as an android device when compared to such as the SGSII or the sensation xe and some newer games don't run great. Dead on arrival runs slowly, gta 3 has the graphics turned down and still suffers terrible frame rate drops regularly, and fifa 12 has terrible lag.
Having said that, I really wouldn't fancy trying to play those games on a touch screen, which is why I got the play!
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

Opinions are like buttholes - everyone has one.
Personally, I love my Play. I don't find it to be laggy at all, once I took the time to customize it. Never a big time gamer, I find I play a lot more games now that I have the Play than I ever did with the handhelds I have owned. It really comes down to what your expectations are. If you want a great phone that can do many things well including play some great games, get the Play. If you're going to want the hottest, latest game titles, then get a cheap phone that doesn't require a data plan, or stick with that I-don't-know-what-I-was-thinkin'-phone, and buy whichever game system you think will best serve your interests.

The Xperia play has never been that sluggish to me, and I'm a heavy app user too, It performs just like another android device, I also installed v6 supercharger, Xperia play is a good phone.

SERIOUSLY, Fifa 12 lags on your Xperia PLAY?
what have you been doing to your phone lately?

Yep, my Xperia PLAY has also been lag-free.
I have a GS2, Atrix and G2x available to test on at any given time, and Xperia PLAY runs games just as smoothly as they do despite being a single core. It's far from obsolete, and as someone who also came from 4th gen iDevices... I can safely say it's been MUCH better at everything.

jeah performence is one thing... but the other thing is the quality of the games...
compare Street fighter 3DS with Bruce Lee
compare Splinter cell Conviction with Splinter Cell 3D
compare Mario Kart 7 with "Shrek Kart" or what ever
And than look at Super Mario 3D Land and cry becouse you have a Xperia Play and not a 3DS....
Understand what i mean?

So now we are comparing a next gen deadicated portable gaming device to a cell phone.
Wake up man its a cell phone, compare to to other cell phones.

number2301 said:
People on here seem to try to deny it but yes the Play is somewhat sluggish as an android device when compared to such as the SGSII or the sensation xe and some newer games don't run great. Dead on arrival runs slowly, gta 3 has the graphics turned down and still suffers terrible frame rate drops regularly, and fifa 12 has terrible lag.
Having said that, I really wouldn't fancy trying to play those games on a touch screen, which is why I got the play!
Sent from my R800i using XDA App
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narflynn619 said:
SERIOUSLY, Fifa 12 lags on your Xperia PLAY?
what have you been doing to your phone lately?
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I have to agree with narflynn here. I have hard a few times that FIFA 12 lags terribly but I've played it multiple times and in fact use it to show off my phone and it never lags. In fact all EA games run silky smooth and perfect with NEVER a single problem. Gameloft games on the other hand are hit or miss.

I love emulators and have many on my phone. Nes, snes Genesis n64 neogeo cps1 cps2. This phone is awesome for emulators. If you love emus this is the phone. Rooting and unlocking is really easy. Trust me this phone may not boast top of the line specs, but I don't care. I love this phone.
My favorite games to play are:
Modern Combat 3
Shadowgun
Dead Space
BackStab
Grand Theft Auto 3
Sonic CD
Dungeon Defenders
These are just a few. I have way too many games on my phone to count them and thats not even touching the amount of emulator games.
If you get this phone I would recommend rooting it and removing all the bloatware, then using script manager run the V6 Supercharger (best thing I have done for this phone) and I only overclocked my phone to 1.2ghz just to give it a little bump. And flashing a SDcard cache size limit from 125hb to 4mb really made the phones accessing the SDcard much smoother (but this should be done on all android phones as Androids SD cache size is set at 128k) But this phone plays all those games just fine. I have not had any issues with Grand Theft Auto 3 or Fifa 12. Once I rooted and did those thing this phone just flies. Again... I love this phone. I have a PSP and have not touched it once since getting this phone, its got like 3 inches of dust on it.

Playing Onlive (with a good internet connection) is sweet with the Play's built in controller

swebosdev said:
So now we are comparing a next gen deadicated portable gaming device to a cell phone.
Wake up man its a cell phone, compare to to other cell phones.
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Yeah it is a cell phone. But it is not onle a cell phone it is THE psp phone that everybody dreamed of... It should be compareable to handehelds, not to other phones.
The Hardware of the Xperia Play is graet for gaming but the software sucks in that point. Dont understand me wrong, i love android. But for gaming the Xperia Play should have a gaming mode that opens in fullscreen and cancels all and i mean all backround progresses and runs games from that. It could look like the psp menu. Than it needs much better programmed games, wich are not so cheap and buggy and not made for touchscreen and just get ported. If sony is able to make this things true, the Xperia Play would be a real psp phone and could be much better than a hendheld.
I know i sound kind of angry with my Xperia Play and that is true, right now i hate it a little, and not only becouse its broken. If it stays i am really going to get a 3DS. And maybe sell my play...

ps3taker said:
Playing Onlive (with a good internet connection) is sweet with the Play's built in controller
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Agreed. Batman Arkham Asylum, Bioshock....

