Android gaming has been seriously lacking since the platform's release, but thanks to Sony Ericsson, the OS is about to get a jolt of gaming goodness.  Engadget has received word from a "trusted source" that Sony Ericsson is developing a new gaming platform, ecosystem, and device based on Google's Android 3.0 operating system.  The hardware is described as a cross between a Samsung Captivate and a PSP Go (note that the above image is an Engadget mockup), with gaming controls and PSP buttons in place of a QWERTY keyboard.  Featuring a touch screen between 3.7 and 4.1 inches with a WVGA or better resolution and the possibility of both a 5 megapixel camera and 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, the device sounds like it will compete with the best Android phones we've seen to date.

When it comes to software, the handset will feature Android 3.0, aka Gingerbread, with a "phone-specific skin" and a gaming-focused area of the Android Market, which will initially only be available to this product.  Games will features graphics similar to existing PlayStation and PSP games, meaning Android will be seeing a large influx of 3D games.  Possible titles include God of War, Little Big Planet, and Modern Warfare.  Release information for this new device is still up in the air, but we could see it as soon as early October.

This mystery Sony Ericsson device definitely sounds like it could make Android a huge contender in the gaming space.  Mobile phones have slowly been replacing dedicated gaming devices like the PSP and DS, but this new product, which sounds more like a PlayStation phone than anything else, could make the DS and PSP obsolete.  Considering Sony Ericsson hasn't even put out a device with Android 2.0 yet, they would suddenly become a huge player in the Android world with this device, and Android would garner a ton of interest from gamers looking for a new phone.  Keep an eye out, folks.  From the sound of things, this device is going to be a gamechanger.

Via Engadget