We've been hearing about the PlayStation phone for what feels like forever, and later this month it will finally be available. The Xperia Play—which we managed to get some hands-on time with earlier this year—will be coming to Verizon starting May 26.

You'll be able to preorder the device from Verizon's website starting this Thursday, one week before it's actually available for sale. The Xperia Play will cost $199.99 with a two-year contract, and you'll need to sign up for both a Verizon talk plan and data package, which start out at $39.99 and $29.99, respectively.

The Xperia Play is powered by Android 2.3, (Gingerbread) and will come packaged with seven free games: Madden NFL 11, Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, The Sims 3, Star Battalion, Crash Bandicoot, and Tetris. Verizon says that there will be more than 50 other titles available to download at launch through V CAST Apps, the carrier's own mobile app store.

While it's great that the Xperia Play will be coming preloaded with games, the selection leaves something to be desired. Our own Ben Kuchera described the Bruce Lee game as "dire" and Crash Bandicoot as "a game that hasn't aged well." As a mobile device designed to play games, the lack of any truly compelling software is somewhat troubling.