Sony Ericsson has unveiled  its long-awaited PlayStation smart phone, taking video game console wars to cellphones.

Sony’s PlayStation, on the Sony Ericsson’s new Xperia Live phone, will take on Microsoft’s Xbox Live, available on Windows Phone 7.

The launch Sunday came just two days after Microsoft’s Windows Phone got a major boost from Nokia , the world’s largest phone maker by volume, who said it would use the platform across its smart phone portfolio.

“Console wars are moving to the mobile platform, but Microsoft and Sony have significant ground to cover if they are to close the gap to Apple,” said Geoff Blaber, an analyst at CCS Insight.

“The Xperia Play offers something refreshingly different amidst a sea of homogenous Android devices,” he said.

Sony Ericsson said Verizon Wireless would sell the model in the United States, opening access to the world’s largest smart phone market for the a 50-50 venture of Sweden’s Ericsson and Japan’s Sony Corp.

Sony Ericsson also unveiled two other smart phone models running Google’s Android software and said it plans to launch at least eight Android phones this year.

“We want to become the largest Android phone maker,” Bert Nordberg, chief of Sony Ericsson told Reuters in an interview, adding the company would need to increase its market share in Android to around 25 percent from 14 percent now.

Android has risen fast to be the platform of choice for many smaller phone makers who have rolled out dozens of similar models to battle against Nokia and Apple.

Sony Ericsson will focus increasingly on growth this year, after turning profitable in 2010, Nordberg said, adding the firm aims to increase both revenue and profits in 2011.

The venture’s fourth-quarter earnings fell well short of analyst expectations as it had to cut prices on old models and new ones are yet to hit the stores.

All new models will go on sale around the start of April, leaving the group with an awkward gap having already had to slash prices in the previous quarter.