Xperia Play Detailed: First U.S. Carrier and Release Window

After officially revealing the existence of the Xperia Play with a commercial during the Super Bowl, Sony Ericsson has formally introduced the device during a presentation at the Mobile World Congress event today. After many leaks revealing just about all there was to know about it, we did get two especially important details today: Its first carrier in the United States and a release window.

The Xperia Play will begin shipping worldwide in March. Verizon Wireless will be the first carrier in the U.S. to have the phone -- it'll be releasing it sometime in "early spring." It's a major coup for Verizon after finally getting its hands on the iPhone this month.

The presentation was filled with all the hyperbolic statements you'd expect -- it's a "revolutionary milestone in our industry," "it's a killer new form of entertainment," and other similar comments were presented with an awkward shtick. Mixed in with all that was some actual information that will be of interest to gamers: 50 games will be available at launch, all of which are "optimized" for the phone. A PlayStation Store for the phone will launch later this year. At launch, it will ship with a "legendary" PlayStation One game that was not identified.

Larissa Meek Gina Carano Sanaa Lathan Ana Beatriz Barros Maria Menounos