IE-coRe said:
Yeah it is a cell phone. But it is not onle a cell phone it is THE psp phone that everybody dreamed of... It should be compareable to handehelds, not to other phones.
The Hardware of the Xperia Play is graet for gaming but the software sucks in that point. Dont understand me wrong, i love android. But for gaming the Xperia Play should have a gaming mode that opens in fullscreen and cancels all and i mean all backround progresses and runs games from that. It could look like the psp menu. Than it needs much better programmed games, wich are not so cheap and buggy and not made for touchscreen and just get ported. If sony is able to make this things true, the Xperia Play would be a real psp phone and could be much better than a hendheld.
I know i sound kind of angry with my Xperia Play and that is true, right now i hate it a little, and not only becouse its broken. If it stays i am really going to get a 3DS. And maybe sell my play...
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No, it shouldn't.
Its a Phone, there is a ton of basic functionality that is required to be running all the time.
I don't want to miss calls and texts and calendar alerts because I'm busy smashing up Dr Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog. I like that it plays games, but i NEED it to be a phone, as does most everyone else. I also like that I can do those things, and then hop right back into the game I was playing.
Aside from the fact that while the savvy public like us would understand how that mode works, the rest of the public would freak out that playing games blocks the ability for calls and texts to get through.

Where do you get psp phone from? Its a android cell phone with a playstation certified gamepad.
Thats it.
Thats all it ever was and all it ever will be. You hype it up so much just to disappoint yourself.
The xperia play is one of the best android based cell phone on the market. Who ever told you this was a psp should be shot in the face

Rogue Leader said:
No, it shouldn't.
Its a Phone, there is a ton of basic functionality that is required to be running all the time.
I don't want to miss calls and texts and calendar alerts because I'm busy smashing up Dr Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog. I like that it plays games, but i NEED it to be a phone, as does most everyone else. I also like that I can do those things, and then hop right back into the game I was playing.
Aside from the fact that while the savvy public like us would understand how that mode works, the rest of the public would freak out that playing games blocks the ability for calls and texts to get through.
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Hmm your are right with that... Maybe it could cancel every backround activity except sms and calls. But enoungh about what could be. Fact is that the play is nice but not perfect.
swebosdev said:
Where do you get psp phone from? Its a android cell phone with a playstation certified gamepad.
Thats it.
Thats all it ever was and all it ever will be. You hype it up so much just to disappoint yourself.
The xperia play is one of the best android based cell phone on the market. Who ever told you this was a psp should be shot in the face
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Its kinda a nickname that the play had before it was released. I have the Play now for 4 month now i wouldnt say that i am dissapointed. I does what it promises. I am just speking out what i feel right now.

sicmadek said:
I have an iphone 4 now but i dont to play games on it due the small screen. Im looking a 2 scenarios. Keep my iphone and a actual handhelp system like the 3ds or psp vita. Then ive seen bestbuy has the play 4g for free with an upgrade. So im really wondering how are all of satisfied with the play as a gaming device and a phone? I really want the physical controls but does the obsolete hardware hinder it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just buy the 3ds. The 3d effect is very cool and the quality of games will never be matched by cheap android games.
Mario kart 7>any racing game available in the appstore, even real racing.
from tapatalk on xperia play.

Apple has some great games that i would like to play but with a 3.5" screen my fingers will cover half of it. Im just Not a fan of playing games on a small touchscreen. A gaming device with a physical controller and still has all the smarphone functionality. Thats what i want. If rooting and tweaking cures the few flaws of the play i can do that.

What do you think xperia play 2 specs gonna be?

I plan to buy xperia play possibly this week or next month.
But im afraid there will be a new xperia play coming soon with higher specs.
Or there will be no xperia play 2?
I doubt it though because there already a quad core phones in the market
Sent from my SK17i using XDA

i would like a quad core processor tegra 3 clocked maybe at 2ghz , at least 1 gb of dual channel ram, a 720p display, better backlight and 12 mega pixel camera

Moved to Q&A Section, hope you get good answers for making your decision!

I'm thinking xperia play 2 is 6 months to 1 year away. If you can wait that long for a new phone, then I would. Otherwise you'll get major phone envy when a new one comes out and you aren't due for an upgrade for another year past that.

ttiimm said:
i would like a quad core processor tegra 3 clocked maybe at 2ghz , at least 1 gb of dual channel ram, a 720p display, better backlight and 12 mega pixel camera
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You wish that to be on xperia play 2? That would be beast
Sent from my SK17i using XDA

crono141 said:
I'm thinking xperia play 2 is 6 months to 1 year away. If you can wait that long for a new phone, then I would. Otherwise you'll get major phone envy when a new one comes out and you aren't due for an upgrade for another year past that.
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Click to collapse
Lets see. But I'd probably wait.
What do you guys think? Is xperia play still worth to buy this year?
Sent from my SK17i using XDA

Izzy Stinson said:
Lets see. But I'd probably wait.
What do you guys think? Is xperia play still worth to buy this year?
Sent from my SK17i using XDA
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I bougth mine this year, abou 1,5 ago and i´m very pleased with my decision.

Got mine in August and still love it to this day
brought to you by the XDA app on my badass Android toy

I don't care about the specs as long as they put in a bigger battery and fix the defect in the slider design.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

i think that the new play shud have better specs than present play cuz really when i saw this phone i expected better graphics nothing else but graphics i saw that either an ipod touch has better graphics than a play or gameloft jus isnt trying for android

S4pro chipset would be best, dualcore krait with adreno 320. However i think it will probably be standard S4.

