Sony Pulls the Plug on PlayStation Mobile for Android

Sony is gaining a deserved reputation for being kind to indie developers. Despite that, it looks like the console manufacturer is pulling Android support for PlayStation Mobile, a cross-platform indie publishing initiative launched in 2012 for select Android handsets and …

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Sony is gaining a deserved reputation for being kind to indie developers. Despite that, it looks like the console manufacturer is pulling Android support for PlayStation Mobile, a cross-platform indie publishing initiative launched in 2012 for select Android handsets and Vita.

Sony won’t be yanking the cord immediately. The service will still work on Android devices running Android 4.4.2 and lower, but game function and store access may be iffy for 4.4.3 and above. The next major Android operating system release, Android L, won’t have any store support at all.

And of course, the field only narrows further when you see how few handsets supported it in the first place.

Tokyo Jungle Mobile: a PlayStation Mobile exclusive
Tokyo Jungle Mobile: a PlayStation Mobile exclusive

Sony Mobile offers a handful of PSOne games in addition to original indie fare. Tokyo Jungle Mobile, in particular, is well worth a download while you still can. Don’t despair for the state of indie games on Sony’s mobile platforms, however. The Vita has some gems, and more are surely forthcoming.

[via Polygon]

In the early aughts, Nadia fell into writing with the grace of a brain-dead bison stumbling into a chasm. Over the years, she's written for Nerve, GamePro, 1UP.com, USGamer, Pocket Gamer, Just Labs Magazine, and many other sites and magazines of fine repute. She's currently About.com's Guide to the Nintendo 3DS at ds.about.com.