The 'on-again, off-again' Sony Game-Phone looks as if it's on again for a while at least. Following Kaz Hirai's hints of a massively expanded PlayStation Network that will take in other devices, Japanese daily, Nikkei, has reported that the Sony is setting up a team in time for July that will work on new product "that combines functions of its portable game player and Sony Ericsson's mobile phones".

This chimes - or even 'rings' true - with the news from May that Ericsson is to release a phone that can communicate directly with the PlayStation 3. It also backs-up claims by Sony Ericsson president, Hideki Komiyama, that a PlayStation phone, "could happen."

However, it does give the lie to a story from January that Sony execs had to told SE that there was no way the latter was getting its hands on the PlayStation brand for a gaming phone.

Tired of the saga yet? Well, bear in mind that before any of that happened, Sony Computer Entertainment's co-chief operating officer, Jim Ryan, announced "The PlayStation is a proven success and so is Sony Ericsson. Convergence with the two arms working together is definitely plausible."

That was back in November 2007.