Sony tends to know good things when they see them, and so they’ve teamed with yet another successful developer to help bolster their line up of exclusive titles.
Sony sure is gearing up for the release of the Vita, and it seems part of that involves partnering with Novarama Technology to make games exclusively for Sony. Novarama have brought us Invizimals and Invizimals: Shadow Zone in 2009 and 2010 respectively. While North America is still waiting on the release of Shadow Zone, both games have seen success through the use of their unique augmented reality technology. The games allow players to find hidden creatures within their houses or any surrounding environment, which are revealed once the PSP camera is directed towards them. The original Invizimals won numerous awards for innovation and technological excellence, which clearly has gained the attention of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
Novamara Technology’s first order of business is to begin development of Reality Fighters, which is planned for release on the PlayStation Vita. Reality Fighters allows players to take pictures of themselves to create their own fighters, and choose from numerous fighting styles and costume options to apply within the process. Then, utilizing AR technology once again, the fights are able to take place within the environment around you by pointing the camera at your desired arena, such as a kitchen table, living room floor, or parking lot outside the office. Vita was clearly designed with AR in mind, so this seems like a great launch title to have, not only for the fun of it, but to show off the new tech. SCE Worldwide Studios Europe Senior VP Michael Denny makes this clear, stating:
This strategic alliance with one of Europe’s brightest developers, a developer with unrivaled experience of augmented reality games shows our determination to work with creative and innovative developers.
Novarama’s CEO Dani Sánchez-Crespo said:
These are exciting times to be part of the Sony family. With PSVita on the horizon, the possibilities for creativity are endless.
I’m forever a fan of innovation, and with AR games still being such new territory, the Vita looks like a great place to keep innovative developers like Novamara Technology cranking out fresh content. Sony has stated that Novamara Tehnology will also be working on other titles for the PlayStation platform, and currently Invizimals: The Lost Tribes is still slated for release on PSP in November in Europe, with a North American release date still unannounced. Reality Fighters on the other hand is planned to release with the launch of the Vita. Stick with us, as we’re sure to hear more from this studio soon as we draw closer to the Vita’s launch.
