A few days back, Sony officially unveiled their entry into the tablet market – a pair of Playstation tablets named the S1 and S2. The S1 is more of a traditional 9.4” tablet while the S2 is an admittedly goofy looking clamshell that looks more like a straight gaming device than a dedicated tablet. Now, I’m not one to criticize the design of any tablet as some of the goofiest looking stuff on the market has been very successful in a number of niches (and Sony’s devices are not goofy by any means).

However, what really interests me is whether these new devices will truly court the gaming crowd – as Sony has made quite a bit of money doing in recent years – or if they will try to market this thing as a mainstream device with a gaming focus.

After all, by placing the Playstation brand name on their new tablets, Sony is saying to the world “These are supposed to be for gaming”. But does that mean they will actually be targeted towards gamers or will they be more traditional in their layout? After all, the iPad is a very strong gaming device, and yet it’s not really a “gaming device” in the same fashion as the 3DS or PSP – the two current leaders in the gaming only portable device market.

So, will the Playstation tablets attempt to be something akin to the iPad – a hybrid with a lot of games that can be sold for $500+ or will it be more of a marketing tool that attempts to cash in on their longstanding success in the gaming niche? It’s a big question and one I’m doubly interested in because I think the only the way to be truly successful in the tablet market right now (unless you have Apple’s resources) is to build a position in a specific niche where you can succeed.

While the iPad is a great gaming device, it’s not a gaming focused device. It is supposed to be for everything. And if Sony can market to that field and be successful doing it, they may tap into a field that doesn’t technically exist yet. But, if they simply use the Playstation brand name and fake their way through the process of being a “gaming tablet” they’ll likely find that the market can’t support yet another “multimedia consumption” device with nothing to set it apart from its competitors (and a slightly higher price tag if the rumors hold).

We have no idea what the future holds for Sony’s devices, but I can say this – they need to be something special and somehow different from what Apple already has on the market if they want to succeed. It will be some time before we know for sure if they can pull it off. Right now, however, it’s fun to speculate.