PlayStation VR is just a few months away now, and the buzz surrounding it is strong. That’s reflected in Sony’s latest sales targets.
Earlier this week Sony Corp CEO Kazuo Hirai revealed revised revenue targets for fiscal year through to March 2018 for its games and network services division, in which PS VR currently falls under. As reported by Financial Times, the company now expects revenue of ¥1.8tn to ¥1.9tn and an operating profit margin of 8% to 10%. That’s a step up from the company’s previous estimations of ¥1.4tn to ¥1.6tn revenue and a profit margin of 5% to 6%.
Speaking to press in Tokyo, Hirai reasoned that VR was helping to boost these estimates as it applied to other areas of Sony’s products beyond gaming. He specifically cited “cameras, shooting, content production and our entertainment assets” as areas in which VR could also be utilised, suggesting that PS VR’s use may extend well beyond the PlayStation 4 console with which it currently runs. “This is a business we want to build not just for PlayStation but for Sony group as a whole,” Hirai said.
We’re already seeing the CEO’s words put into play; earlier this week Sony’s film division, Sony Pictures, appointed a new Senior VP of Virtual Reality, suggesting we’ll see much more VR content out of that company in the months and years to come. Perhaps Hiari’s mention of cameras suggests that the company could also be offering its own 360 degree solutions in the future.
For now, though, PS VR remains the child of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE). The device is set to launch on October 13th and presents strong competition to the two other major VR headsets, the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The upcoming kit is significantly cheaper than the $599 Rift or $799 Vive at $399, and also runs on a console that is less expensive than the powerful PCs needed to run the other devices. Still, VR largely remains an untested market, making it difficult to predict how far PS VR will go when it launches.
A new wave of pre-orders for PlayStation VR are going live in the US later today. It will be your final chance to guarantee a unit in time for launch day, although a limited number of devices will also be available at retail outlets.
