You don't have to play Angry Birds. Play console quality games on Xperia Play, says Sony Ericsson

While many well known mobile and games brands were mentioned at Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play launch, there was one that was notable in its absence - surprising as it's already available on Android.

Of course, this means you will be able to play Angry Birds on your Android-powered Xperia Play come March, only just not using the PlayStation gaming keys.

In fact, it doesn't appear the 2D physics game is the sort of content that Sony Ericsson wants to highlight for its new device; it's more into promoting Xperia Play with 3D games such as Galaxy on Fire 2, FIFA, Asphalt and Dungeon Defenders.

That doesn't mean Angry Birds doesn't appear within the company's publicity material however.

"We don't want you to have to play just touchscreen Angry Birds the entire time. We want you to play true console quality games," says Xperia Play product manager, Aaron Duke in a YouTube video.

It's an interesting comparison to make, and one mirrors Sony's comparison between casual iPhone game Paper Toss in its US advertising campaign for the PSP Minis games.

But while Sony dissed Paper Toss, which has been downloaded over 15 million times (at least 15 times more than any PSP Minis game), Sony Ericsson's use of Angry Birds as a comparison point is much more nuanced, suggesting the Xperia Play will offer what we might call an Angry Birds plus experience.

Still, the argument whether gamers want more indepth and graphically complex experiences - and slide out hard keys - on their phones rather than accessed via a portable console remains to be concluded.

At the moment, the Angry Birds generation appears to winning.

Anyhow, here's Aaron Duke's take on the situation.

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