PS Vita stole the headlines, but – in the view of many a commentator, at least – it's Sony's PlayStation Suite that could prove to be the firm's greatest weapon against the smartphone assault.

Following up an intention to roll the platform out across non-Sony devices, the firm has launched the first beta test for the PlayStation Suite SDK.

Developers across the UK, US and Japan are now able to apply to sample the kit pre-launch.

Closed kit

If they get their first, of course. The SDK beta is a closed affair, with Sony granting access on a first come, first serve basis.

"Through PS Suite SDK, content developers can create content for PlayStation Certified devices, which is hardware certified through the PS Suite license program, as well as for PlayStation Vita," Sony said of the SDK's release.

"By supporting development for multiple devices and by adopting libraries designed to create a variety of gaming and non-gaming content , PS Suite SDK will not only help developers reduce costs for creating new content, but also allow them to efficiently create their content on one SDK and use it for multiple devices."

Devices already on board include the aforementioned PS Vita, Sony Ericsson's range of Xperia handsets and the recently launched Android-powered Sony tablets S and P.

[source: Sony]