Nintendo hit a major milestone last week when it released its first official mobile game, Miitomo, developed in partnership with DeNA. The quirky social network game reached 1 million downloads in three days, and that’s just in Japan. Now, Sony wants to follow-suit with its own move to mobile.
The maker of the best-selling PlayStation 4 console has announced the formation of a new business unit called ForwardWorks Corporation, which will begin operating early next month. Its main purpose is to bring popular PlayStation IPs to mobile devices.
“ForwardWorks will leverage the intellectual property of the numerous PlayStation-dedicated software titles and its gaming characters as well as the knowledge and know-how of gaming development expertise which was acquired over the years with PlayStation business to provide gaming application optimized for smart devices including smartphones to users in Japan and Asia,” the official announcement reads. “The company will aim to deliver users with opportunity to casually enjoy full-fledged game titles in the new field of the smart device market.”
Although specific titles weren’t mentioned, it’s likely we’ll see a number of different franchises make their mobile debut, including Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank, two series that will see new entries on the PlayStation 4 next month. Sony might go with older titles first, such as games originally introduced on the original PlayStation One, like Twisted Metal and Crash Bandicoot. Popular games from the PlayStation Vita handheld console such as Gravity Rush, which was recently re-released on PlayStation 4, are also likely contenders for the move to mobile.
ForwardWorks has not announced what its first game will be, but we are likely to learn more when Sony presents its annual pre-E3 press briefing in June.
This is a big move for Sony, but not a surprising one, especially considering the incredible popularity of Nintendo’s Miitomo.
