In a recent interview, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime admitted that Apple could actually pose a greater threat to Nintendo than Microsoft, and it appears that Sony may be thinking along these lines as well. In an apparent attempt to head off some of the steam that Apple is generating with their incredibly popular mobile platforms and stall their push into the gaming space, the once rumored PlayStation Phone now appears to be a reality, and may not be all that far off.

The Sony Ericsson phone is rumored to come equipped with an Android 3.0 OS, has a touch screen display of about 4 inches, a 1GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 1GB of ROM. Where the PlayStation Phone will differ drastically from some of its competitors is that it will feature a game control pad that can slide out from underneath the device, similar to keyboards on some other mobile devices. The game pad will come with a d-pad, and anywhere from 6-9 buttons. This will differentiate the PS Phone from most of the other mobile gaming devices on the market, which must be played through touch alone, either by directly manipulating the game, or by controlling the action via a virtual onscreen gamepad.

Pre-Order the Latest PSP2 Games With Your PS Phone

The PlayStation Phone will not interfere or take the place of the PlayStation Portable 2, as it’s now also been confirmed that a PSP2 is on its way. The PS Phone will instead offer a gaming experience in line with what other smartphones on the market are producing, as well as the other mobile features one would expect from a modern smartphone. The PSP2 on the other hand will continue to push the boundaries of handheld gaming, and offer the most powerful handheld gaming device yet seen, one that will compete directly with Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS, and should out slug it in terms of sheer power.

While many serious gamers scoff at the majority of offerings found on mobile devices, much as they do with the also incredibly popular social games, there’s no denying that mobile gaming, like social gaming, has exploded. There’s no denying that Apple currently dominates the mobile gaming market, and some of the games on its platform have found incredible success, such as the 8 million selling Angry Birds.

How much of a direct impact Apple’s success has had on Sony’s business, specifically the PlayStation Portable, is tough to say, but it has to have had some impact. Any time someone is spending time or money on something else, it’s that much more likely that they won’t be spending time and money on whatever it is you’re offering.

Taking a Bite Out of Apple

This push by Sony into dedicated mobile gaming platforms should be another exciting step forward for PlayStation fans everywhere. It should offer even more ways for gamers to connect their different games and devices together, and more great gaming experiences for gamers. Sony will have a difficult time taking away market share in the mobile space from Apple and its legion of incredibly devoted (obsessive?) fans, but if any company can do it, Sony can.

So is the PlayStation Phone something you’d love to get your hands on? Can Sony compete with Apple in the mobile business? Are mobile games even worth caring about? Let us know what you think below.

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