The insane success of Pokemon GO, which shows no signs of abating or slowing down any time soon, took everyone by surprise, and ended up completely and utterly vindicating Nintendo’s mobile strategy. Other publishers have already been taking note of the game, and of its success- and one of those companies include Nintendo’s competitor Sony.
In an interview with The Financial Times, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai discussed the AR smartphone game, calling it a ‘game changer,’ and noting that its success means that Sony will be ‘aggressively getting into’ mobile gaming. “It’s quite a shift from being just a console-based business to being on mobile phones as well,” Hirai told the Financial Times at the IFA consumer electronics expo in Berlin (via Polygon).
Speaking specifically about Pokemon GO, Hirai appeared impressed, particularly by the AR functionality. He called it a “great innovative idea that’s going to lift all boats for the video game industry,” and stated that he wanted similar functionality in Sony games, too.
Sony’s mobile presence has thus far been very limited- while Sony have been making PlayStation companion apps for smartphones, their mobile games so far have been limited in terms of quantity and quality. Doubtless, Nintendo’s successful leveraging of mobile as a complementary, instead of competitive, game platform has caught their attention.
Pokemon GO is available on iOS and Android smartphones.
