Cellphone games have one crippling disadvantage -- they're not fun. Rebuttals anyone? Admittedly, some titles have good solid premises that are great for coffee hour. But the keys are so damn small that I tend to hit a bunch when I really don‘t want to. So for example, when I’m piloting suggestively shaped spacecraft, I accidentally press ‘forward’ instead of ‘fire.’ I end up doing a kamikaze run that maybe takes out one enemy. Two lives left.

I hate kamikaze runs. I hate losing. Cell phone games are not for me.

Plus with PSPs and NDSs everywhere, why bother?

But it was bound to happen. Cellphone games are sprouting like a weed and someone had to take it one step further. Zeemote is that someone. Zeemote JS1 is a Bluetooth assisted peripheral that works together with Sony Ericsson cells to bring a “near console gaming” experience. Players control the action with an analog stick and some trigger buttons. The W760i is supposed to be the first smart phone to have this capability. Guys in Netherlands get to try it out first. For now, Zeemote is only compatible with two pre-embedded games on the W760i.

Hmm. Zeemote looks similar to the cooler half of a Wii Nunchak. Unfortunately it’s not. The Wii is actually quite fun; Zeemote is uh...different. Look at the screenshot. It’s some crap roulette game. I can only assume that this is one of the two games on the W760i. So unless I can magically fix the odds in my favour with the Zeemote, I see no point in paying an excess of $300. The iPhone however capitalizes on the whole “you play the game with your body” trend -- to a certain degree. Gameplay with hand-tilting motion brings a certain edge to your experience. And because of that, paying an excess of $300 for your iPhone doesn’t feel like a complete gyp. The W760i adds an extra controller that possibly solves my “hit two buttons at a time dilemma” but at a wallet thinning price. The games don’t look to glamorous either. That is if they’re going to stick with conventional golf games/gambling games/defend-the-fort games. If they make a decent First Person Shooter, we’ll talk later. But for now…tactical error Sony. You too Zeemote.

*If you're really eager to try it out, Zeemote may come up here in North America during Fall*