Sony Details PlayStation Mobile Initiative For Android & Vita Game Devs

Game Rant

By GR Staff

Published Aug 15, 2012

Sony reveals details on PlayStation Mobile, allowing both major and indie developers to create games for Android devices, which will also be playable on Vita.

The indie scene has offered some of the most creative and notable titles of this generation, evidenced by the likes of Limbo and Journey. Sony's no stranger to the successes of indie devs, and is giving game studios - both large and small - yet another avenue to distribute their games: PlayStation Mobile.

Originally dubbed PlayStation Suite, Sony rebranded the mobile initiative to PlayStation Mobile during its E3 2012 press conference. The service has been in open beta for quite some time, and now Sony will finally be releasing it to the world this fall. For the unfamiliar, PlayStation Mobile allows developers to create games for PlayStation Certified devices - comprising of select Android smartphones/tablets, such as the Xperia Play. However, these games will also be playable on the PlayStation Vita.

While these mobile games probably won't compete with full-fledged titles like Uncharted: Golden Abyss or Soul Sacrifice, their presence will help diversify the Vita lineup, a welcome treat considering the backlash Sony has received over infrequent Vita releases.

The full PlayStation Mobile library will be available on the PlayStation Store, meaning users only need their SEN account - the new name for PSN accounts - to access content across all devices. The service will come this fall for gamers in Japan, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia. As time goes on more countries will be included. Sony will also be expanding its PlayStation Certified branding to two other platforms: the ASUS Transformer Pad and the Wikipad.

Sony has put quite a large focus on the indie scene in recent years, investing 20 million into the Indie Pub Fund, which will go towards funding independent developers. As we said at the beginning of this article, some of the most intriguing games this generation have been made by smaller studios, and even with the negativity surrounding mobile titles, we can't wait to see what's on the horizon.

PlayStation Mobile will launch this Fall.

Follow me on Twitter @AnthonyMole.