Sony revealed that it will start a new enterprise with the goal of developing games for mobile and connected devices. A rebranding is also in store.
Starting April 1, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) will rebrand itself as Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE). The company notes that ForwardWorks, its new gaming crafting company, will create "full-fledged game titles."
Sony adds that both the intellectual property and gaming characters will be used in the content created by ForwardWorks.
No official information exists on when the first titles from the new company will roll out. Sony did mention that users from Asia and Japan, especially, will be the first to enjoy the new games.
As such, the company put Atsushi Morita at the helm of Sony Computer Entertainment for Asia and Japan. Andrew House, who remains the leader of the global SIE, will be a board member in the new organization.
ForwardWorks will begin its activity on April 1, when the SCE will make its official transition into SIE.
It is not clear yet if rival Nintendo aims to approach the mobile market or the company will keep focusing on traditional game titles. Nevertheless, Nintendo announced its first mobile app, Miitomo, a few months ago, and Sony is apparently gearing up to counter it.
For those unfamiliar with the upcoming release, Miitomo is half gaming experience, half social app. Users choose Mii avatars that they personalize and use them to get in contact with the avatars belonging to their friends (or strangers). An interesting fact is that in-game avatars are able to get in touch with others on their own.
Current information seems to back up the fact that Nintendo will start with delivering smaller experiences designed to motivate players to stay on the company's gaming consoles.
Sony has a vast experience with trying out new initiatives, and not all were lucky.
The company announced that this year the PlayStation Mobile program will be discarded. The platform had an ambitious scope: to bridge the gap between indie mobile games and the PlayStation Vita handheld console and to help PS1 games make the transition to Sony Xperia smartphones.
We look forward to seeing how ForwardWorks will fare, and we will keep you posted on all new developments from Sony's new gaming company.