RealMcoy said:
i think that the new play shud have better specs than present play cuz really when i saw this phone i expected better graphics nothing else but graphics i saw that either an ipod touch has better graphics than a play or gameloft jus isnt trying for android
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i'm pretty sure gameloft doesn't care about android.

MrHaPpY66 said:
i'm pretty sure gameloft doesn't care about android.
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Gameloft cares about whatever gives them the most money, which is iOS.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

RealMcoy said:
i think that the new play shud have better specs than present play cuz really when i saw this phone i expected better graphics nothing else but graphics i saw that either an ipod touch has better graphics than a play or gameloft jus isnt trying for android
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agreed. playing around with ipad 3 today and the graphics are like super hd

captain67 said:
Gameloft cares about whatever gives them the most money, which is iOS.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
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enough said.
im currently using an xperia mini pro and the specs are nearly the same as play except it has smaller screen. i noticed there are many android games lag on my mini pro therefore so does the play correct?
so my point is, should i wait for a new play comes out probably a dual core processor is enought at least ir should i just buy it cos there will be no xperia play 2 this year at least???

Izzy Stinson said:
enough said.
im currently using an xperia mini pro and the specs are nearly the same as play except it has smaller screen. i noticed there are many android games lag on my mini pro therefore so does the play correct?
so my point is, should i wait for a new play comes out probably a dual core processor is enought at least ir should i just buy it cos there will be no xperia play 2 this year at least???
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Click to collapse
Well, my new phone is dual-core and a lot of games perform just the same as on the play. Some are even worse. I think it depends heavily on the developers and the game itself.
The problem is that Android games in general aren't written in a very efficient way, and aren't optimized well for a wide enough range of phones. Some games run better on Qualcomm, some better on Samsung chips.. Nothing seems to be optimized across the board from what I've seen.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

i would really like to see a new Xplay be released from sony
sony ericsson really dissapointed me with the Xplay they brought out

If they're smart, they won't touch the resolution, because they should be keen enough to figure out that changing the resolution would compromise and sacrifice from the 300+ games Xperia Play already has under it's belt.
With Xperia Play already running everything buttery-smooth on it's 1GHz snapdragon, dual-core/quad-core isn't really necessary... but we all know that media outlets will assure it's publicly DOA with idiotic conjectures about how it'll be behind the curve at launch if they don't (if only the general public could see how well Xperia Play keeps up with the *beasts* like SGS2 in Android's highest-end games)... so might as well slam a spec-whore processor in there to shut them up.
Doubling or quadrupling the RAM wouldn't hurt as long as they keep their focus on quality over quantity as highly as they did by choosing the ELPIDA chip they chose this time around, and doing something about that absolutely puny internal storage would definitely aid us in the combat against Gameloft's phone storage-whoring bastards.
Otherwise, nothing should change. Bump up what needs to be bumped up without compromising what they've established.

TLRtheory said:
If they're smart, they won't touch the resolution, because they should be keen enough to figure out that changing the resolution would compromise and sacrifice from the 300+ games Xperia Play already has under it's belt.
With Xperia Play already running everything buttery-smooth on it's 1GHz snapdragon, dual-core/quad-core isn't really necessary... but we all know that media outlets will assure it's publicly DOA with idiotic conjectures about how it'll be behind the curve at launch if they don't (if only the general public could see how well Xperia Play keeps up with the *beasts* like SGS2 in Android's highest-end games)... so might as well slam a spec-whore processor in there to shut them up.
Doubling or quadrupling the RAM wouldn't hurt as long as they keep their focus on quality over quantity as highly as they did by choosing the ELPIDA chip they chose this time around, and doing something about that absolutely puny internal storage would definitely aid us in the combat against Gameloft's phone storage-whoring bastards.
Otherwise, nothing should change. Bump up what needs to be bumped up without compromising what they've established.
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Click to collapse
It would be interesting if they did a retina display-esque exact double of the current resolution though

The display should be 720p at least, yes, it will probably break a few games, but the benefits far outweigh the cost, most of those apps will be updated for 720p, or should have been written in a way to upscale to begin with. Hardware will likely be S4 or S4pro from what I can see from Sony so far and would be a good choice in keeping compatibility with current titles.
TLR whilst your steadfast resolve in defence of the plays specs is very admirable, and I would echo them myself on occasion, updating the plays specs is a must, Sony themselves have said that they had to do a lot of rework on ics to run on phones with such low ram, whilst the play might be able to run current gen games fine, it wont have a chance at many future upcoming titles, ive played gta3 on a sgs2, ...whilst the controls are terrible, theres a massive difference in overall performance.
Most of these games run well on the play to begin with because they were built with the sgs/xplay 1ghz single core cpu/gpu in mind, because they comprise a large portion of the market, that wont be the case in 6 months, soon these phones will be relegated to the low end, and just like pcs, your phone will be too obsolete to run the current games. I havent seen any games made yet that really push the sgs2 or even higher end phones to anywhere near their potential.
Also, i would be quite happy to see the occasional lag and force kills of running apps disappear. I do agree that they need to continue the good work they have done so far, the form factor and controls are good, expandable memory, removable battery, all that jaz, all I could really ask for is proper analog sticks and larger/better positioned volume up/down for gaming doubleduty.

