yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xperia Play General] yoyoman2:
After a month of messing with it, my answer's a definite YES.

I've had iPhones and Android phones, and since I get a bit too into smartphones I tried really hard to use them as practical game devices... and the fact of the matter is that they simply weren't cut out for serious gaming.

Touch-screen works better for some strategy genres, but for the majority of genres it's just horrible.

The major title for me is Sacred Odyssey. I owned this and (tried) to love it on iPhone, but controls were just not good. Tried it on my old Android phone and pretty much came to the same conclusion... on Xperia Play though, it's like the experience is completely re-imagined just because you have truly responsive controls, and your thumbs aren't inhabiting 1/3rd of the screen's real estate.

From there-on, it just got better and better... whether it was sifting through menus in Eternal Legacy, or finally being able to jump right in platformers like Cordy/Meganoid/Pixeline... the Xperia Play is hands down the BEST gaming experience that smartphones have to offer.

...I've especially been having fun with TigerArcade, because fighting games were always the biggest weak point of smartphone gaming, and now I can play them without any insane 'tap and pray' input flaws.

It single handed ended my crusade for dual-core phones. I don't even want the Atrix anymore... you could come over right now and try to trade me an EVO 3D for this phone, and I'd send you right back where you came from, the Xperia Play's just that good :D

Here's my video review of it (I might re-do it because I now have a much better camera):

Xperia Play Review - The Anomaly in Technology; A Jack of All Trades and a Master of all Trades
[Xperia Play General] skyinthesea:
Hey so thats ur video! That was one of many reviews i went through when deciding which smartphone was going to be my first.

And yes, i would recommend it, it does everything i need it too, plays emulators great and battery life is suprisingly good! Though this is my first smartphone (came from nokia 6288) so i dont really have anything to compare it to.
[Xperia Play General] captain67:
My old android was the original samsung galaxy running 1.6

Everything about this device is a huge improvement.

Sent from my R800a
[Xperia Play General] Logseman:
What's that "original Samsung Galaxy"? What's its name? I've been curious about it, but I seem not to be able to find it. You don't mean the Galaxy S?
[Xperia Play General] AndroHero:
I remeber the original galaxy, it was quite a small low end phone, with like and orange and silver directional button :confused:
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
I haven't played with a Droid 3 but I can tell you performance wise and every day to day use, the G2x absolutely destroys any single core phone by miles! (If you don't have access to a G2x especially since your on Verizon, check Phonedogs review on YouTube)

Battery life obviously sucks because of the performance your getting. But it's not as bad as you think.

The Droid 3 might not seem as fast due to Motorola's bloat.. Motorola's devices are always slowed down by their UI which seems to be the most resource hogging of all skins.

What's the screen refresh rate on the Play? (Use Quadrant to check)

And yes, Tegra only games do work on other devices. But I can say that the games are more smoother and you get higher frame rates when you play them on a Tegra device.

Just keep in mind I am in no way shape or form bashing the Play because the Play is a phenomenal device no doubt about that.
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
I realized you wouldn't notice any differences after I had finished posting because the Droid 3 has Motorola's UI on top which significantly slows down things a lot. But of Verizon had a dual core phone with stock Android, you would have definitely seen a big difference. If you really want to see how fast a dual core device is, I would recommend you check out a G2x even though its not available on Verizon. You would notice the difference immediately.
[Xperia Play General] captain67:
The samsung galaxy gt-i7500, not galaxy s. It was the first android in a very long line of galaxy phones

Sent from my R800a
[Xperia Play General] hairdewx:
I'm sure many of us on this forum are a little bit more tech savvy than the average person ;)

We are aware that the Droid 3 uses Motorola's custom UI, but that is not the issue. The issue is that the Play already performs very well on its own (Verizon's version is very close to stock Android), and even if a dual core phone does offer better day-to-day use performance, it is not by much more. Saying a dual core "destroys" it is simply hyperbole :)
[Xperia Play General] Deoxlar:
I

Please name an app or game that your dual core g2 can run and the xperia play can't? Now face me in any fps online with your g2 and see how refresh rates help you.
[Xperia Play General] Deoxlar:
And don't say in the future blah blah blah... As of now you have 0 advantage except for better camera and recording.
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
I did not mention anything about apps that run exclusively on dual core phones. But I can add that Apps do start and load faster on a dual core phone. Except for some apps which for some reason seem to hate dual core.

And I didn't say anything about FPS's. But the higher the refresh rate of your screen the smoother the display and thus the more the device has to work to output at that refresh rate.
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
I think I can confidently say that the G2x, NOT the Droid 3, destroys the Play. One really good example would be web browsing where its butter smooth. And yes, the Play does run stock Android 2.3 so it is pretty fast on single core. Now, if the Droid 3 had stock Android on it, it would destroy the Play.

