It's been confirmed that Sony will soon be bringing one of their Playstation IPs to mobile platforms. Sony's mobile studio ForwardWorks will release a free-to-play version of Everybody's Golf in Japan this year, with more titles to follow.
Sony have a huge stock of IPs to choose from as they look to make their mark on smartphones. We asked a few members of the team which ones they'd most look forward to.
Marc Williamson - Development Director
Tilt controls and gameplay that fits into bite-size chunks makes LocoRoco an obvious choice for me. Echocrome would also translate perfectly to mobile audiences and it's something I'd love to see as it never got the credit it deserved for influencing Monument Valley.
The endless opportunity for unlocks and progression in Gran Turismo really suits the free-to-play model. The technology is now also there to make the graphical experience what it needs to be, though finding a control system that works for both fans and newcomers might be a challenge.
Steven Taarland - Associate Producer
A Crash Bandicoot runner (endless or otherwise) could be fantastic! Fingers crossed that the re-release of the original games on PS4 gets the buzz and sales to make it happen.
There's some great titles in the PSP back catalogue that would work well on mobile. Patapon and LocoRoco are natural choices but I'd love it if they revisited Archer Maclean's Mercury. It slipped under the radar back in the early days of PSP but was a wonderfully tactile and charming little puzzler.
David Farrell - Senior Game Programmer
Gran Turismo is a series that's always about the collecting and upgrading for me, so it could lend itself well to free-to-play. It might work best to strip out directly controlling the racing on mobile and make it more of a motorsports management sim.
Twisted Metal also placed a big emphasis on weapons and armour unlocks, so that one could be another possibility.
I know it's not strictly a Sony IP, but surely it's time we got a mobile version of Time Crisis? Gameplay-wise it's virtually a bubble popper!
Radu Bogos - Junior Game Designer
I'd start with Tearaway. The team behind it implemented some really cool control methods into the Vita version so I've no doubt they could do something exciting on mobile.
Puzzle titles always work well in the palm of your hand so games like Patapon and Flow could easily find an audience.
Basically, if it worked well on PSP or Vita, there's going to be potential there for making a mobile version.