Sony bets on game consoles for turnaround
Sony launched its new virtual reality (VR) headset on Thursday, joining Facebook, Samsung and Google in a market that analysts say could boost the global gaming sector.
The electronics giant – which has been leaning on its video games business to claw back to profitability – started selling its PlayStation VR headset on Thursday in home market Japan and North America.
Priced at $399, the headset is significantly cheaper than rival offerings and Sony is hoping the gadget will fly off the shelves during the crucial holiday season.
PlayStation VR headsets work with PS4 consoles, more than 40 million of which have been sold globally.
Gamers can indulge in fantasy by flirting with virtual females thanks to increasingly realistic VR technology.
But with bulky headsets required to immerse players in the action, VR games with segments lasting just a few minutes are currently the norm.
Developers are trying to determine how far they can extend play without causing fatigue or nausea.
Sony has promised that more than 50 games will be available for the PlayStation VR within months of its launch, including zombie-shooter Resident Evil, and games based on the Star Wars franchise.
Some of the first titles already in store are Batman: Arkham VR and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, which early reviewers have said use the VR headset successfully to increase the element of surprise and fear for gamers.
Sony is getting a head start because it has a well-established PlayStation brand and the headset works with consoles already sitting in millions of homes, analysts said.
On a launch event in Beijing Thursday, Hiroyuki Oda, deputy president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia, said the year 2016 could be the Year One for VR equipment and the company hopes to tap in the Chinese mainland VR gaming market that has “huge potential.”
Pre-sales of the VR headset in the Chinese mainland tops the Asian market, which excludes Japan, the company said on Thursday. Sony VR is priced from 2,999 yuan ($445) at the Chinese mainland market.
Different from rivaling gadgets, the VR offered by Sony can bank on the vast content of Sony’s PS 4 home video game console, Hiroyuki Oda said. A total of 12 PS VR games, including 4 homegrown games, were launched on Thursday.
Takehito Soeda, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment (Shanghai) and Shanghai Oriental Pearl Solatube Culture Development Co, said Sony is also supporting the community of developers of China’s homegrown intellectual property.
“We hopes one day a Chinese-developed game based on China’s deep culture, such as one from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, could became a global hit on the Sony platform,” Takehito Soeda told the Global Times on Thursday.
Earlier this year, Facebook-owned Oculus began selling its Rift VR headsets for $599, a price which does not include the cost of a computer that can handle the processing and graphics demands of the technology.
Taiwan’s HTC set a price of $799 for Vive VR gear, which also requires computer systems that can handle the rich experience.
Google has unveiled its Daydream View VR headgear that is compatible with smartphones and a direct challenge to Samsung Gear VR.
Microsoft announced Wednesday that it was taking pre-orders for its Ho-loLens – an augmented reality headset it says will allow users to interact with holograms – and would start shipping the device in November.
Dawn of VR
“This year is going to be the dawn of VR games,” said Hiroshi Sakai, a senior analyst at SMBC Friend Research Center, noting that Sony’s latest VR headset launch could signal the day when VR becomes more mainstream.
Sony has not released global sales forecasts for the headsets.
The technology, which is still unfamiliar to many consumers, will likely supplement the industry rather than transform it, Sakai said.
“Instead of being a game-changer, VR is likely to give a boost to the gaming industry,” Sakai told AFP.
According to an AFP reporter who had tried the new headset, it was lightweight and comfortable but complicated to install with numerous cables that need to be hooked up to allow it to work.
It may be initially confusing for gamers to adapt their playing style to VR, the reporter said, and users will also need to buy a PS4 camera, which is not provided.
For Sony, the new headset could be key to driving the PlayStation brand, which is essential to its finances as it recovers from years of losses largely tied to an ailing TV unit and consumer electronics.
As Sony battles to stay ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console, PS4 has seen the fastest and strongest adoption since the first generation of the console was introduced more than 20 years ago.