Not long ago, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that they were going to take a more serious stab at the whole smartphone gaming thing. Today, we’ve finally received some details about what that effort entails. Their new smartphone branch is called ForwardWorks, and they held a press conference today to show off their upcoming line-up. Only time will tell how this latest venture will go, but if nothing else, it looks like we have some fun titles to look forward to, including a smartphone version of Hot Shots Golf that is due to hit in Spring of 2017.
There are some familiar faces in the bunch, but that’s hardly new for Sony. After all, they’ve already published mobile games featuring such famous PlayStation brands as Ratchet & Clank, LittleBigPlanet, and Uncharted. The conference began with a look at Hot Shots Golf, Sony’s long-running golf series. The game is played in portrait mode and appears to use flicking motions for shots. The aesthetic is quite familiar for anyone who has played a game in the series. As mentioned, this one is on track for release next spring.
They then showed off a new title in the What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord? series, which originated on the Sony PlayStation Portable. It looks to be an action game with puzzle elements, albeit one that is mechanically different from previous games in the series. It’s coming in Summer of 2017.
Next, they teased new entries in the Arc the Lad and Wild Arms series of RPGs. The original Arc the Lad team will apparently be working on the new title. By contrast, Wild Arms is said to be a new spin on the series. It’s being developed in partnership with Japanese developer Wright Flyer Studios. The original supervisor of the series, Akifumi Kaneko, is on-board to oversee the development of the new game. No release dates were given for either of these. Sony also teased potential appearances of Doko Demo Issho, My Summer Vacation, and Parappa the Rapper, but had nothing further to show today.
NIS made an appearance to announce they would be releasing mobile games based on Disgaea and Yomawari. Disgaea is a popular strategy RPG series that has appeared on various PlayStation and Nintendo platforms, while Yomawari is a relatively recent survival horror release. Lots of big news for mobile RPG fans, by the looks of things. What could be bigger? How about a collaboration between Square Enix and ForwardWorks? Because that’s happening, too.
A new IP, titled Sora to Umi no Aida, was announced. It’s being led by Oji Hiroi, the creator of the Sakura Wars series. Just my speculation, but this one probably won’t leave Japan. Nevertheless, it’s pretty big news for Japanese gamers. Finally, Sony finished things off by talking about Project Field, which seems to be a project dedicated to AR-type stuff. The first game in that project is going to be a Yo-Kai Watch title.
Sony’s new ForwardWorks venture certainly seems to be off to a stronger start than their previous mobile endeavors. Let’s hope these announced games play as good as they look. We’ll bring you more information on Sony and ForwardWorks as we get it, so keep your eyes peeled.
Source: Takashi Mochizuki of wsj.com.