You mention that in day to day usage you don't really see the advantages of the second core and I would say your wrong. Its very noticeable, maybe not on the Droid 3, but if we were going to be fair and have the Droid 3 run stock Android, then you would notice it immediately. Apps launch instantly and you really start to notice it when you have multiple apps running in the background.
[Xperia Play General] captain67:
What the heck are you talking about? The Play doesn't use stock Android, it has Timescape, the Sony Ericsson Home launcher and several other services that are SE customs. The only recent single core Android with "stock" is the Nexus S
[Xperia Play General] Techdread:
Please stop posting we get what your trying to say, even though your talking bull****.

The fact of the matter is No phone out there comes close to the level of enjoyment when playing games then the Xperia Play.

So if your into gaming the Play is the Only Option. IMHO
[Xperia Play General] Rogue Leader:
The Verizon Droid 3 while it has some bloatware, is close to stock android. It seems that Verizon does that to their phones (remove any device maker UI features) to try and keep their phones consistent and therefore easier to use. Same reason they stick backup manager on every Verizon phone (as discussed in another thread) because even though google backs up your contacts people are sometimes not bright enough to figure that out. which brings us to:

The Verizon version runs basically bone stock Gingerbread 2.3 which causes one of the issues with the Verizon phone. When stripping out the SE UI features they forgot to turn on the stock Facebook contact sync, quite annoying.

@enoch861 - I'm sure that thanks to optimization and design a phone like the G2x very well may be faster than the Droid 3 and make it a better example of a dual core than the Droid 3. But the fact of the matter is the play runs games at the same graphical level and speed as the faster dual core phones. As well the OS responds quick and snappy, and the browser runs smoothly etc etc. On top of that it has the advantage of having the built in controller which we have proven to be an absolutely killer feature.

Speed is not everything, the Play is fast enough, so this can continually be debated all day but in the end, running faster doesn't necessarily make it better.
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
Games do play on the same graphical level but not on the same speed (Frames Per Second). The thing is, the Play plays games at a FPS where the game is really smooth. But this phone gets higher FPS. You won't necessarily notice it, but it's there.

But like I had said in my original post, the Play is a killer gaming phone and is THE phone to get if you want to play games. And no phone can stand up to it in terms of gaming until dual core optimized games come out. But in terms of pure performance, the Play is behind.

Faster isnt better because it uses more battery. But faster is better everywhere else. Especially if your a power user. Also once ICS is released, at that point, there will be no arguing which is better (performance and maybe games of they are optimized by that time).

My whole point from the beginning has been about performance. Not gaming.
[Xperia Play General] hairdewx:
You act like the Droid 3 has a lot of performance setbacks from the Motorola UI, but it doesn't. It runs pretty damn fast and the web browsing is also "butter" smooth. It also loads apps lightning fast.

But you know what? So does the Play ;)

Everyday use? Let's see for me:

-Gmail

-messaging

-phone

-browsing

-g+ app

-music

-facebook app

-emulators

-games

They all load and run fast and great.

So lets say the G2x loads those apps in and average of 250ms vs the Plays loading time of 500ms. I'm being generous and saying the G2x loads apps twice as fast. Is that really "destruction" or is it just barely noticeable in real world use? :)
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
But you missed my point.

I was talking a out pure performance not gaming.

If your into gaming, the Play IS the device to get. If you want performance, then the Play is NOT the device to get. Simple.

Also, like I said earlier, you need to experience the second core (on a dual core phone with stock Android) to know what I'm talking about. Its kind of like saying a Pentium 4 can beat the crap out of a Core 2 duo which is... impossible.
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
I did not say the Droid 3 is not fast. Ofcourse it is. But to try and make the comparison fair since the play has stock Android, I compared it to the G2x which is also stock. On the G2x, it is very very noticeable how fast it is. Like I said earlier, go and play with a G2x or maybe even watch a review video (a good one would be phonedog's for example) .

Its very noticeable once you start leaving all those programs running in the background. Most of the time we actually leave the "service " running in the background, not the app itself.
[Xperia Play General] Rogue Leader:
I understand what you're saying but you just said it yourself, the games on a dual core device have a higher FPS but you'd probably not notice it. Same with the extra performance of regular apps. The point we are all trying to make is that the Play runs games at a perfectly fine speed that they don't NEED to be any faster, as well the standard performance of the phone is fast enough it doesn't NEED to be faster. Its not like you're waiting for an app to load and staring at the wall like you would be using an old PC vs a new one. The difference is in milliseconds, and yes I am a power user and I still have no performance issues with the phone. Nothing at all that would make me say "man I wish this phone was dual core".

