With the rumors of the “Playstation Phone” now dying down after the latest rumors hinted that the Sony Computer Entertainment will not be involved in the device, the gaming industry now has its focus and excitement on the upcoming PSP 2 –which is not a smart phone at all.

Sony Ericsson will be working on a gaming-centric Android device on its own. While this is certainly interesting, it is hardly exciting for many hardcore gamers. And thus, the mobile platform has once again been denied a position in the heart of the games industry.

But what is it about the smart phone that makes serious gamers turn elsewhere?

There are a myriad of factors that all fall into play once the argument starts going, and above everything else, the most important factor is games. Sure, major game companies do port entire games to the smart phone. Lucas Art’s old point and click titles are available as apps and so is Capcom’s Phoenix Wright. Square Enix also released new mini-RPGs and a couple of old Final Fantasy titles as well. But that is probably as far as it goes. The touch screen is only meant for point and click or menu driven games. Other titles that require accuracy of controls such as fighting games, first person shooters, platformers and many other action titles fail badly with the accelerometer and the touch controls.

Storage media is also another issue. The PSP makes use of UMD technology while the Nintendo DS has its own cartridges. The smart phone relies on downloads. This makes it harder for developers to add in more content as the downloadable size of the installer grows larger.

Lastly, the nature of the mobile phone comes into play. The fact is that hardcore games take plenty of time. Unlike casual apps that can easily be paused or stopped at any moment, hardcore titles have plenty of events that if interrupted by an incoming message or call, would really spoil the mood for the player.

For all the big news about the upcoming PSP phone, it seems that the latest update makes the most sense and at the same time, makes us wonder if all our attention and excitement should be better spent elsewhere.

According to the latest buzz about the PSP phone online; the new device is not a PSP phone.

So what have we all been blabbering about for the past few weeks? Apparently, the next Sony Ericsson device will be an Android gaming handset. While it will have a control pad, buttons and what appears to be the well known button icons used by Sony Computer Entertainment, the device is a full SE product.

This means that the device will not be supported by SCE, and it will not have SCE made games. The only games that will be playable on the device are specially made Android platform titles –to be specific, simple game apps. While this is certainly disappointing for many hardcore gamers hoping to find a smart phone with better features, it at least explains why some facts never seemed to add up.

One initial reservation we have always had is that we know for a fact that SCE would never allow a different Sony department to develop a Playstation brand device. Another is the recently leaked event invite for a December 9 launch of the device –something that SCE would also never do. Of course, there are plenty of other hard to believe rumors that came in between.

The bottom line right here however is that this device does not excite hardcore gamers. The PSP Go failed for focusing more on mini-games (the Playstation Minis game series) and its lack of a UMD tray. While regular PSP games can be downloaded on the Go, it failed to gain a foothold in the industry. With the SE gaming device lacking even decent games, there is little to be expected of this device. It is even likely that it will end up much like the Nokia N-Gage.