Do you like your Xperia Play?

As I read around the Internet, I see mixed reviews of the Xperia Play. However, if there is one thing i've learned through forum dwelling, it's that the unhappy are 10 times more likely to speak than the content.
If you don't want to answer any of those questions down below this, at least answer the poll <3
How well does it act as a phone? Are its texting/calling abilities acceptable?
How are the games? Are there emulators that take advantage of the control pad? Are there a reasonable amount of games that use the control pad? How often do you play games on it using the control pad? (I care so much about the control pad because it is the reason i'm considering buying it )
Is it exceptionally far behind recent phones? (Obviously it is behind as it isn't exactly a new phone, but will it still be useable 2-3 years from now?)
How well does Android run on it? Does it run more smoothly on the port of ICS or on its default Gingerbread? Do either of those OS's have a noticeable impact (good or bad) on gaming (compatibility, framerate, etc...)?
Would you buy your Xperia Play again?
Any other comments and experiences you have had are very welcome as well. Thank you for your time! I'm sure this thread will help at least one more person in the future.

Redjericho said:
How well does it act as a phone? Are its texting/calling abilities acceptable?
How are the games? Are there emulators that take advantage of the control pad? Are there a reasonable amount of games that use the control pad? How often do you play games on it using the control pad? (I care so much about the control pad because it is the reason i'm considering buying it )
Is it exceptionally far behind recent phones? (Obviously it is behind as it isn't exactly a new phone, but will it still be useable 2-3 years from now?)
How well does Android run on it? Does it run more smoothly on the port of ICS or on its default Gingerbread? Do either of those OS's have a noticeable impact (good or bad) on gaming (compatibility, framerate, etc...)?
Would you buy your Xperia Play again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) The thing I like the best about Xperia Play is that it's not just good at being a game device. While I'm struggling to have any use for my PlayStation Vita, my Xperia Play's able to be an 'everything'.
2) The games are nice! Which is a very big deal for me. What I feared the most is that this would just be another OpenPandora, GP32, Dingoo A320, iControlPad or Gametel Controller; coming with all kinds of high tech, next-level hardware that people are wasting for all these old-ass games. I don't want to buy new technology for old software. I like seeing games that are actually able to take advantage of Xperia Play's full resolution and all it's methods of this-generation controls. What makes Xperia Play a winner to me is that it has all that. It's an excellent emulator, but you can get a good emulator anywhere... don't mean to be blunt, but that's nothing special. What makes Xperia Play special is that it's actually able to play the upper crust of this-generation smartphone games with dual analogs, high-res graphics and conventions of this generation. I'm playing games on it all the time... and shockingly enough, my shiny new PlayStation Vita isn't compromising that.
3) On paper, it seems like it would be far behind current phones because it's a single core. In practice though, it's running software (game and non-game) just as smoothly as the latest and greatest. Adreno 205 isn't very high-ranking on GPU acceleration, but practice always matters more than concept, and in practice I seldom see dips in framerate or hiccups in everyday use... and since it's got game controls, it's got a merit that those powerhouse phones don't. By all means, it should already be obsolete, yet everytime the next big 'benchmark' game comes out, Xperia Play has it's hands all over it. Then again, the same group of oblivious spec-counters talk **** about how every iPhone released is behind the curve at launch... yet single cores still hold their ground.
4) Android runs pretty silky smooth for me. What I will say is that you may not get the smoothest performance with that crappy standard launcher Sony puts on it's phones. With LauncherPro or ssLauncher, you see the Xperia Play being ridiculously smooth (those two launchers in particular also are a huge battery life savers).
5) I'd definitely buy it again. When I initially got this, it was a toss up between this and the Motorola Atrix. Now I see people with GS2's, Atrix, G2x, Atrix 2, GNotes that all fall in love with this single core phone I have (a few have even offered to trade their stronger phone for my weaker one that has game controls). I'll be able to upgrade again soon, and I'll likely just be using that for eBay fodder. As long as my Xperia Play continues being silky smooth and keeps providing a gaming experience that nothing else parallels, I don't see myself caring how strong phones get.

Do you like your Xperia Play?
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Click to collapse
Well, the things that I don't like about it are cpu, gpu and ram because they are not appropriate for a gaming device.
but will it still be useable 2-3 years from now?)
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As a gaming device, I think it will not be usuable for games because games in the future will require Android 4.1 + more than good hardware like (1GB RAM - Snapdragon S4 CPU ... etc)
Would you buy your Xperia Play again?
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Click to collapse
da

