For some time now, there’s been speculation that Sony Ericsson has plans to launch a gaming-oriented cellular phone (remember the N-Gage?). Apparently, the folks behind the idea decided to take the plan to the big-wigs at Sony, hoping to slingshot off the successes of the ever-popular Walkman and Cyber-Shot handsets.

Word on the street is that Sony handed down the iron fist to Sony Ericsson, insisting that Sony will only license the Playstation brand if Sony decides to manufacture the new gaming devices independently. That’s some weird intra-corporate power politicking, if you ask us.

A Sony Ericsson spokeswoman said that they “could not comment on what Sony has or hasn’t said. In the past, we have been keen that our product proposition lives up to brand promise, and we feel at the moment the technical specs are not high enough to put such a prestigious brand on a phone.”

Hopefully, the two supposed cooperators will get their panties untied and work together on some really amazing gaming hardware under the Playstation brand. We’ll look forward to what their mutual innovation will produce in the near future. For now, stay tuned for more updates on this fun corporate drama.