Sony has launched a new Playstation studio that will focus entirely on producing smartphone titles.
The ForwardWorks Corporation, which was formally announced on its website today, will be a branch of Sony Interactive Entertainment that aims to harness years of development experience in creating games that are optimised for the “ever-expanding smart device market”. It follows a similar move by rival company Nintendo last year.
Development will begin next month, and as Sony has confirmed that the new studio will make full use of Playstation’s exhaustive library of exclusive IP, we’ve had a think about which games we want to see.
Wipeout
No Playstation platform is complete without a Wipeout game, and there can’t be too many better ways of escaping the soul-crushing mundanity of a delayed train journey than hurtling along a futuristic racetrack in the sky at blistering speed. It has been proved that racing games can work okay with touch controls, and modern phones would be capable of producing the stunningly crisp graphics that the Wipeout series is known for. Winner.
Parappa The Rapper
Ignore its frankly appalling crimes against the concept of rhyming, and you’ve got a surefire mobile classic in the making. Sony’s rhythm game is one of the quirkiest that it has ever produced, and would be perfect for the short bursts of play usually associated with smartphone gaming. It has also been yonks since we’ve had a new game in the series, but not for a lack of demand from Playstation gamers.
Crash Bandicoot
A new entry into the iconic platforming series has been mooted for a while now, and although we’re still holding out for a full console reinvention at some point, it would be mad for ForwardWorks not to bring back the Bandicoot in some way. If we’re honest, it would probably be some kind of Temple Run-style, pay-to-play coin grabber. But any excuse to hear Crash’s unintelligible mask mate again.
Tekken
Tekken is another obvious choice for Playstation mobile gaming. There are some great examples of beat ’em ups done right on smartphone – see The Executive for one – and what better way to kill 20 minutes in the dentist waiting room than landing consecutive combos on your digital opponent’s face? With a legendary character roster that features Kazuya Mishima, King, Bryan Fury and loads more, we imagine this would be one of the first games out of the door for the new studio.