TLRtheory said:
1) The thing I like the best about Xperia Play is that it's not just good at being a game device. While I'm struggling to have any use for my PlayStation Vita, my Xperia Play's able to be an 'everything'.
2) The games are nice! Which is a very big deal for me. What I feared the most is that this would just be another OpenPandora, GP32, Dingoo A320, iControlPad or Gametel Controller; coming with all kinds of high tech, next-level hardware that people are wasting for all these old-ass games. I don't want to buy new technology for old software. I like seeing games that are actually able to take advantage of Xperia Play's full resolution and all it's methods of this-generation controls. What makes Xperia Play a winner to me is that it has all that. It's an excellent emulator, but you can get a good emulator anywhere... don't mean to be blunt, but that's nothing special. What makes Xperia Play special is that it's actually able to play the upper crust of this-generation smartphone games with dual analogs, high-res graphics and conventions of this generation. I'm playing games on it all the time... and shockingly enough, my shiny new PlayStation Vita isn't compromising that.
3) On paper, it seems like it would be far behind current phones because it's a single core. In practice though, it's running software (game and non-game) just as smoothly as the latest and greatest. Adreno 205 isn't very high-ranking on GPU acceleration, but practice always matters more than concept, and in practice I seldom see dips in framerate or hiccups in everyday use... and since it's got game controls, it's got a merit that those powerhouse phones don't.
4) Android runs pretty silky smooth for me. What I will say is that you may not get the smoothest performance with that crappy standard launcher Sony puts on it's phones. With LauncherPro or ssLauncher, you see the Xperia Play being ridiculously smooth (those two launchers in particular also are a huge battery life savers).
5) I'd definitely buy it again. When I initially got this, it was a toss up between this and the Motorola Atrix. Now I see people with GS2's, Atrix, G2x, Atrix 2, GNotes that all fall in love with this single core phone I have (a few have even offered to trade their stronger phone for my weaker one that has game controls). I'll be able to upgrade again soon, and I'll likely just be using that for eBay fodder. As long as my Xperia Play continues being silky smooth and keeps providing a gaming experience that nothing else parallels, I don't see myself caring how strong phones get.
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Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your review! You basically covered everything that I have been searching far-and-wide to find. It's good to hear that it can also handle current generation games (for the most part) because it's always nice to have one or two pick-up-and-play mindless games, and the current mobile market excels at that.
I too believe that a device's specs don't mean much unless they are real world, so it's nice to hear from an actual user that it performs well. The main complaints I have read are lag of android and battery life, so to learn that I can improve it (at least a bit) is a very big plus.
Thanks for taking the time to help me out! Where there is one satisfied customer there is bound to be more, but I will stick around to see what others have to say as well.
Xperia-Play said:
Well, the things that I don't like about it are cpu, gpu and ram because they are not appropriate for a gaming device.
As a gaming device, I think it will not be usuable for games because games in the future will require Android 4.1 + more than good hardware like (1GB RAM - Snapdragon S4 CPU ... etc)
da
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I don't really see it as a replacement for a true gaming device. If I wanted to play polygon-packed, particle effect oozing games, I would spring for a Ps Vita (which I probably will get some day). As long as it can run a reasonable selection of game pad optimized games/emulators, i don't mind the lack of specs.

I don't really see it as a replacement for a true gaming device. If I wanted to play polygon-packed, particle effect oozing games, I would spring for a Ps Vita (which I probably will get some day). As long as it can run a reasonable selection of game pad optimized games/emulators, i don't mind the lack of specs.
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I think you are right

I've
Sent from my R800i using xda premium

How well does it act as a phone? Are its texting/calling abilities acceptable?
Excellent. 100% a good PHONE.
How are the games? Are there emulators that take advantage of the control pad? Are there a reasonable amount of games that use the control pad? How often do you play games on it using the control pad? (I care so much about the control pad because it is the reason i'm considering buying it )
Games for Android are great. SO many games are Xperia PLAY optimized. Emulator games, imo, are where it's at. Most emulated games just downright play better with physical controls. I <3 <3 <3 playing my PS1 roms on it.
Is it exceptionally far behind recent phones? (Obviously it is behind as it isn't exactly a new phone, but will it still be useable 2-3 years from now?)
I think so. Yeah it will lag a bit, especially as newer Android versions will require newer hardware, but imo we're safe for another year and a half or two. Possibly more.
How well does Android run on it? Does it run more smoothly on the port of ICS or on its default Gingerbread? Do either of those OS's have a noticeable impact (good or bad) on gaming (compatibility, framerate, etc...)?
For me using a custom rom (TrueAncestor) it's *butter*y smooth. Plays my games excellently.
Would you buy your Xperia Play again?
I most certainly would. Actually, I just did, and I am NOT regretting that desicion AT ALL. I had bought a beat up used one first and it died, but I liked it so much I bought it again.

i'll buy it ,
if one day , xperia play 2 comes , i'll buy that too , for any price
game pad is really really special H/W on phone , all i need is game and game support

I brought my play specifically for gaming as I'm sure so did everyone who has got this phone, I think it is a really good phone for gaming although it does struggle with some larger games like nova 3 but all in all the games seem to run lag less and have yet to have any issues with gaming myself, the phone itself excluding gaming is great it runs smooth, looks nice and its awesome when u show it to ur mates then flip out the controller lol, I wasn't sure about buying this phone at 1st as it does have some bad reviews and with it only having a 1ghz single core processor it didn't seem that revealing, anyway I went ahead and brought it and im yet to see any faults with it in fact after seeing mine my bro sold his iphone4 to buy one and my mate sold his sensation xe to buy one aswel which on paper is a huge downgrade, like I said some large games like nova 3 for example do lag but personally I think thats not because the phone can't hack it but that the game itself is just made crappy but a little lag on some games is worth bearing for the fact that u have a controller. This is the phone for anyone who likes gaming and if u install a custom rom and kernel its even better, I love this phone and won't ever change it unless an Xperia play 2 comes out
Sent from my R800i using xda premium

Hi, for me it's the best phone out there not only for gaming cause it can everything what a modern android phone should can. I use it every day as a normal phone and everything is fine and if you are a gamer and retrogame fan like me then there isn't something better.
Of course there a lot of more powerfull phones but as said they're just phones, and yeah i tried to play on others but with touch it's impossible to play a good game!!

