Sony exhibited at this year’s CES under the theme, ‘Powering Creativity with Technology’, with Sony Group CEO and chairman, Kenichiro Yoshida explaining that Sony, as a creative entertainment company, is committed to being a force for good by empowering creators.
At Sony’s press conference, Yoshida was joined by an array of presenters to introduce initiatives designed to support creators across Sony’s music, movies and television production businesses, new solutions for visual production and spatial content creation, fan engagement in communities, and entertainment and safety to advance the mobility space.
From creation technology to fan engagement, the exhibition focused on how Sony is empowering creators to do more, explore more, and create more by providing innovative technologies for storytelling, entertainment, and beyond.
Fan engagement with PlayStation 5
Sony Interactive Entertainment showcased the latest PlayStation 5 hardware line-up, featuring the new PlayStation 5 console in a smaller form factor, PlayStation Portal remote player, Pulse Explore wireless earbuds, Access controller, and upcoming Pulse Elite wireless headset.
The Deep Earth Collection of metallic PS5 console covers and DualSense wireless controllers were also on display. Attendees were able to experience Gran Turismo 7 on both PS5 and PlayStationVR2 (PS VR2) in immersive racing pods at the booth.
Sony is also advancing fan engagement initiatives in sports. Together with Manchester City Football Club, Sony is conducting a PoC (proof of concept) with the aim of providing new services that create a global online fan community. At the booth, visitors were able to view and engage with new content from the Virtual Etihad Stadium.
Sony Pictures Entertainment: Torchlight
Sony introduced Torchlight, a new advanced visualisation space featuring the latest in proprietary technology from Sony Group companies in collaboration with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D tool.
Torchlight allows filmmakers to create digital scenes prior to principal photography, in a hands-on virtual environment using Unreal Engine and virtual cameras, including the Virtual Production Tool Set, which seamlessly links virtual environments with on-set production using Sony’s digital cinema, VENICE camera.
Supporting virtual production
To empower creators, Sony is supporting the growth of virtual production, a new form of content production, from technological development to providing production solutions. In this field, Sony is combining advancements in its imaging, sensing, and display technologies, and leveraging real-time rendering using game engines.
Next generation immersive music experiences
Sony Music is developing new opportunities for artists to expand fan engagement on gaming platforms and in other entertainment environments using game engine creation and virtual production technologies. Visitors to the booth could sample applications of its next generation immersive music experiences for games like Fortnite.
Sony Pictures Virtual Reality
Sony Pictures Virtual Reality (SPVR) showcased its latest cross-platform, multi-player VR game, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord. The exhibit incorporated eye-tracking and headset feedback of the PS VR2, the latest generation virtual reality headset for PS5, along with PS VR2 Sense controller adaptive triggers.