Sony has formed a new company that will be dedicated to making games for smart devices. The company, ForwardWorks, will start operations from 1 April, 2016.
The company did not announce any specific games that were in mind for the smart devices, but in a statement, said ForwardWorks will leverage PlayStation franchises and characters. These games will first debut in Japan and Asia only, with west in the distant future, but nothing was announced on that part. The games will be made for iOS and Android devices. No release dates were announced.
The company will aim to deliver users the opportunity to casually enjoy full fledged game titles in the new field of the smart device market,” Sony said in its statement. The company added that it formed ForwardWorks so as to meet the demands of the “ever-expanding smart device market.”
Based in Tokyo, ForwardWorks is getting started with ¥10 million (Rs 59 lacs) in capital. The president of Sony Computer Entertainment Andrew House is among its board of directors.
Speaking of Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony reiterated that the company is changing names, and will become Sony Interactive Entertainment on 1 April.
Recently Nintendo released its first mobile app: a minigame-filled avatar maker called Miitomo. The company is working with DeNa for its new line of mobile games which will include its characters like Zelda, Mario and Pikmin.
This isn’t the first time Sony is trying to dive into the smart device market. Previously Sony’s attempts at mobile gaming, which included the likes PlayStation Mobile and the Xperia Play phone, have not been successful. PlayStation Mobile was part of President Kaz Hirai’s “One Sony” strategy, which aimed to unify separate divisions of the company that never took off. It wasn’t helped by the fact it was limited to certain Android phones.
This move from Sony will make smart devices a strong home of not just casual gamers but even for hardcore gamers who are already familiar with these characters and their games. Let’s see what the future lies for Sony this time.