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The Xperia Play is a 4.0 inch 16:9 Android handheld that plays everything up to N64 well, made by Sony Ericsson. It came out in April 2011 at $80. Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 MSM8255 with 512 MB of RAM.
Who it's for
Buy it if
- You want to play everything up to N64.
- You want it in a jeans pocket: the front is 119 x 62 mm.
Skip it if
- You want Dreamcast games: it scores only 20 out of 100.
Xperia Play videos
What it plays
Plays up to: N64. Chip: Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 MSM8255.
Scores out of 100. 100 means the system runs at full speed with no known issues on this device. 80 or more plays well (green), 50 to 79 plays partly (yellow).
What owners say
“I used to love my xperia play, and I always looked forward for an android gaming device.”
“I never quite loved a portable as much as I did my Xperia Play, but it became unusable.”
“I loved my Xperia play back in the day. Personally I thought the capacitive touch pads worked pretty well imitating virtual joysticks.”
What the specs mean
16:9 screen
PSP and Switch games fill it. 4:3 home consoles show bars at the sides, and Game Boy games look small.
Based on: Display math: native screen shapes of each system
Sharpest fit: GBA
At 3x, GBA fills 84% of the screen with even pixels. Filling the rest means stretching, which some people smooth with a filter.
Based on: Display math: largest whole-number scale that fits the screen
Small battery for its class
None of the other 102 Android handhelds in our database have a smaller battery than this 1,500 mAh (the middle one has 5,000 mAh). The heavier the system you run, the sooner it runs out.
Based on: Our handheld database: battery of 103 Android handhelds
Only one pair of shoulder buttons
PS1 games that use L2 and R2 need those moved to other buttons.
Based on: Layout data; the PS1 controller has four shoulder buttons
DS on one screen
DS games show both screens shrunk side by side, or one big screen you swap. The touch screen stands in for the stylus.
Based on: Layout data: single screen with touch
Android 2.3.7
Besides emulators it runs Android games and game streaming apps, from your PC or the cloud.
Based on: Operating system data
Rating
Original consoles get no RETROPULSE score: it rates handhelds made for emulation.
Good
- Plays everything up to N64 well
- Video out to a TV
- Low price
Not so good
- Not built for PS2 games
- TFT screen, not IPS or OLED
- Small 1,500 mAh battery
Screen fit
Screen: 4.0 inch, TFT, 16:9, 854 x 480.
| System | Original | Sharpest scale | Screen filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Boy | 160 x 144 | 3x (480 x 432) | 51% |
| GBA | 240 x 160 | 3x (720 x 480) | 84% |
| NES and SNES | 256 x 224 | 2x (512 x 448) | 56% |
| Genesis | 320 x 224 | 2x (640 x 448) | 70% |
| PS1 and N64 | 320 x 240 | 2x (640 x 480) | 75% |
| DS, one screen | 256 x 192 | 2x (512 x 384) | 48% |
Whole-number scales keep every pixel the same size. Screen 854 x 480.
Size
119 x 62 x 16 mm, 175 g. Fits a jeans pocket
- Xperia Play (119 x 62 mm)
- iPhone 15 (71.6 x 147.6 mm)
True scale, front view. Jeans pocket = front no bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (160 x 82 mm).
Specs
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Chip | Qualcomm Snapdragon S2, MSM8255 |
| CPU | Scorpion |
| Cores | Single |
| Clock speed | 1.0 GHz - 1.5 GHz |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 205 |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Cooling | No |
| Screen | |
| Size | 4.0" |
| Type | TFT |
| Resolution | 854 x 480 |
| Pixel density | 244 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Dual screen | No |
| Controls | |
| D-pad | Separated Cross, Lower placement |
| Analog sticks | Yes |
| Stick layout | Double, symetrical |
| Shoulder buttons | No L2/R2 |
| Rumble | Yes |
| Gyroscope | No |
| Connectivity | |
| Storage | 400 MB |
| SD card | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes (?) |
| Bluetooth | Yes (2.1) |
| USB-C | No |
| Video out | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Build | |
| Form factor | Horizontal |
| Dimensions | 119 x 62 x 16 mm |
| Weight | 175 g |
| Battery | 1500 mAh |
| Shell | Plastic |
| Speakers | Back |
| Software | |
| Operating system | Android |
| Android version | 2.3.7 |
Questions
Can the Xperia Play play PS2 games?
Not well. PS2 scores 0 out of 100. It plays everything up to N64 well.
Is the Xperia Play good for GBA?
GBA runs at full speed. At 3x it fills 84% of the screen with even pixels.
Does it have a headphone jack?
Yes.
How big is the battery?
1,500 mAh. The middle Android handheld in our database has 5,000 mAh.
Can it connect to a TV?
Yes, it has video out.
How much does the Xperia Play cost?
It launched at about $80 in Apr 2011. Prices on the used market change, so check current listings.
Price and newer models
$80 at launch $60 to $120
The newest in its line in our database, out since Apr 2011.
Similar handhelds
Specs and emulation scores from the retrocatalog.com handheld database. The score out of 10 is our own.