CES 2023: Sony skips TV announcements to focus on the metaverse, VR and mobility solutions
Sony surprised us all by not showing off any of its new 2023 television lineup at CES in Las Vegas
We’ll have to wait until later this year to see Sony’s 2023 TV lineup after the Japanese manufacturer chose not to show off any of its new sets at CES.
At the event in Las Vegas in 2022, Sony revealed its flagship quantum dot OLED, the A95K, along with a whole host of 8K and 4K Bravia XR televisions. This year, however, it instead shone a light on other aspects of its business, with a strong focus on initiatives relating to the metaverse and virtual reality technologies.
Among the announcements made during its presentation was a proof of concept partnership with Premier League club Manchester City. The “Virtual Fan Project” is designed to allow supporters to engage with their football clubs in new ways, with City’s Etihad Stadium reproduced virtually and populated by virtual fans with customisable avatars.
It also showcased an interesting initiative that uses live sports data and technologies from three of its umbrella companies – Hawk-Eye, Beyond Sports and Pulselive – to create virtual sporting content in real-time.
On the PlayStation front, CEO Jim Ryan revealed “Project Leonardo” for PS5, a highly customisable controller kit designed with accessibility in mind, while also confirming that console exclusive Gran Turismo 7 will be getting a free VR upgrade when PSVR 2 launches next month. Popular VR rhythm game Beat Saber will also be making its way to PlayStation for the first time, though no release date was mentioned.
Prior to that announcement, Sony confirmed that Gran Turismo is coming to the big screen, with a film adaptation directed by Neil Blomkamp and starring Archie Madekwe, Orlando Bloom and David Harbour hitting cinemas this summer.
The final part of Sony’s presentation was dedicated to its joint venture with Honda: Sony Honda Mobility. A new brand was launched under the Sony Honda Mobility banner – AFEELA – and this will focus on manufacturing high-tech electric vehicles which utilise multiple cameras and sensors to deliver a highly automated driving experience. SHM also revealed a prototype of the electric saloon, which is slated to go on sale in the second half of 2025.