Sony pledges to launch over five iOS games by March 2018

The games will be released during a year ending March 2018, under Sony's mobile-oriented ForwardWorks subsidiary, CNBC said. Titles and content aren't public, but Sony will initially launch in Japan and other Asian countries.

Japan, in fact, is likely the main reason for Sony stepping into phone games, since mobile revenues account for over half of the country's games market. Currently most of Sony's gaming revenues come from its PlayStation 4 console, including games and accessories.

The company does have a handheld of its own, the PlayStation Vita, but the device is five years old and almost exclusively gaming-focused, often making it redundant for people with high-end smartphones.

Sony's efforts will lag significantly behind Nintendo, which has already released some titles and is planning to debut Super Mario Run on iOS later this year.