Unlike other VR HMDs, PlayStation VR hasn’t been used for advertising all that much. Nissan is changing that this week.
In the past brands have traditionally opted for the low-end Google Cardboard HMD to showcase their products, or the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive if they’re looking for a higher quality experience. However the Japanese car maker has this week announced a partnership with Sony (also a Japanese company) that will see it showcase a new experience on PlayStation VR for fans attending the 2016 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid in the San Siro stadium in Madrid on May 28th.
As you might have guessed, this experience will be based around one of the company’s latest creations, the 2017 Nissan GT-R. In a 360 degree video, viewers will sit in the passenger seat of the vehicle as they’re raced through the streets of Milan. They’ll take a trip around the Autodromo Nazionale Monza racetrack before arriving at the stadium itself. Not only that but another experience will allow fans to walk out onto the pitch of Manchester City’s Etihad stadium ahead of the match. Seven PSVR units will be on offer during the event.
It’s one of the first times that Sony’s HMD has been used for a VR experience outside of gaming, though Sony Pictures did also produce a promotional piece for The Walk using the device last year. Given that it’s appearing on PlayStation 4, PSVR itself is primarily aimed towards games, and we’re not sure experiences such as this will even be able to view on consumer versions of the device.
There’s definitely room for it, though. We can easily see Sony releasing s 360 degree video app for PlayStation 4 much like Samsung has in Milk VR for its Gear VR. Modern games consoles are multimedia machines, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see something like this on Sony’s machine.
PSVR is launching this October. We’re sure to see much more of the HMD and its upcoming releases at E3 2016, which kicks off in just a couple of weeks now.
