Sony shocked, embarrassed, and tickled PlayStation fans today with the announcement of PlayStation All-Stars Island – a summery smartphone cash-in that sees first-party favourites such as Sackboy and Nathan Drake cameo in a collection of copycat minigames. But while brand diehards deplore the iOS and Android spin-off, we figured that the announcement offered a fitting opportunity to take a look at some of the platform holder’s previous mobile phone marketing efforts. Do any of these games ring a bell? Give yourself a swig of Coke Zero if they do – and spit it back out if you actually played any of them.
God of War: Betrayal
Arguably the most well-known of Sony’s mobile phone endeavours, God of War: Betrayal was the culmination of a combined effort between SOE Los Angeles, WayForward Technologies, and Sony Pictures Digital. The adventure picked up shortly after the conclusion of the first instalment in Sony Santa Monica’s deity destroying series, and was presented from a 2.5D perspective. The pocketable title’s ability to transpose many of the elements from the popular PlayStation 2 releases – including puzzles and distinctive chains-based combat – actually earned it a lot of plaudits at the time, but it was utterly outshined less than a year after its release by Ready at Dawn’s stunning PlayStation Portable prequel, God of War: Chains of Olympus.
Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile
Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile was developed by Sony Pictures Mobile, and found PlayStation’s most popular platforming double-act trapped inside a, well, cellphone. Released around the same time as PS2 sequel Ratchet: Deadlocked, the game adopted the guise of a classic side-scroller. Despite its mobile origins, though, it was still packed to the rafters with wacky weapons – including the infamous Boarzooka, which transformed your folly into innocent pigs – as well as gold bolts, arena challenges, and lots, lots more. A sequel dubbed Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home was actually in production, but unsurprisingly never saw the light of day.
Reality Fighters Dojo
Ironically constructed by Zoink Games – the same Swedish-based studio behind PlayStation All-Stars Island – Reality Fighters Dojo was released around the same time as the PlayStation Vita, and was distributed as part of a cross-promotional campaign with Taco Bell. The title was pitched as a micro version of Novarama’s augmented reality brawler, and saw you using your smartphone or tablet to punch, er, green peppers and ultimately earn enough points to win one of Sony’s shiny new handhelds. Apparently it was downloaded almost a million times, which makes us wonder what’s wrong with the world.
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs: Mobile Recon
The spin-off that started it all, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs: Mobile Recon ditched the third-person action of its PS2 counterpart and adopted an isometric viewpoint instead. Similar to the Rainbow Six titles that Gameloft crafted for the hot mobile devices of the time, the title found you infiltrating a surprisingly detailed Middle Eastern setting, taking out bad guys with explosives, sub-machine guns, and sniper rifles. Despite being the mobile spin-off that no one seems to remember, this was actually one of the best – it even included a vehicular shootout segment similar to the one in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. At least Naughty Dog played the game, huh?
Do you remember any of these mobile phone spin-offs? Do you think that Sony should release more of these types of titles for marketing reasons? Let us know in the comments section below.
Do you think that Sony should promote more games with phone apps? (26 votes)
- Yes, it seems like a harmless way of getting the message out
- I’m not really sure how I feel about this
- No, it waters down the brand and feels like a cheap strategy
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Comments 6
Huh. I haven't heard of any of these games, but I know all of the franchises (even reality fighters). It's hard for me to assert that bad cell phone games hurt brand image when God of War, Ratchet and Clank, and SOCOM are all pretty well-regarded franchises among gamers.
Ive actually played all of those bar the reality fighters one lol I doggedly stuck to Sony's Walkman range of phones for a while so Java based mobile games were my only source of mobile fun. To be honest I really enjoyed the Ratchet n Clank one the most of the 3 I used to have. It seemed to be the one that kept its playablility the most on mobile. I dont really see the harm in releasing mobile spin-offs, it may draw people to themain series themobile version is based on
@MadchesterManc That's the amazing thing, aside from the Reality Fighters one, none of these games are offensively terrible. They're obviously snapshots in time and look poor by modern standards, but I don't really know why Sony stopped to be honest.
@get2sammyb In alot of ways the Java era of mobile games/apps reminds mea lot of the 16-bit era as gameplay and graphics were very simialr. I assume development was the same, simple and quick. The problem now with high-powered smartphones is that if one of these titles was redone, people would expect something similar to the console experiance so development time n cost would no doubt be a lot higher. Thats probably why Sony eased back on this, maybe also due to Playstation Mobile. I kinda miss the quirky games we used to get on Java lol If Sony re-released those 3 Ive had before onto android id probably download them for nostalgia's sake. Id probably enjoy them too
I think Sony should expand their brand to mobile platforms seeing as how they currently have Xperia Z tablet and phone which have both been successful thus far. They would fair better in the mobile division than they are with the Vita right now. I'm willing to bet their tablets and phones outsell the Vita by a large margin in the long run. I know to some it may not seem like a good idea but the reality of the situation is that times are changing.
Mobile has gotten really strong over the years and in my opinion almost makes handheld gaming extinct. Now other companies are trying to get into the console business using Android based OS such as the Ouya and the one recently announced by Amazon. it's only a matter of time before the likes of Samsung, Apple, Google and all these other companies get in the mix. If your a gamer it may not seem like a threat to Sony, but never underestimate the competition. I'm sure Atari felt that way about Nintendo, then Nintendo about Sony, and Sony about Microsoft, etc.
I think the companion app is the best way to promotea retail release, not a crap version of games we love
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