Now, thanks to the Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona, Spain, the company has decided to take this opportunity to release new details on the device, as well as a solid release date.

 

According to Gamespot, Sony Ericsson announced at an event held before the opening of the congress that the Xperia Play would be shipping worldwide as of March 2011. Yes, that means we may be seeing the Play making the rounds as early as next month.

 

The company also revealed some new details for the gaming smartphone, including that it will run on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). According to Sony Ericsson, the Play will also be capable of running HD games at 60 fps (frames per second).

 

It was also announced that the Xperia Play will enjoy the support of a large number of major game publishers including Electronic Arts, Namco Bandai, Glu Mobile, PopCap and Gameloft. Sony said this would mean that titles from the Battlefield and Dead Space franchises could see mobile versions being launched for the Play.

 

Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO, Kaz Hirai, was also present at the unveiling, teasing gamers by stating that the Xperia Play will launch with "one legendary PlayStation One title." Of course, he didn't mention what that title would be.

 

It’s still unclear as to how exactly users will be able to purchase games for the Xperia Play though, as these will be distributed via Sony’s revamped PlayStation Store, which unfortunately is only slated to launch later this year. 

 

At this stage no details have been revealed concerning price. Sony Ericsson did also state that the US would be one of the first countries to see the device thanks to a partnership with Verizon, so it remains to be seen how global the "worldwide" release is going to be. For now, pen March 2011 in your dairy if you’re interested in the Xperia Play.