It might once have seemed bonkers that a person would choose a phone based on its gaming capabilities, but somehow in 2011, it makes perfect sense.
After all, we pretty much know that all phones will deliver reliable call and messaging services – it’s just a given.
So we have to look for other factors that matter to us as individuals.
And gaming has whopping popularity.
It’s a goliath market, which today dwarfs even the global film industry. Now that’s big!
So if you’re one of the many people looking for the ultimate gaming phone, which handset is currently the ultimate?
Here are the contenders as I see it.
The obvious place to start has to be the Xperia Play, given that it’s ‘Playstation certified’ and the only phone currently on the market with a built in control pad.
And because this is the ‘Playstation Phone’, you also get a mini PS Store included, allowing you to download mainstream titles, which make the most of the slide-out pad.
In addition to the PS extravaganza, you can also download games from the Android market, opening up another treasure-trove of gaming goodness.
The downside to the Xperia Play is that it’s still very much a work in progress. It can get laggy and slow at times – both as a phone and a games console – and you aren’t exactly spoilt for choice in the PS Store in these early days.
Still, it’s very much a one-of-a-kind device, which manages to successfully merge phone and console into one nifty piece of kit. If you can put up with the few annoying bugs, it’s an excellent gadget.
The iPhone is responsible for bringing about the ‘App revolution’ and changing the way we all look at gaming.
No longer is it solely the sport of teenage boys in dark bedrooms shouting obscenities into headsets, it’s now accessible to the masses.
Apple’s App Store has thousands upon thousands of games – quite literally something for everyone.
As a consequence, iPhones have always been great for gaming and the latest one is no exception. The large, Retina display is stunning, rendering colours and graphics beautifully.
Performance is rarely an issue either thanks to the speedy A4 chip and because the phone is seriously lightweight, you can play for hours without your arm going dead.
The huge popularity of Apple’s device means that developers will continue to create a swath of cutting-edge games too, so you’ll always have something new to try.
You might wonder why the S II is even mentioned here.
After all, it’s only an Android phone like the Xperia Play, just without the control pad or PS store.
What can it possibly offer that the above two devices don’t?
The answer is simple – performance.
Rocking a revolutionary dual-core processor this belter of a handset can handle greater demands and therefore offer a more fluid gaming experience.
The Android Market isn’t quite up to the same standard as Apples App Store, but there’s still plenty of choice and you can enjoy all of those games at their very best on the S II.
Throw in a slick interface, an awesome camera and a super-slim design and you realise just how good this phone is.
The verdict
Although I love the Galaxy S II, I think I’d have to push that back into third place, simply because it’s let down by the Android Market, which isn’t anywhere near as awe-inspiring as the App Store.
So it’s a straight shootout between the iPhone 4 and the Xperia Play.
And I think I’ll go for the iPhone, purely because of the vast choice of games on offer and the fact that the gaming experience on the Xperia Play isn’t quite refined just yet.
A second, more refined incarnation of the Play with more games on offer would be very interesting though.
With the clout of Playstation behind them, it could really be game over for the competition.
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