Is is smart to buy now a Xperia play?

Hello i've got a question?...
I have now a htc wildfire and it is time to buy an new one I like gaming on mobiles, So my decision is buying a Xperia Play for its WONDERFULL keypad and mainly for it's price(i have a limited amount of money for a phone) ,but is it good for era 2012-2013 gaming? like modern combat 4 and Grand Theft Auto® Vice city 10th year anniversery and maybe other wonderfull games. and is the resulotion also good, i've got optimus 2x in thaughts but i read it breaks too fast and battery sucks
please give me some advice
Cheers :victory:

Yep.
But might not be the best choice for games in 2013 or 2014.

It's a good phone but without overcloing or good optimized games, I don't think that it is highly recommendable to buy it for that purpose you have of playing 2013 and 2014 games on it.
But if you can get it cheap why don't try it?

^Yeah, forget to state that its also really cheap.

Get it, it's a good phone. It's not as generic looking as the others.

Are there maybe other phones that are cheap and can run these games

How much are you looking to spend?
Used Galaxy Nexus are going cheap right now.
Sent from my R800x

The current games aren't running as smoothly as they should. I do not intend to sound pessimistic, but I doubt games in '13 or '14 will run smoothly, if the world still exists by then.

No it isn't. Anybody telling you to buy the phone is either a gaming enthusiast or really loves the phone. The phone has been long abondoned by Sony, so no updates. It is also really underpowered and lag becomes apparent unless you've overclocked. However, compare it to even the SGS2 which was released around the same time and this phone is still not smooth. There are people using this device as a pure android gaming device now and many including developers have bought new devices. As well as this, the phone is thick which can be an annoyance at times. Before anybody says my phone is not setup properly, I am running .62 stock,debloated,overclocked.
EDIT- The battery sucks as well.

ridder215215 said:
The current games aren't running as smoothly as they should. I do not intend to sound pessimistic, but I doubt games in '13 or '14 will run smoothly, if the world still exists by then.
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It'll exist. We will all be in debt though. And not current debt, even worse debt.
OT - I honestly wouldn't. Get a SG3. You can play future games and current games on lovely settings.

I'd love to buy a sgs3 but i have a limited amount of money

erdal67 said:
I'd love to buy a sgs3 but i have a limited amount of money
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I just bought a Galaxy Nexus for $200, so you just have to look. Its not as fast as the S3in term of gaming, but yhe software is better on a whole due to being stock Android and you can run a kernel to overclock the GPU.

erdal67 said:
Hello i've got a question?...
I have now a htc wildfire and it is time to buy an new one I like gaming on mobiles, So my decision is buying a Xperia Play for its WONDERFULL keypad and mainly for it's price(i have a limited amount of money for a phone) ,but is it good for era 2012-2013 gaming? like modern combat 4 and Grand Theft Auto® Vice city 10th year anniversery and maybe other wonderfull games. and is the resulotion also good, i've got optimus 2x in thaughts but i read it breaks too fast and battery sucks
please give me some advice
Cheers :victory:
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Click to collapse
I have both these phones and I can tell you my Play outperforms my 2X in everything.
My 2X isn't rooted/custom whereas my Play is, but it's no excuse for it to perform as badly as it does. You're also tied down to Android 2.3 on the 2X as there is a problem with video accelleration in ICS/JB... Something to do with Nivvy not releasing proper libs or something.. Not sure.
But yeah, Play all the way.
Not to mention, all those emulators and vintage games you can now play again on a handheld device... The play is around £100 off ebay these days, for that kind of price you simply can't say no! Especially when all these developers are working so hard to make the Play so much better than Sony ever could..

What about xperia U , P, Arc S, Ray, neo V

The play is a wonderful phone but now day graphics are a little much for it now unless you O/C and everything else but I would suggest you get like the RAZR M with a. 2Ghz processor but single core, but the play is just out of date and I suggest you get a better phone... but I love my play
Sent from my GBTweaked V7.1 R800x using Tapatalk 2

A phone, with a genuine gamepad, that can emulate everything up to and including N64 and Playstation,
That will NEVER get old for me.
Screw new games.

For older games, it's the best thing you can buy. But most newer games and even some games from last year will lag or not have the same graphics as a higher end device. If you care about how your games look, then don't get this. Another thing is, the single core 1 GHZ processor is really slow, even with OC. A newer dual core or quad core device will be a much better experience when it comes to thing like web browsing and general things you would do on a phone as well as running games very fast. Multi-tasking is not good on this phone on any ROM other than stock. It has a very low amount of ram. My minimum specs for an Android phone after this will be dual core and 1 gb of RAM. Single core phones make android look bad imo.

