Sony Takes Cue From Pokemon Go To Break Through Mobile App Market, Likely A Mistake

Sony has never set foot into mobile app territory with any kind of significant impact. The company is primarily a hardware-centric entity, with the odd blockbuster movie hit here and there. However, citing the unprecedented success of Pokemon Go, it seems the Japanese giant has finally found inspiration to try to break through the mobile market.

Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai recently had an interview with the Financial Times, where he laid out his company’s plans with regards to mobile gaming. Hirai pointed to the success that the breakout hit Pokemon Go saw as an argument regarding the kind of interest smartphone users have with titles that were primarily exclusive to consoles.

“It’s quite a shift from being just a console-based business to being on mobile phones as well,” he said. “Pokémon GO is a real game-changer. I’m very interested in the fact that it has the potential to really change the way people move, literally.”

Hirai has a point. Even though interest in the Niantic Labs creation has gone down sharply among American users, it still has a substantial presence in the international scene, with players numbering in the tens of millions. Nintendo might have missed out on a significant opportunity with the app, but Sony intends to make sure that any successful title related to the company would also significantly benefit it financially.

On that note, Forbes is a bit skeptical that Sony has anything to offer that would remotely come close to achieving the kind of far-reaching fame and success that Pokemon Go has attained. One of the biggest reasons for why the app became as big as it has become is the fact that Pokemon has had over two decades of games, anime, and marketing to give it lift.

More than that, the app  itself is closely related to what players are supposed to do in a Pokemon game, which is to go out into the wilds and catch the little critters. Sony simply doesn’t have this kind of asset, and this is mostly because of its open approach, where developers of all kinds could develop titles for their consoles.