Remember the Sony Xperia Play? It was a high-end (for 2011) Android smartphone with a sliding mechanism that revealed a PlayStation style gamepad. The phone never officially got a full sequel, but a new leak has revealed that Sony came close to releasing one.
Photos have made their way online that purportedly show the Sony Xperia Play 2. Shared on Reddit, the images show a device with an upgraded design over the original Xperia Play, including a flat front with what appear to be capacitive Menu, Home, Back, and Search buttons for Android. Remember those?
Sliding open the phone reveals a physical d-pad and Square, X, Circle, and Triangle buttons that PlayStation is known for. There are two touchpads to mimic the dual analog sticks found on PlayStation controllers, too, as well as Menu, Select, Start, and 3D buttons.
There's a single camera on the back of the phone as well as a Sony Ericsson logo. And up top there are SIM and SD card slots plus L and R trigger buttons.
This Xperia Play 2 was spotted in a Chinese used market application, and the seller apparently says that it's concept hardware. There's little information about when this device would have launched, but the original model was released in 2011 so it seems likely that Sony Ericsson would have been planning to launch this new version in 2012 or maybe 2013.
The first Xperia Play was sort of like one of the original gaming phones. Today those devices focus on high-end specs and gaming PC-like LEDs, but most of them are full-touch smartphones. This Xperia Play 2 offers physical controls that would likely appeal to a lot of mobile gamers if Sony were to release a new model today.
Would you be interested in this Xperia Play 2 if it were launched now with modern specs?