Sony's Retro Cell Phone Gaming Campaign

In Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment is launching a special iMode cell phone site that allows users to download classic PlayStation titles for their mobiles. Dubbed "PlayStation Masterpiece Appli Special Campaign", the limited time dealio runs from July 3rd to September 30th for the following games: RPG Arc the Lad, dice game XI[sai]DX and puzzle game I.Q. Intelligent Cube. Those who are members of Sony's iMode site can download the games for 0 points to boot! (The monthly fee is ¥315 or about US$3).

iモード「SCEJ」にて名作アプリが0ポイントで配信開始！ [Dengeki Online]

On August 2nd and August 3rd, Square Enix is holding a "private party" with the utterly ridiculous name DKΣ3713 that will be limited to only 2,400 attendees, picked by raffle through the Japanese Square Enix Members website.. It will showcase Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games. And just like we thought, Final Fantasy XIII will not be playable. Hit the jump for the full rundown of what will be there and what form it will be in. Bring on the disappointments!

This Might Just Be The PlayStation Phone

Sorry. The "PlayStation Phone". Because it's a lot more phone than it is "PlayStation". Letdown. Pictured above is the Sony Ericsson F305 phone, first in their new "F" series of devices, due for release later this year. The Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog - source for this info and the pics - believe the "F" stands for "fun", because the phone not only features motion-controlled gaming, but also boasts the familiar "O" and "X" buttons, as well as a PlayStation control pad icon, suggesting that gaming is going to be made a primary feature of the line. If this is as PlayStation phone as Sony are willing to go (and it probably is), it's a smart move - actually branding the thing a PlayStation Phone, and going all-out on the gaming side of things, may not have been the smartest thing to do to the brand.

Sony Ericsson F305 is for fun and games [USEB, via Gizmodo]

Sony Phones To Feature Motion-Sensitive Games

Yay, more Sony phone talk, and this time without even mentioning the word "PlayStation"! According to Pocket-Lint, Sony Ericsson have signed a deal with GestureTek, whose motion-sensing software powers stuff like the EyeToy. The deal will have a similar version of said software running on Sony Ericsson phones around September, and via the handset's cameras, will allow the phones to play motion-sensitive games. Two titles currently mooted to appear for the new capabilities are a Super Monkey Ball game and a Crash Bandicoot title (pictured). Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to increase the probability of a PlayStation Phone being announced later this year up a few percentage points.

Sony Ericsson to launch new gaming phone range [Pocket-Lint, via Gizmodo]

Yesterday the truth was finally revealed behind the mysterious cell phone received in the mail a few weeks back. I was still pretty unsure of exactly what was going to go down yesterday, so I sent a final text message through the phone asking what was going on.

A few minutes later I received a reply: "At 3:30 a black car will arrive to your house to pick you up. The mission should take no longer than three hours." Three hours, eh? What the hell, I went ahead and cleared my schedule for the afternoon and got ready to embark.

At 3:30 on the dot I went outside and lo and behold, there was a black car with a card with my name on it in the window. Not only was the car out there at the assigned time, but they had managed to get a parking spot right in front of my house. If you know anything about parking in San Francisco, you'll know that this is no mean feat, especially in the Mission. My driver was waiting by the car and told me he would be taking me to my destination as he opened the door for me to get in. I looked and made sure the door locks hadn't been sawed of and got in.

You may have read last week about a mysterious cell phone that was sent my way with no return address. A series of text messages informed me that I would hear word on the 24th on my "assignment." I checked in on the phone yesterday evening and sure enough there was another text message, this one slightly more ominous than the first...

A driver has been assigned to escort you to dead drop point. Confirm pick up name for driver. Standby on April 8 at 1700 for pick up.

A driver? At 5pm on April 8? Hmmm. I'm not really one to just get into car sent by a stranger, but I am dedicated to finding out what this is all about. Seeing as I have documented this entire experience for all to see, if I end up dead in a gutter it shouldn't be too hard to figure out who did it. Please just have "He took one for the team" engraved on my tombstone.

