HTC Joins Sony's PlayStation Certified Program for Mobile Gaming

Sony said this spring that it wants to bring additional smartphone makers into its PlayStation Certified program, and the first company to sign up is HTC.

To be PS Certified means that, in Sony's judgement, a smartphone has been well designed for mobile gaming. It brings access to Sony's app store filled with games.

This store has something of an identity crisis, however. With "PlayStation" in the name one would expect to be able to play games created for PlayStation consoles, but that's not the case. Instead, the store has a selection of titles created for Android-based devices, many widely available elsewhere.

Unlike the first PlayStation Certified device, the Sony Xperia Play, the intent isn't to make phones designed around gaming. For example, the HTC One X has PS certification, and it has a typical design for a smartphone.