As expected, Sony used the Mobile World Conference 2011 to officially debut the long-rumored, so-called PSP Phone. The Sony Xperia Play will be among the first Android devices to run the new 2.3 ‘Gingerbread’ OS when it launches in March.

The Xperia Play is packing a 1GHz Snapdragon processor with embedded Adreno GPU that should facilitate 60fps gaming. The device is also sporting a 5.1 megapixel camera, 400MB of on-board memory and a 8GB microSD memory card. Battery life is said to be “up to 5 hours and 35 minutes.”

So how much PlayStation is in the ‘PlayStation Phone?’ Well the device will come pre-loaded with one ‘legendary’ PS1 classic title and a number of PlayStation titles will be available exclusively (for a time) on the device. Some twenty developers are said to be working on content for the Xperia Play with a launch line up in the neighborhood of 50 titles. Notables include Dead Space, Battlefield, Assassin’s Creed, Guitar Hero, and FIFA.

The U.S. should be among the first markets to get the Xperia Play when it hits streets next month and Verizon will be the first carrier to offer the device.

How does the Xperia Play stack up against YOUR smartphone? How about the PSP, or even still the NGP? Is this the device gamers have been thirsting to carry on the go? Will tactile controls turn the tide on the multitouch gaming behemoth? Drop some details of your own in the comments!