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Xperia Play ad rags on iPhone gaming

by Mike Schramm Mar 22nd 2011 at 10:00PM

Sony has released a few tongue-in-cheek internet ads for its new Xperia Play smartphone (basically, the PSP phone everyone's been waiting for). In one of the ads, which you can see embedded after the break, performer/Daily Show correspondent/biggest fan of Flight of the Conchords Kristen Schaal goes after "another smartphone" and its gaming capabilities -- namely the iPhone and its button-free touchscreen.

The actual criticisms are pretty vague, to be honest -- there are hints that touchscreen controls don't work so well and even some intimation that the iPhone's screen is somehow too small to see some of the gameplay. In general, everything lands more on the jokey side than any actual pair ups.

But that's almost certainly an iPhone she's holding, and this is the most direct attack we've seen from Sony's side going after Apple and its mobile gaming market growth. The Xperia Play has lots of other things to deal with before taking on the iPhone (it's had a pretty disastrous pre-launch so far), but this is an interesting shot across the bow.





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Sony has released a few tongue-in-cheek internet ads for its new Xperia Play smartphone (basically, the PSP phone everyone's been...
 

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Gregory Pierce

Good to see Sony putting together a competent ad team for a change. Still wouldn't make be by an Xperia though.

March 26 2011 at 6:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
burningspear

SONY = no buy!

I'll never buy or rent anything from Sony ever again after the recent and ongoing immoral behaviour of this company.

Another low after trafficking root kits a couple of years back.

March 24 2011 at 11:10 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
St.McDuck

No physical buttons are still the main reason I can't play most games on my ipod touch. I stick to my PSP and, as of Sunday, my 3DS.

March 23 2011 at 5:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Paddy

Where exactly is this slating the iPhone?

Written on my iPad.

March 23 2011 at 3:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Odineye

"the PSP phone everyone's been waiting for..."

No - not everyone.

March 23 2011 at 2:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
saletanap

A small advert-assassination is in order at this point:
What I see is a dumb, blonde, shallow, self-indulgent female in corporate wear, competing in a gratuitously violent video-game with her Doppelganger.

Exactly which age bracket is Sony marketing this device towards? Mid-teens to low twenties perhaps? That might have made sense if the girls' attire within the advert actually reflected the target group.

Now I purchased an iPhone specifically for its professional business and data-managing capabilities within the context of a vocational and tertiary education environment; prima-facie, Sony's new 'smart'-phone does not fit the bill for any of my applications, nor can I see it appealing to any other professional, quite frankly.

March 23 2011 at 11:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to saletanap's comment
Jeff

I guess this phone is not for you. I think she's pretty smart, I liked the commercial, and you are an exhaustive ass. Please feel free to display your perceived intelligence all over TUAW and really put us all to shame. /end rant

March 23 2011 at 11:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
saletanap

@ Jeff:
You know, in all my years, it's never even been implied that a three-paragraph response to a Blog Post is exhaustive, nor have I ever been labeled an "exhaustive ass" for doing so; I guess there's a time, place and person for everything.

Now it wasn't actually Kristen Schaal who I considered dumb; it was the character she was portraying within the advert. I'm sure that she is indeed very smart.

But tell me though, what exactly was it about my original post that you found exhaustive? My academically correct syntactic structure perhaps? Possibly the fact that I mentioned "iPhone" and "vocational and tertiary education environment" in the same breath? Or was my brief, yet pithy use of the Latin vernacular taxing?

Referring to me as an "exhaustive ass", however offensive it was in its intended design, was actually mildly amusing.

Before I resign though, may I refer you to the Latin scholar Horace and his maxim "Merda taurorum animas conturbit".

Have a nice day.

March 23 2011 at 9:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
audiomatix

i sold my psp because the game selection went downhill...not only that but have you compared the graphics with iphone? iphone is amazing...Infinity Blade!!!!!!

March 23 2011 at 10:47 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jeff

They are not "intimating" that the iPhone screen is too small. They are saying that with fingers from both hands ON the touchscreen, you are blocking content and can't see everything, which is 100% true. That's not very vague or jokey to me. Give praise and criticism where it's due — gaming on the iPhone is not perfect, which is why people make rubber screen stickies to use as reference points, controller attachments, and why Apple now allows third-party (game) output via AirPlay. The gyros and accelerometers make for great additions to gaming control, but ask any serious gamer and they will tell you that buttons, tactile feedback, and the ability to SEE EVERYTHING ON THE SCREEN are also very important.

March 23 2011 at 8:21 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to jeff's comment
bward74

Well said Jeff. I love playing Rainbow Six on the iPhone, but hate how I have to take my thumb off the middle of the screen to stop looking around and tap the fire button to shoot someone- and either way your thumb is obscuring a lot of the screen. It's something we as iPhone gamers have long since had to get used to, so this is indeed a solid argument as well as, imo, a very funny advert.

March 23 2011 at 9:13 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Shaun Bentley

To be fair, that was pretty funny, and Apple have made their fair share of ads mocking other brands.

:)

March 23 2011 at 6:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mack

It's a great advert. Funny and well made.

Will Sony's Xperia Play be a huge success? Unlikely.

If it sells at all, then it is likely to be to a very niche market.

All the evidence points to the majority of users preferring a thoroughbred to a camel.

March 23 2011 at 4:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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