Sony Ericsson could use an injection of something new and innovative considering yesterday’s report that it sold 21% less phones in 2008. One would think that putting together a multimedia gaming monster like an – oh, I don’t know – Playstation Phone might help turn the company around. Don’t hold your breath.

Sony Ericsson was planning a Playstation Phone saying that based on pure business potential it was a necessary asset/addition. Not only that, it follows the natural evolution of the market and makes use of tremendous brand equity. And personally, we agree with all of that. There have been Playstation Phone rumors for years and we think they’re crazy to NOT be developing such a device.

Sony Ericsson presented this concept in a board meeting in late December, according to Mobile Today and the consensus response was, “we feel at the moment the technical specs are not high enough to put such a prestigious brand on a phone.”

That was the nice way of saying it. If you’re going to release a Playstation Phone you want to make sure the first one kicks total butt so you can preserve the value of the brand – understanable. But what isn’t noted in the above quote is the underlying hostility that seems to have taken over the Sony Ericsson joint partnership between the separate companies – Sony on the one hand and Ericsson on the other.

The most telling paragraph in the article:

Several sources close to the matter claimed Sony executives told colleagues at Sony Ericsson that it would only license the PlayStation brand if and when Sony makes handsets independently – effectively pushing for an exit from the joint venture with Ericsson.

Wow. I can’t say we would be surprised if the joint venture was… disjointed… but the news just makes for an even more turbulent mobile landscape especially considering that Sony won’t likely do what appears to be threatened above – make handsets independently. In this economy, its too big a leap, especially considering that Sony’s finances don’t look too brilliant themselves.

We can’t say we would be disappointed, though. We’ll root for anything that brings a Playstation Phone closer to market.