Sony said it is well positioned to play a leading role in the metaverse, a set of immersive virtual worlds that analysts speculate will massively affect industries.
“The metaverse is both a social space and a live network space where games, music, movies and anime intersect,” Sony Chief Executive Kenichiro Yoshida said on Wednesday (18), pointing to the use of Epic Games’ Fortnite game as an online social space.
Sony’s gaming, music and movie units contributed two-thirds of the Japanese conglomerate’s operating income for the year ended March, underscoring the group’s transformation from a consumer electronics maker to a metaverse-ready entertainment company.
Analysts, however, say the growth of cross-platform and cloud-based titles has the potential to reduce the influence of platforms like Sony’s PlayStation 5.
Sony has been tweaking its approach by enabling cross-platform gameplay in Fortnite in 2018, while earlier this week, Epic said that “V-Bucks” – in-game currency – purchased on PlayStation will be usable on other platforms.
“PlayStation has played a huge role in the social revolution of gaming that is fueling the growth of the metaverse as a new entertainment medium,” Epic Chief Executive Tim Sweeney said on Twitter.
Sony has also taken steps to expand its focus beyond single-player titles, with a deal announced in January to buy Bungie, the developer of the multiplayer online shooter “Destiny.”
Sony already licenses content to other platforms, cashing in on the value of streaming content, such as the popular American comedy “Seinfeld”. Although the company owns the Crunchyroll anime streaming service, the company has not been as aggressive in operating its own video platforms as rivals including Disney.
In addition to the metaverse, Yoshida has also defended Sony’s claim to mobility, with the development of an electric vehicle with Honda.
Source: CNN Brasil
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