Gameloft has just announced CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Mobile Game which they will be releasing in cooperation with CBS. In the game, players will be investigating the seedy side of Las Vegas (does it have a non-seedy side?) and will receive help and clues from the in-game characters in the form of real cell phone messages. From the press release:

Your cellphone rings, and a detective calls you to the scene — just like a real CSI detective. This combination of game play with popular content and a whole new level of interactivity represent enormous entertainment and business potential for the mobile world.

It sounds like a pretty cool gimmick actually and leaves me wondering if this might tie in somehow with the mysterious cell phone I received yesterday...

While I was lazing about the house working hard yesterday I received a Fed-Ex delivery. Not that this is anything unusual, I get Fed-Ex packages fairly regularly but upon looking at the slip I noticed that there was nothing filled in in the senders area. But it clearly said To: Flynn De Marco - Kotaku so I figured it was some kind of game thing. After getting over my initial fear that it might be the head of Gwyneth Paltrow, I opened it to discover a small Nokia phone. No note, no press release, none of the things that usually accompany such things. So I figured I'd go ahead and plugged it in and left the house for the day. Upon my return I heard an unfamiliar jangling and realized it was the phone informing me that I had a text message. I checked it to discover the following missive.

"Accommodation address secured. Mission Accepted. Standby on March 24 for further instructions. Date of final mission: April 8."

Seeing as none of the other staff members got one, I'm hoping this isn't some sort of bomb sent by a rival blog to take me out, but I must say I'm rather intrigued. Chances are it's for a cell phone game, but I'm crossing my fingers that it's going to be something really cool. Anyone care to speculate?

Sony's 2006 PlayStation Phone Patent

N-Gage Aren't Scared Of The PlayStation Phone

I'm not scared about anybody. The real question is how do they [Sony Ericsson] do it? Can they create a link between the PSP games and a phone? Can they do the multiplayer and online stuff? We've been doing this for two years and it hasn't been easy.

The Fly Mobile MC100 Is Your New (Unofficial) Nintendo Phone

The Best PSPhone Mock-Up We've Seen So Far

Is a PlayStation phone in the works? Oh, absolutely. Or not. We've gone back and forth so many times with quotes from gabby Sony Computer Entertainment Europe execs that we're totally confused at this point. But the rumor that a PSP capable of making a phone call—that isn't via Skype—keeps popping up. Most recently, a blurb in Sony Magazine hinted that such a device was in the works, even pointing to a February release date. Good luck with that.

If a PSPhone does exist, this mock-up is one of the better ones we've seen. The scan, courtesy of NeoGAF member metalmurphy, is clearly labeled as fiction, with the article estimating that such a product has a 35% chance of coming to market. Pretty, yes, but maybe we're just distracted by the Millenium Falcon. A PlayStation Phone, while not a terrible idea, won't be replacing my iPhone any time soon.

Sony Ericsson PSPhone [NeoGAF]

A new PSP-style phone is apparently in development. There are even suggestions that it could be in shops as early as February.

Cell Phone Game Hooks Real, Totally Dead Fish

iPhone's Impact on Mobile Gaming? "Negative"

...it's a replacement for someone who had a Razr before. They still want their content but there's no distribution platform in place so there's a negative impact on the industry... These devices are capable and powerful. They'll be great in the long term but it will take some time as people adapt to devices.

Sony Won't Shut Up About The Damn PlayStation Phone

The gang at Sony and Sony Ericsson are almost definitely working on some sort of PlayStation branded phone. It might even be announced in February. At least, that's what we've been led to believe, despite SCEE boss David Reeves smokescreen denial of its existence. Now, Sony Computer Entertainment co-COO Jim Ryan is telling the Economic Times that it's "definitely plausible", indicating that the company is pursuing the idea actively. He calls a console phone convergence "hugely intellectually seductive."

Ryan curiously says "PlayStation almost enjoys cult status" amongst the 200 million-plus who have purchase PlayStation consoles, envisioning a product that is primarily a gaming device and secondarily a phone.

Sony to introduce Playstation phone [Economic Times via CVG]