It looks like Sony Computer Entertainment wants in on the lucrative mobile game market.
The company announced today the formation of a new mobile-focused studio called ForwardWorks. In a recent statement, Sony says the studio will produce what it calls “full-fledged game titles” that make use of Sony’s intellectual property.
It’s still unclear what specific titles FowardWorks plans to release, but Sony says the developer’s primary focus will be on the Japanese and Asian Market. The new studios’ is set to be lead by Atushi Morita, the head of SCE Japan and Asia.
Nintendo, another historic video game company, announced back in 2015 it plans to release multiple mobile games over the next year, with Miitomo, its first app, set to release in the next few weeks.
Sony has a history in mobile gaming. It previously released two dedicated handhelds, the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita. The company has also previously attempted to bring its PlayStation brand to mobile with PlayStation Suite, later renamed PlayStation Mobile. This now terminated service gave video game developers a simple way to build games for the PlayStation Vita as well as select Sony-manufactured Xperia devices.
It’s likely that ForwardWorks’ efforts will be a mix of porting older PlayStation titles (are you ready to play Cash Bandicoot on mobile?), as well as adapting console titles to the mobile platform, similar to what Square Enix Montreal has done with its Hitman Go and Lara Croft Go franchises.
[source]Sony[/source]
