We've heard enough rumours of a PSP phone, or a Sony gaming handset, or some combination of the electronics giant's many divisions to not get too excited every time a new one surfaces.

And a new one has just surfaced. According to Reuters, Japanese business newspaper Nikkei reported on Saturday that a gaming mobile phone is being considered by Sony Corp.

Indeed, Sony Ericsson is working to unify its brands in an effort to keep up after it missed out on the recent smartphone craze, though previous reports suggested that access to the PlayStation brand was denied.

The newly announced Aino did close the gap slightly by including PS3 connectivity, though any PlayStation equipped phone would surely compete with the company's new PSPgo, so it's hard to imagine it appearing anytime soon, if at all.

Sony has so far declined to comment, however, and silence is easy to construe as quiet confirmation. We shall see.