OnLive Android app now supports Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY smartphone

Owners of the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Smartphone can now really use what the phone is designed for on the Onlive Game System.

If you have a Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY smartphone, you're more than likely a gamer, and this is something that will interest you this holiday season.

OnLive, the pioneer of cloud-based gaming, announced Thursday that its free OnLive app for Android has been updated to support the slide-out game controls on the phone. This means the phone's owners now can enjoy almost all OnLive games, including the latest AAA console-class titles.

Unlike other Android-based smartphone, the the Xperia PLAY combines the traditional touchscreen control with slide-out dedicated gaming keys, analog touch joysticks and shoulder buttons, making it an ultimate smartphone for gamers. With the app update, OnLive subscribers now can really enjoy the extra game-centric features of the phone's design.

The original free Onlive Android app, released on December 8, was the first cloud gaming app that enables users to play high-performance, console-quality games on a smartphone or tablet. Previously these games were playable only on the highest-end computers or consoles. This was made possible thanks to the fact that OnLive games are streamed over the internet just like music or video and never takes up storage or requires extra processing power from the mobile device.

OnLive games are also cross-platform, allowing gamers to start playing a game on a computer,  then pick it up on a smartphone via the OnLive Game System with all save game data intact. Currently the OnLive free app is only available for the Android-based mobile devices with another version for the iOS being predicted to come up soon.

Together with the update, OnLive also announced Winter Three-for-All sweepstakes that offer gamers a chance to win a Las Vegas Trip and new Universal OnLive Wireless Controller.