If the test we performed during Podcast 37 was any indication, the Skype feature which was recently made available to PSPs, while neat, probably doesn't cut it when it comes to your main form of mobile communication. However, we can't be expected to carry around our cell phones and our PSPs. We only have one pair of multi-pocketed cargo pants, and, well, they really don't do much for our figure.

We might be in luck -- a recent issue of Sony Magazine has stoked the fires of a finely aged rumor that a PSP phone is currently in the works, possibly under Sony Ericsson. One article briefly mentions that a "PSP-style phone is apparently in development," and that the device could hit retail "as early as February." While it wouldn't be the first time Sony released a handheld upon an unsuspecting public with little to no fanfare, we would think we'd hear about something like this more than a month before it hits store shelves. We mean -- part gaming device, part mobile phone? The world's never seen anything like this before!

Personalization is all the rage in games these days, what with Miis, face-mapping and, er, laser-etched portables showing up all over the place. Now Nokia's jumping into the personalized gaming, uh, game with the Yamake initiative for the new N-Gage platform.

According to the announcement, Yamake mini-games (because "ya make" 'em ... get it?) will lets users add "personal content such as text, pictures, sound clips and movies from the mobile device or PC" to create picture puzzles, trivia quizzes and more. Sure, it doesn't sound like anything you can't already do online, but the ability to create and share these little personalized games easily on your phone might be cool. Trust us ... even if you don't get it, your little sister will love it.

[Via Engadget]

Update: EA let us know that only the DS game will be called "Spore Creatures." The mobile version keeps the simple "Spore" handle.

Spore Creatures for mobile phones is launching with the rest of the Spores on September 7. I figured that this Spore had no chance of infecting me. But after recently playing, I was impressed and surprised by its quality. The graphics -- and even its concept -- would be at home on a DS or Game Boy.

Like Spore on the DS, the mobile version of the game doesn't even try include everything from the PC version. Spore for phones centers on the Cell Phase of the game. You use the phone's joystick to steer the creature through a slurry of suspended protein and other early life forms, eating objects and avoiding enemies.

But like the other versions of Spore, you'll regularly use a creature editor to upgrade the character. While the body part choices are also scaled down, there's enough variety to make the creature your own. Certain parts, like a dangling lure, affect how other organisms behave. That lure attracts food to you, for example. Or you could add a shell for personal defense; hit a button, and hide inside for temporary invulnerability.

Following the news of impending Skype support on Slim PSPs, some were left wondering why the plumper PlayStation Portable failed to answer the voice over IP call. Speaking to SCEE's director of corporate communications Nick Sharples, Pocket Gamer has ascertained the simple answer. It has nothing to do with looks, and everything to do with the older PSP's waning memory and inability to remember long strings of numbers (just like grandpa).

"We had studied the possibility of supporting Skype with PSP-1000 but had to give it up because of the smaller size of main memory on PSP-1000 series," said Sharples. If you recall, the PSP-2000 benefits from 64MB of internal memory (as opposed to 32MB in the older model) which is used for UMD caching and the reduction of game loading times. The same enhancement also enables Skype to run and thus excludes the original PSP from online chatting. We certainly hope early adopters don't get too hung up on the disappointment [Goodbye! - Ed].

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Many game companies have already proven that you can't make good games on mobile phones -- in a few weeks, Sony will find out if the reverse is also true. With a late January software patch to the new PSP Slim, the Skype service will be accessible through the handheld. The press release we received from Sony didn't specify exactly why PSPhat isn't compatible with the service -- probably because it would try to eat any microphone attachment that tried to plug into it. Fatty.

For those not in the know, Skype is a voice chat program with nearly 250 million registered users worldwide. Any Skype user accessing the program from the PSP can chat with another user free of charge -- however, for a fee, the SkypeOut and SkypeIn features allow users to make and receive calls to and from regular phones.

Sony hasn't done a great job of keeping this news under their belt, but regardless, we're intrigued to see exactly how well the service will work on the handheld. We'll make sure to keep you updated when more details arise.

Here at Joystiq, when we hear about cool technology like Bluetooth or the iPhone, our minds jump to one thing -- how can this make gaming better? So you can imagine our thought process when Google announced its Android mobile operating system yesterday. Problem is, we don't know enough about cell phone game development to say for sure what, if anything, Android will do for cell phone gaming.

Luckily, Jon over at the Zen and Games has "done [his] share of time in the cell phone game development trenches," as he puts it, and is excited by the possibilities of Google's standardized OS. Among them:

• Google's OS will hopefully provide a stable, standard platform that isn't as buggy as the current Java Virtual Machine (like what Nokia's trying to do, but better because it's Google)
• Android might force cell phone makers to create phones with hardware specs. that match their stylish case designs (instead of today's crop of flashy-looking phones that can barely handle text messaging)
• The open software development kit means anyone can develop games for Android (possibly leading to a resurgence in indie mobile gaming)

While we're generally skeptical about mobile gaming, the Google name is enough to give us hope for something better than The O.C. Mobile.