I'm sure some day the OS and apps will be designed with that performance variance in mind, and a single core phone just won't cut it. But that day isn't here yet, and by the time it is the Play2 will probably be out.
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
The difference is huge... but you have to use it to realize it. I had the same arguments as you before when I had the myTouch 4G. Then I got a Nexus S which was a beast of a device, then I got the G2x and I immediately noticed a difference. And everyone who uses a G2x can tell you that you notice a big difference immediately. You are on Verizon so you don't have access to a G2x but if you could play around with a Droid 3 with CM7 on it. You would notice it immediately that's not to say that the Droid 3 is slow.

The Play is fast until you experience faster. A Lamborghini is fast until you experience a McLaren F1 or a Bugatti.

And yes the FPS on a dual core are higher and you will notice it at times. But then again you have to own a dual core phone that is on the same level (stock Android) as the play to see what I'm talking about.
[Xperia Play General] Rogue Leader:
Listen I know the difference between speeds I've been working with Computers for over 20 years. The question is not whether its noticeable the question is whether it works more than acceptably which it does.

The point here since we have gone off on such a tangent is the OP was asking if the Play is worth getting. He didn't say he wanted another phone, and the PLAY has the features he wants and plays the games MORE THAN well enough. Also for day to day tasks the Play performs fast and more than acceptably.

What you don't seem to get is nobody cares that the G2x is faster or the Droid 3 is faster. If the Play runs the games fine then who needs faster because in the end the Play has a PS controller built in and the rest don't.
[Xperia Play General] quazimojo:
Yeah i knew going in there were faster phones out there and more to come(obviously) but when it comes to playing games there is no comparison period.

Physical controls just make everything 1000x better .

So yes if you want some awesome emulation with physical controls attached plus games tailored to this phone then the Xperia Play is THE phone to own no matter what short comings it might have.

If the Xperia Play is a epic failure sales wise we might not see another gaming specific phone for quite some time.

Like some others have stated though i can see using my phone for things like emulation and such long after i stop even using it as a phone, but i cant think of any phone i have ever owned before that i would have considered using for anything other then a doorstop when i was done with it :D.
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
The funny thing is you seem to think that Im ripping on the Play when in fact I'm not. The Play performs like every other 1ghz Snapdragon device. Its a phenomenal device and is in no means slow.

My point was that dual core is better performance wise. You can't seem to be able to see that dual core is in fact an improvement over single core and you seem to deny that its noticeable. Since your on Verizon, your exposure to such speed demons may be limited and maybe that's where you seem to drawing up your conclusions. Nothing wrong with that. I don't know if you have looked at my signature yet but I've gone through many devices and me saying that this phone is noticeably fast is really saying something about this phone.

If the Play is the only highend smartphone you've owned (I can't seem to remember if you had a Droid 3 or not), then I'm deeply sorry.

In the end each phone has something that the other doesnt have. And in the end you are the only person and the other guy whos name i cant remember since im writing this on the phone who doesn't care. And in the very end I'm done.
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
My point exaclty.

Rogue Leader just doesn't seem to accept that there are devices faster than the Play. (Not to bring you into this whole fiasco).
[Xperia Play General] hexen2006:
Just get it... it worth it...

every penny... every minute... you spend on it, you will not regret it.

I don't care which phone is the best phone available... but I'm sure I can beat all the phones available with my Toshiba Satellite... and that doesnt make those phone not-worthy.

XPERIA PLAY FTW!
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
Last time I checked, your Satellite is not a phone ;)
[Xperia Play General] FK1983:
LMAO, I stopped reading right there.

There isn't much difference at all between single core and dual core phones at the moment in daily use as the apps and games aren't made to take advantage, memory has a MUCH bigger factor in performance at this time than a single or dual core cpu.

By the time apps and games use dual core cpu's as standard your dual core phone will be just as outdated as our plays so good luck with that!

Makes me laugh people trying and trying to find reasons why they got a dual core phone so early when its really not the time, look how many years it took home computers to take advantage of dual core......
[Xperia Play General] captain67:
You backpedal like a politician.

Sent from my R800
[Xperia Play General] Mael5trom:
i just bought a play, im in australia and most people prefer to buy phones outright. i could have bought an sgs2 (which frankly ****s on the g2x hardcore with its outdated tegra 2 trash)

i tried them both out instore, and whilst the 1080p video recording at 30fps, 1080p movie playback (flash included), lightness, speed, amazing browser, beautiful screen were all nice things and well within my budget i still got the play, because it has controls and it does the job on everything else adequately.

not only that im unsure android 2.3 properly supports the use of dual core to its fullest extent. much of the speed your noticing is probably more related to the fact that the updated soc has faster buses, better ram, more system bandwidth as well as a single core a9 being up to 100% faster than an a8 core under the right conditions.

im not sure if your purely trying to be hard headed about this or not, most of these people arnt fussed that there phone is a fraction of a second slower to perform some tasks, and the browser is a touch laggy, if u own a recent slab device it should be the sgs2, but i got the play because i like playing games, i have 6000 roms on my phone as well as a nice selection of psx and arcade games, damned if they will play any good on a slab phone.
[Xperia Play General] Rogue Leader:
You seriously need to take reading comprehension.