Still worth getting xperia play

i have been thinking of getting this phone or swap for my iphone as i do like playing games on a portable device i was wondering if it is still worth getting and how are you people finding it

huzi7868 said:
i have been thinking of getting this phone or swap for my iphone as i do like playing games on a portable device i was wondering if it is still worth getting and how are you people finding it
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The xperia play is a great phone and ghe best for gaming but its pretty outdated specs wise.if you don't care about specs and just want a good gaming phone than go for it. But if you want want a newer phone with good specs then get something newer like an s3 or something more affordable. But if you like gaming and don't care about old hardware and outdated software ( its stuck on gb unless you wanna flash a custom rom) then go for it
Sent from my r800x using xda developers app

Who cares about specs this phone runs better and is more stable then most phones on the,market lol plus you can overclovk the crap out of it
Sent from my Sony Tablet S using xda app-developers app

its the only phone in the market that has a real life playstation touchpad yes it may have lower specs than the one thats out there, but the feel of having android phone + a playstation certified gaming gadget can never be traded by anything else out there. this phone will be my best and will forever be cherished by a gamer like me :angel:

i was worried about the ram its only 512 ive hardly had a phone with 512mb my current other phone is atrix dual core and 1 gb ram i also have an iphone which i dont want

This phone might have low ram and bad specs, but games still go much faster on the xperia play then on other devices with better specs.
And if games start to lag, unlock your bootloader, then flash a kernel and overclock.
Still lag, debloat your phone.
Still lag, flash tweaks eg AdrenoBooster

I am a proud play owner.but get galaxy 3 or HTC one and you will be happy.the play I will give it half a year and it will be dead.I am play owner from the start my first android phone.I hate Sony for what they do to this phone and not releasing xplay 2!!
Sent from my R800i using xda app-developers app

The gpu is a beast cpu sucks ass but as you know when playing a game the gpu does most of the work and the cpu barely gets off its ass thats why all Sony devices have ****ty cpu psp ps3 etc
Sent from my LT28i using xda app-developers app

I would go with a newer phone I believed the xperia z is PS certified so you get exclusive games and its 5" 1080p full HD so games will look amazing on there...I know I would so swap my play for a newer phone in a heartbeat as I'm not a big gamer
sent from my Sony Ericsson Xperia Play™(r800x) Running Slimbean 3.0 using Tapatalk 2™

crazymonkey05 said:
I would go with a newer phone I believed the xperia z is PS certified so you get exclusive games and its 5" 1080p full HD so games will look amazing on there...I know I would so swap my play for a newer phone in a heartbeat as I'm not a big gamer
sent from my Sony Ericsson Xperia Play™(r800x) Running Slimbean 3.0 using Tapatalk 2™
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I believe the Xperia z would be an awesome phone choice for someone with gigantism or something 5 inch display like come on thats ridiculous. You cant even hold it in your hand comfortably. Maybe soon they will come out with phone backpacks cause unless you have ganster pants that monster is not going to fit in your pocket.
Sent from my LT28i using xda app-developers app

Playing games on a touch screen device is good but not the same as playing on xperia play

Its not worth getting xperia play. A few weeks ago I thought it is worth to have an xperia play for gaming, phone, bluetooth, etc all in one little device... With all those I listed above is what I use on my xperia play it became a burden because it drains the CPU resources to do certain for instance gaming, and because it lacks ram, internal memory. I felt it was wasnt worth it a long run. Get a ps3 controller with a stand and be done with it.

well, its almost 2016 and I don't give a crap about specs on my phone, maybe on my pc for heavy gaming like shadows of mordor. But if you really love games F... all others. sure you can be gay and get a moga controller or other, but then you need a stand for your phone(unless it has one) then you have to carry a controller around like a putz! why do I really need to walkaround like a gay batman with a fanny pack in lieu of my utility belt? and ram? who cares root it unlock the boot loader and use sd card ext give your self whatever size you want good god! oh the X-play successfully use the 64 gb sd( I know cause its in mine 4 years now) is that the only defense new phones have that and speed? So what you had a 90 ghzx 32 gb phone SO??? IT DOES NOT HAVE A BUILT IN DUAL TOUCHPAD CONTROLLER. like one guy said ramp up the speed a little to alleviate sluggish response. I run mine a 1300 MHz (don't want to burn up the processor) and its almost 2016 , but with a controller, I get to play DS games (almost all of them ) all snes, genesis, Gba , and now PSP games and N64 games (quite a few) run (most of them) and all of the PSX library too then all the other games out there for android and the small handful of x-play exclusives. dead space dungeon hunter 2 3 and 4 shadowgun GTA 3 AVP minecraft PE all angry birds rainbow 6 HD ,backstab, Aidens crons man the list goes on.
So if you are agamer, don't get anything else period because it has a controller and the massive list of highly functioning emulators to go with it. ( seven consoles in one plus android games). if you just want a really powerful phone get a Z or i phone 6 or some Shiite because you know that you need that raw power for your texting and twatting. LMFAO but you already know what youre going to do , so just do it and stop asking questions.