Stuffing an electronic device in your pocket simply isn't worth enduring the oddly shaped bulge if it can't play some decent games, right? Sony Ericsson seemingly agrees in an interview with Pocket Gamer, with the phone company's Peter Ahnegard (touché!) discussing the possibility of releasing a PlayStation-branded phone. Ahnegard explains that sticking the PlayStation name on a phone is easier said than done, as consumers have certain expectations from such a prominent label.

"We're not launching a brand of handset simply because we can, but because we can lead up to the expectations of the consumer," he said. "Up until today we haven't felt we could launch a PlayStation phone because it wouldn't be recognised as a true continuation of that brand of products." When further prodded, Ahnegard admits that a PlayStation phone is "obviously something that we're looking at" and expects it to materialize in some form before Christmas... "but exactly which Christmas I can't confirm!" Well, that narrows it down.

A phone that has the ability to play NES roms isn't anything new, but a phone that was designed specifically for that purpose (see the "A" and "B" buttons) is plenty to trigger our desire synapses. Oh, and dig this: It's got TV out, so you can play on a big screen, much to the delight of people at awful parties everywhere.

But now, as you've probably guessed, it's time for the sad news. You can't buy the phone (made by Hong Kong's Gionee) here. But, maybe that's for the best. Can you imagine how irritating it would be to watch YouTube videos of Super Mario Bros. speed runs interrupted every 20 seconds with "Gram Mam Calling"?

[Via Cell Blog]

Tired of tapping at tiny, ergonomically suspect buttons to play your favorite mobile phone games? How about putting on a sleeve and flexing your muscles instead?

Last September, mobile developer Arto Holopainen posted about a proof-of-conept case study for using two sets of EKG sensors to control a Snake game via muscle flexing. Now, Holopainen has expanded the concept with a wearable sleeve that translates flexes into standard mobile phone commands.

Holopainen sees the device being used for muscle rehabilitation or as an aid to disabled phone users, but we can't stop picturing a subway car full of hapless passengers flailing about to control their games of Bejeweled. Better yet, maybe someone will adapt the device for a line of specially-designed bodybuilding games. Who has the rights to the Lou Ferrigno license?

[Update: Fixed typo in Holopainen's name. Thanks Hakobus.]

[Via QuicklyBored]

Our high esteem for Tetris has dwindled in recent years, with it available for nearly every device made, like an ex-girlfriend showing up at each party with a new date. A gadget usually plays Tetris before it plays Doom. But mobile phone Tetris -- usually the worst kind of Tetris -- just got a little classier with EA's new multiplayer version.

Tetris DS hooks us with its online multiplayer matches, and the mobile phone version holds similar appeal. Over the air matches let players compete against friends or strangers without having to be nearby, and a chat system taunts opponents from other area codes.

If you think everything relates to Tetris -- even sex -- check EA Mobile or your carrier's site for more information about cost and supported phones.

Evidence is mounting that Sony is at least looking into the possibility of adding cell phone functionality to the PlayStation Portable, or adding PlayStation-branded content to other cell phones.

The first clue came last week when Sony Computer Entertainment corporate executive Izumi Kawanishi admitted in an interview with Japan's Nikkei BP (translated by IGN) that using the PSP as a cell phone was "a possibility" that he is personally interested in. Of course this idle chatter is far from anything official, but the idea seems like a natural progression for a system that will soon be able to do everything from playing movies to taking photos.

Then, early this week, CNet Asia noticed that Sony Ericsson Senior VP Rikko Sakaguchi mentioned at a conference that the company "is working on something" with regards to a PlayStation phone, but that "the surprise must be kept for the future." Again, nothing even close to official, but considering that classic Playstation games will soon be downloadable to the PSP, could cell phone emulation be in the cards as well?

(Pictured: an existing skin for the i330 cell phone, not meant to represent any sort of actual Playstation phone)

Read -- Kawanishi interview on IGN
Read -- CNet Asia Blog post

One of the sleeper hits at the Konami booth is something that's hardly noticeable at all. Having only about a two square yards of space, Dance Dance Revolution Mobile for cell phones is something that deserves an honorable mention.

Some DDR veterans may think this is taboo, but playing it on-the-go with a cell phone is surprisingly lucid. The demo I got my mitts on had such songs like Paranoia and B4U on it, totally revamped for the mobile platform.

If you play on light or standard mode, you may even be able to get away with using the familiar center controls. However the real action starts when you up the ante to hard mode and use the number pad. Even digits mark the arrow directions, giving both thumbs enough room to cross from side to side. If you're the type gamer who embraces cell phone games, then this is something to keep an eye out for.

From a startup implementing graphics shadowing in a novel way to this MMO middleware platform, keeping an eye on new technology is one way to attempt to second-guess the future of games. Here's one to watch: BigWorld Technology have come up with a new product which seems to be aimed squarely at the pervasive (or MMO-on-the-go) gaming market.

As well as mobile-only MMOs, the BigWorld Mobile product claims to allow "direct interaction" into established MMOs. Being able to connect with the world away from the PC or console is a great way for developers to keep users hooked, but presumably the technology only works in conjunction with BigWorld's other products, limiting the games to which it is relevant at the moment.