Sony Bringing PlayStation Games to iOS and Android

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A bit of news has broken out in the past 48 hours that would see Sony develop PlayStation games from the ground up for iOS and Android. The move now makes even more sense than ever after Nintendo debuted Pokemon Go for mobile and added billions to their valuation. Mitchel Broussard writing for MacRumors:

 At the time of that announcement, the company hadn’t detailed the launch plan, or specified how many games it wanted to create, so today marks the first time it talks about its smartphone gaming plans since then. Known in March and reiterated today, the Sony iOS and Android games will first hit Japan and other Asian countries, with the expectation being that each game will then slowly rollout wider after the initial release. 

And here is the weird part, which Broussard notes – none of this is news as it was all announced way back in March. This is what I’d written then:

 mobile penetration is even larger there so it does make sense for them to get their feet wet in a culture that’s more than ready to embrace something like this and, once they find their footing, to expand their reach and hopefully scope to the West. So don’t expect to see Gran Turismo or God of War appearing on your iPhone quite just yet (think more Fat Princess, Sound Shapes) but a few years from now, there is no reason why Sony can’t develop a AAA game that’s meant for PlayStation and mobile. 

As for the studio behind all this, don’t expect to know them by name as ForwardWorks was established with this task in mind and hasn’t developed any games previously for PlayStation (though that obviously doesn’t mean they don’t have game development experience). Broussard continues with:

 Sony has still yet to confirm which games and franchises might receive the smartphone treatment, but any of its first party franchises published under Sony Interactive Entertainment — Uncharted, Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank, God of War — could be fair game. Although the company said that the experiences would be “full-fledged” games, it’s likely Sony will take Nintendo’s approach and optimize each for smartphones, like the latter company is doing in partnership with Apple for the endless runner Super Mario Run. 

Regular readers of the site know that I’ve argued routinely that we need to think of PlayStation as more than a gaming console and instead, a gaming/entertainment platform. Sony is already expanding the definition of PlayStation with services like PS Vue while also furthering the reach of the brand by bringing the PlayStation experience to TVs and now PC via PlayStation Now. Developing true original games from the ground up for mobile is just the next natural evolution. As for the timeframe, don’t expect anything anytime soon as 2018 is the only date being thrown around.

Discuss:

Do you think it’s wise for Sony to expand their PlayStation IP to mobile?