Gamers need to re-buy PSN content for Xperia Play

PlayStation owners who have previously downloaded PSN content will have to re-purchase any content they wish to access on their Xperia Play.

The new Android handset will be compatible with a range of emulated PSone software as well as Android games from a number of publishers.

"Xperia Play owners will have to re-purchase the games, so it’s not totally integrated," Sony Ericsson UK and Ireland’s managing director Nathan Vautier told GameSpot.

"I think the exciting thing is that there are games which people are very, very aware of."

As was revealed last night, the Xperia Play It is a slide-open device that includes the Xperia-based touch-screen smartphone experience with the iconic PlayStation D-pad, symbol buttons and analogue sticks.

The hardware has been put together with close co-operation between the phone and gaming divisions of the electronics giant – that means classic PlayStation games exclusive for the device, with one bundled at launch.

That said, Sony Ericsson said it had lots of content from mobile games firms ready too: EA’s Need For Speed, Sims 3 and FIFA 10; GLU Mobile/Activision’s mobile Guitar Hero; and Gameloft’s Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell games.

The device arrives globally from March.