I've acknowledged MULTIPLE times that yes there are phones that are faster than the Play. I've also acknowledged that yes you can see a difference in speed. I've also used MANY phones that while I have not owned them I take every opportunity to try everything I can because I enjoy this stuff.

I never said you were ripping in the Play.

ALL I said was that yes while the other phones may be faster, the performance of the play is MORE THAN fast enough to run all games perfectly well, and all apps perfectly well, but with the added bonus of the built in gamepad that makes it better.

You can't seem to accept that that while other phones are faster the gamepad feature trumps that, in MY (and apparently many others) opinion. Not everyone cares about bleeding edge speed when there is something that has a feature that they want and does everything else perfectly fine.
[Xperia Play General] yoyoman2:
I'll have to agree with this.

The Xperia PLAY doesn't feature the latest in dual-core technology, but anyone who sees it run Bruce Lee at a smooth, consistent 60fps wouldn't care. Even better's that it does the one thing NO other smartphone can do; provide competent game controls.

For anyone who's experienced iPhone trying and failing miserably to be a 'real' game system, the Xperia PLAY is a big deal. I barely even touch my PSP/DS anymore.
[Xperia Play General] quazimojo:
Anyone interested in a gaming phone has no other choice really so its all very simple and there should never be any comparisons at all quite frankly.

Do you like games and emulation ALOT ? get the Xperia play and dont look back.

Do you browse the web,facebook and only occasionally game on your phone ? there are better alternatives for sure.

I loved my PSP,DS etc and have always loved portable gaming in general so when i saw the Xperia Play the choice was so simple and i certainly did not come to the forums looking for reassurance on my purchase.

Many phone owners these days jump from one phone to the next and many of these people will never see the true value of the phone as a gaming/emulation platform because they need to have the latest and greatest which i understand..

With phones though we have no real competition to the Xperia Play since its one of a kind device and for all we know it might be the last of its kind for quite sometime, if it fails miserably, which i predict its not going to do so well but i am good with that because i feel almost like they built this phone for my own personal needs :D.

All the bickering needs to end seriously as it helps no one and really hurts the people coming to this particular thread looking for some solid advice.
[Xperia Play General] AndroHero:
I think you should educate yourself, or atleast research the subject your running your mouth on before you do it, the fact of the matter is, no matter how powerfull dual core device are, and no1 is desputing the fact they are much more powerfull, android is currently optimised for single core arm cpu's that is the reason why people find little performance diffrence between these devices, they are not lying or wrong, the bottom line is a dual core device will not be able to run android any faster than a single core device until google optimise android for dual core cpu's.
[Xperia Play General] hexen2006:
hehe I know, but I just wanted to crush your LG, as you wanted to crush my play with a dual core.

The thing is all know you phone is superior to most of phones available, but it will be obsolete soon as all electronics these days.

The question was if the PLAY was worth getting... and it is... the BONUS on it is that the PLAY will remain desired and used with all the emulators while most phones got forgotten. IMO that gives the PLAY a EXTRA added Value
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
LOL!

Agreed.

The Play is worth getting if you game a lot. Period.

Question is, will it flop?

I do agree though, the Play is the most unique of all Android Phones in that it has a built in Controller. But that doesn't stop it from failing miserably.

I will say that I would love to own a Play for my self (so would other people), but I would have to import it and live with slow 2G even though I don't have a data plan and use wifi 100% of the time.

All in all, it was a pretty interesting argument we had haha
[Xperia Play General] Rogue Leader:
Unfortunately in response to that I can say this:

When I bought my Play at the Verizon store the salesman immediately said "seriously?" in a manner like - I can't believe anyone wants that phone. He proceeded to pull out the ONE Play they had in the store and he even told me it was the only one they ever had. He had to search half the store to find it.

The phone has been dropped from $199 to $99 in just over a couple months its been released by Verizon.

I've shown it to all my friends which every single one thinks its the greatest thing they have ever seen.... but they never have seen or heard of it before so I guess the marketing is sucking as well. ONE person knew vaguely what it was but told me he had heard of a phone with an "Xbox controller".

I'd call this phone a "cult classic", when you can't get one anymore a lot of people are gonna say "damn that was a good idea, wish I could get that now!"... well If you had bought it then, it would be available now..
[Xperia Play General] enoch861:
I feel ya.

You know what I find funny and sad is, many great products are let down by sucky or no marketing. Example? The Play, Zune and others..

But wow, they seriously only had one Play in stock? That's just... ridiculous. It must not be selling at all.

In a few years, the play is gonna be a "classic" for sure.