Major League Gaming To Push Xperia PLAY Android Smartphone

There's no question that Sony Ericsson's Xperia PLAY is a revolutionary device. It's the gaming smartphone of the decade until something else proves otherwise. But the fact is, Apple already has a huge share of the gaming market in the smartphone realm, and it's going to take some serious marketing power from SE in order to change that. But there's no company to partner with like Major League Gaming to prove just how serious the company is about taking mobile gaming on a phone to the next level.

This week, the two outfits agreed on a strategic partnership that will make Xperia PLAY the official mobile handset of MLG. To showcase the extensive capabilities of Xperia PLAY, each MLG Pro Circuit event will feature demonstrations, game challenges and giveaways, kicking off at the season opener on April 1 in Dallas. Sony Ericsson will also sponsor MLG Pro Player Dave "Walshy" Walsh and MLG Coach Andy "JT Bravo" Dudynsky for the 2011 season. Later this year, Sony Ericsson will also sponsor a new video segment on MLG.tv highlighting must-have apps and games.


If SE can nail down a few more similar partnerships, there's a good chance that the PLAY could gain some serious play time. Er, traction. You get the idea.

Sony Ericsson and Major League Gaming Announce Strategic Partnership Bringing Xperia™ PLAY to Gamers Nationwide
Sony Ericsson Xperia™ PLAY to be the official mobile handset of Major League Gaming

SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Ericsson and Major League Gaming (MLG), the world's largest professional video game league and provider of cross platform online videogame competition, today announced a partnership making Xperia™ PLAY  the official mobile handset of Major League Gaming. 

"Sony Ericsson is redefining mobile gaming with Xperia™ PLAY. It's designed to give you everything you need from a fully featured smartphone and the one thing you want– the ultimate mobile gaming experience," said Peter Farmer, Head of Marketing for North America, Sony Ericsson.  "We know that Major League Gaming's community of gamers will put that gaming experience to the ultimate test and we're looking forward to connecting with this highly engaged global community."

MLG is the premier property for video gaming competition and is the exclusive sanctioning body for both competitive professional and amateur gaming competition. It operates a rapidly growing digital platform with a community of approximately 8 million, as well as the multi-city Pro-Circuit tour. The 8th season of the Pro Circuit will include competitions in six major U.S. cities and will be streamed live online. With more than $1 million in prizes and player stipends, this will be the largest season in MLG history.

To showcase the extensive capabilities of Xperia™ PLAY, each MLG Pro Circuit event will feature demonstrations, game challenges and giveaways, kicking off at the season opener on April 1 in Dallas. Sony Ericsson will also sponsor MLG Pro Player Dave "Walshy" Walsh and MLG Coach Andy "JT Bravo" Dudynsky for the 2011 season. Later this year, Sony Ericsson will also sponsor a new video segment on MLG.tv highlighting must-have apps and games.  

"At MLG, we aim to showcase the latest technology that will benefit our community of gamers," said Sundance DiGiovanni, CEO, MLG. "Xperia™ PLAY is an amazing smartphone and a stellar gaming device bringing the best mobile capabilities to our audience."  

Xperia™ PLAY is powered by the latest version of the Android™ platform (Gingerbread version 2.3) and will also be the first PlayStation® Certified smartphone. This means it will have access to PlayStation® game content provided through the PlayStation® Suite initiative, currently under development by Sony Computer Entertainment and due to launch later this calendar year.

In addition to the PlayStation content from the PlayStation® suite framework there will be more than 50 games from various Android publishers optimized for Xperia PLAY available at launch. Users will have a best-in-class gaming experience with many popular titles, including Asphalt™ Adrenaline 6, Bruce Lee, Star Battalion, The Sims 3™ and Tetris™. Other leading franchises available at launch include, Guitar Hero™, Assassin's Creed™, and Splinter Cell™.

A pre-loaded application will enable users to easily discover and download titles that have been optimized for game play on the Xperia™ PLAY, access recently played games and see information about the games they have downloaded.