UPDATED 14:02 EDT / NOVEMBER 20 2012

NEWS

Sony Opens Doors To More Developers With PlayStation Mobile SDK

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. recently announced the initiation of the PlayStation Mobile Developer Program that includes the official version of PlayStation Mobile SDK which kicks off the development of apps that can be used on devices running on other operating systems.

“We’re drawing in developers to our platform that are doing really unique and innovated things,” Sony manager of PS Mobile Sarah Thompson told GamesBeat. “We’re not only giving them the platform to do that, but we’re actually giving them full support to maximize their success.”

The PSM Developer Program is available in Japan, United States, Canada,United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, which will then be followed by a phased rollout starting from Hong Kong and Taiwan and then more countries and regions will follow.

The program will allow developers to distribute their apps easily through the PlayStation Store on a commercial basis and market their games to millions of dedicated gamers on PlayStation™Certified devices and PlayStation®Vita.  The license agreement fee is 7,980 yen annually.

This also means that more developers can develop apps for their gaming systems such as the PlayStation Vita which was released last year but has failed to get the traction it had hoped.  The PS Vita is a cool handheld gaming system that offers better controls while playing games and social connectivity.  But there aren’t a lot of games or apps that you can enjoy on the handheld console so it’s not a surprise that many were excited to dump their old PSPs for the PS Vita.

But with the PSM Developer Program, things might soon be looking up for the PS Vita as well as PS Certified devices, some which aren’t Sony made, such as HTC’s One S, X and V, and Sharp’s Aquos Phone Serie and Zeta.

“We want to be a lot more accessible than perhaps some of the other platforms,” Thompson said. “We want to talk to the developers and work with them 1-on-1 — to hear about their games and facilitate their passion.”

Apple and Samsung are dominating the mobile market with their devices which is problematic for a lot of mobile manufacturers – they are in constant need for a device that could trump their dominance.  With this, other companies have an edge over Apple and Samsung, they are PS Certified which means, if consumers are hardcore gamers, they would love something that can bring them the thing they love the most – gaming.  And this would also be good for Sony since more ODMs would now be interested in getting their devices PS Certified, especially if they don’t want to miss out on all the gaming fun.

As for developers, it’s hard competing with the thousands of developers on the Apple App Store and Google Play, so if they are tired of trying to get noticed in a sea of iOS and Android apps, maybe their luck lies in creating apps for the PS Vita and PS Certified devices.


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