Mo3bium said:
well, its almost 2016 and I don't give a crap about specs on my phone, maybe on my pc for heavy gaming like shadows of mordor. But if you really love games F... all others. sure you can be gay and get a moga controller or other, but then you need a stand for your phone(unless it has one) then you have to carry a controller around like a putz! why do I really need to walkaround like a gay batman with a fanny pack in lieu of my utility belt? and ram? who cares root it unlock the boot loader and use sd card ext give your self whatever size you want good god! oh the X-play successfully use the 64 gb sd( I know cause its in mine 4 years now) is that the only defense new phones have that and speed? So what you had a 90 ghzx 32 gb phone SO??? IT DOES NOT HAVE A BUILT IN DUAL TOUCHPAD CONTROLLER. like one guy said ramp up the speed a little to alleviate sluggish response. I run mine a 1300 MHz (don't want to burn up the processor) and its almost 2016 , but with a controller, I get to play DS games (almost all of them ) all snes, genesis, Gba , and now PSP games and N64 games (quite a few) run (most of them) and all of the PSX library too then all the other games out there for android and the small handful of x-play exclusives. dead space dungeon hunter 2 3 and 4 shadowgun GTA 3 AVP minecraft PE all angry birds rainbow 6 HD ,backstab, Aidens crons man the list goes on.
So if you are agamer, don't get anything else period because it has a controller and the massive list of highly functioning emulators to go with it. ( seven consoles in one plus android games). if you just want a really powerful phone get a Z or i phone 6 or some Shiite because you know that you need that raw power for your texting and twatting. LMFAO but you already know what youre going to do , so just do it and stop asking questions.
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It's funny how android fanboys basically jack off to specs but a single core phone from 2011 still keeps up in gaming lol. You can even install up to jelly bean and have everything working kitkat and lollipop work but the touchpads are still being worked on. If the Xperia play could be modded to have LTE everyone would probably still have it. Yes other phones have bigger screens and are faster but if it is gaming that is your passion the play is THE ONLY WAY TO GO. Like this guy says you can use the sd as ram lol. It will be slower doing some things but gaming with that controller just can't be matched. If Sony made a derivative of the Z that had a gamepad I'd buy it the second it came out lol. Because my plays flex cable went out when I was away I had to get a new phone aka the Ion and now I have a z3 which is nice because it has alot of awesome features but I still have and still use a Xperia play! Gaming on a touchscreen really sucks.
Someone even modded the remote play apk so you theoretically could play your Ps4 on your Xperia play if you have the Sony files on your rom!
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app

i like my 3ds, but for me, no xplay no game!

Don't get the Xperia Play now.. move on and get a z5 and a PS controller attachd to it or something.. this phone will be dead very soon.. Gaming wise. as a phone its still good. newer games demand more from the phone which Play cant give.

huzi7868 said:
i have been thinking of getting this phone or swap for my iphone as i do like playing games on a portable device i was wondering if it is still worth getting and how are you people finding it
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Click to collapse
Well for me the Xperia Play has been the best phone ever made, the build quality is amazing the design is perfect, the speakers are great, battery life outstanding, the Camera is still great for today standards and the physical controls just make the difference, no other phone in the market offers all that.
My advice is, get an Xperia play if you mainly care about gaming and only use your phone for basic stuff like moderate messaging, phone calls, whatsapp, listening to music, taking some photos.
If you use a lot of Facebook, email, surfing the web, google app and other heavy apps then I advise to stay away from the Play, the single core and the 512mb of ram are just not enough for multitasking, no matter how much you tweak it, the experience will be annoying. Mainly due to poorly optimized apps from developers, for instance the Facebook app will make the XPlay unusable.

let me add to that many of the apps that I use.. have a min. requirement of 4.0.4+ or ICS+ and if we use Xperia play for real gaming.. we have to stay at GB or 2.3.7 .. so u would have to choose between Apps or Gaming.. so yes
Gaming wise this phone is the best.. that too cant play newer games I believe.. as time will pass newer games will have a min requirement of 4+ too I believe.. so this phone is loosing the battle everyday in that sense.

saqibkhan said:
let me add to that many of the apps that I use.. have a min. requirement of 4.0.4+ or ICS+ and if we use Xperia play for real gaming.. we have to stay at GB or 2.3.7 .. so u would have to choose between Apps or Gaming.. so yes
Gaming wise this phone is the best.. that too cant play newer games I believe.. as time will pass newer games will have a min requirement of 4+ too I believe.. so this phone is loosing the battle everyday in that sense.
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Why do you have to stay below jelly bean I believe everything works. I'm not sure about kit kat tho. But the majority the VAST majority support down to ICS which our plays do have. You can mod ICS or pick up a rom to make gaming epic. Just trust me on this one.
https://youtu.be/T7uJ_ylow3k my awesome youtube channel so many vids! 237 to be exact

not sure if anyone still visits this thread, I just got an Xperia Play (R800at) today. been playing around a bit with it (I collect unique cell phones still looking for a nice inexpensive LG Thrill (in good shape lol) and I'm done lol)
Anyway, was looking on here to see what mods and such were available. hate the low memory. wanna kill off the FB app as I prolly wont use it there. just wanna load some emu's and a streaming music app (Soma FM) . also, probably a silly question, did the market end for this phone? (the game market I mean. both the playstation app and the xperia play app (the one that starts when you open the controls) wont connect to download)
Also whats the best root method?