PSone game sales on Xperia Play below 1,000 downloads
Destruction Derby is most popular title, but most downloads peak at 500
Classic PSone games on the Xperia Play have been selling at less than 1,000 downloads each according to new data, with some as low as 50 to 100.
Previously nicknamed the PSP Phone, one of the main selling points of Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play smartphone was PlayStation certification and support for PlayStation Suite. This includes the PlayStation Classics brand, with Crash Bandicoot being pre-loaded with the device.
However, an interview with Sony Ericsson head of market development Dominic Neil-Dwyer at PlayStation LifeStyle indicates that sales so far proven to be very low - Destruction Derby has sold between 500-1,000 downloads, Syphon Filter 100-500 units, MediEvil 100-500, Cool Boarders 2 between 100-500 downloads and Jumping Flash 50-100 copies.
"I think there's also an awareness thing for people that are getting their hands on the device and where they are choosing to purchase games. There's only a few, at the minute, PlayStation One titles there, and there's more coming on a regular basis, and there's the whole PlayStation as a content provider exclusive to the device, the story about that, that will emerge and people will see," said Neil-Dwyer in response to the figures.
"So, there's no concerns, it's a revolutionary device, it's shaking up the market, we're very pleased with it. In terms of getting the PlayStation Certified program out, generally, we're very happy. I think we'll make a full assessment of if it has achieved our expectations fully, further down the line, so we're very happy
"We know there's a lot more to come that we're not, obviously, releasing yet. We're releasing as we go, rather than telling everyone the full story, and I think everyone appreciates that you have a good line-up at the start of selling a device, because it is a smartphone and it has a good line-up – and that line-up will grow – and the feedback we got on that line-up is that it is a good line-up, so we're very happy where we are," he added.
In the full interview Neil-Dwyer insisted that Sony Ericsson was "pleased" with the device's launch, but also admitted, "it's very early to say if it has been great or not".
He also insisted that the Xperia Play would not be in direct competition with the forthcoming NGP and hinted that PlayStation Network support could be added in the future.