PS1 games sales on the Xperia Play off to a very slow start

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, the first Android smartphone to feature PlayStation certification and a slide out control pad, put one of its key features as having the ability to download and play original PlayStation 1 games on the phone.

Optimised for the device and its unique gaming controls, it appears they’ve not been selling half as well as many had anticipated. Over on the PlayStation Lifestyle blog, they’ve roughly tallied some games’ sales, using Android Marketplace sales data, as follows:

Cool Boarders 2: 100-500
Destruction Derby: 500-1,000
Jumping Flash: 50-100
MediEvil: 100-500
Syphon Filter: 100-500

Now of course you have to remember that these games currently only work on one handset (though we were eventually expecting to see further PlayStation certified handsets) and also come at a slightly higher premium than the majority of Android games, being priced at £3.99. But with some games potentially selling no more than 100 copies, that’s pretty shocking, considering the high-profile nature of the handset’s launch.

Speaking to the PlayStation Lifestyle team, Dominic Neil-Dwyer, Head of Market Development at Sony Ericsson, remained optimistic:

“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.”