Sony aims to extend VR
content to films, no plans for smartphone-based headset
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[September 15, 2016]
By Makiko Yamazaki and Tim Kelly
CHIBA (Reuters) - Sony Corp <6758.T> aims
to extend content for its dedicated virtual-reality (VR) headset into
non-gaming areas such as TV and film, and has no plans to join the
burgeoning market for smartphone-based headsets, its gaming division
chief said.
Andrew House, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc's chief executive, said
in an interview on Thursday he was already in talks with media
production companies to explore possibilities for the PlayStation VR
headset, due for release on Oct. 13.
"We are talking about years into the future, but these are interesting
conversations to start having now," House said.
House's gaming division has been one of Sony's main sources of profit in
recent years as sales of TV sets and other once-core electronics goods
decline in the face of price competition.
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As smartphone gaming now encroaches on the console market, Sony has
opted to seek growth through innovations such as VR. However, analysts
have said non-gaming content is necessary to broaden the appeal - and
profitability - of VR.
Sony's VR headset works in conjunction with its PlayStation 4 games
console and will retail at a price lower than Facebook Inc's <FB.O>
Oculus Rift and HTC Corp's <2498.TW> Vive headsets that require more
expensive personal computers to run.
But smartphone-powered headsets will be far cheaper and more portable
because they use the smartphone screen as the display.
There are well over 100 smartphone-based VR headsets from 65 developers
already on the market, according to Lux Research. Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O>
Google will add to that number with its Daydream VR platform that works
with its Android mobile operating system.
Sony's House argued that smartphones would not be capable of achieving
the highest quality VR experience.
"We are focused on great gaming VR experiences," he said. "I haven't
seen a cellphone or mobile-based VR experience that really gets our
content teams excited."
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![](../images/091516pics/busine9.jpg)
People try the new Sony VR headset during Sony Corporation's
PlayStation 4 E3 2016 event in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June
13, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake
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House said, beyond gaming, Sony is looking into TV and film and will also
concentrate on seeking "ways of bringing much more static experiences to life"
in areas such as museums and planetariums.
Sony has said it is working with more than 230 developers globally, and expects
over 50 titles by the end of the year, include non-gaming content such as
cartoons and music, karaoke and landscape videos.
"It might not take so long for non-gaming content to contribute fully to Sony's
VR-related business," said analyst Yu Okazaki at Nomura Securities.
"Non-game content will help attract a wider audience to VR and consolidate
Sony's strategy to build a solid PlayStation ecosystem and earn a profit out of
it."
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Tim Kelly; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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