Sony CEO: PS VR Had 'Great Start', PS4 Sales 'Strong'
By Kyle Sledge 04 January 2017
Sony’s Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai lauds PlayStation VR’s “great start,” and calls the momentum of the PlayStation 4’s sales since its release “very strong.”
According to market research released in December 2016, Sony’s PlayStation VR already controls market share over Oculus and Vive, which gives the company a comfortable lead against its competition in the realm of virtual reality headsets. Of course, this kind of information has given Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai an optimistic outlook when it comes to the future of PlayStation VR, as the executive has stated that the headsets have had a “great start” since the brand’s release in 2016.
As reported by DualShockers, Hirai-san made the statement during Sony’s Press Conference from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and used his praise for PlayStation VR as a means to announce a new virtual reality experience created by Sony Music Entertainment in collaboration with the electronic musician known as Kygo. The Sony CEO revealed that it’s available today for download on the PlayStation Store, and promises “many more VR experiences” in the future with Sony Pictures Entertainment also slated to make products for PlayStation VR.
“And though it’s not included in the numbers, PlayStation VR launched last October and gave us a great start also through the Holiday Season as well. So with PlayStation VR we’re able to provide you dramatic, transformational new gaming experience, and our ambitions for VR aren’t limited just to gaming.”
As far as the work that Sony did with Kygo is concerned, though, the latest PlayStation VR release announced by Hirai-san is titled Carry Me: The VR Experience, and it can currently purchased for $2 in the PlayStation Store. The virtual reality experience is inspired by Kygo’s song “Carry Me,” which transports and immerses players within various environments such as oceans, forests, mountains, skies, and sends them on a sweep throughout cosmos.
Not only did Sony’s CEO applaud PlayStation VR during CES 2017 and reveal the company’s project with Kygo, but also Hirai provided more details regarding the performance of the PlayStation business as a whole by discussing the PS4’s sales milestones. The Sony executive made sure to emphasize the point that the console has had remarkable staying power, as he declared its momentum as being “very strong even in its fourth year since launch.”
The confidence Sony’s CEO has for his company’s products is certainly warranted, especially since folks like Wargaming creative director TJ Wagner have put out reports anticipating far more PlayStation 4 consoles being sold, with Wagner claiming that PS4 will double Xbox One sales by 2019. While it remains to be seen if such a feat can be accomplished, it seems as if Sony is putting its eye on the prize, as the firm has said that it expects the console’s sales to reach 60 million in 2017.
Taking all of this into consideration, 2017 is definitely looking bright for Sony in regards to the sales of its hardware and software. The company already has plenty of exclusive games on the way to support PlayStation VR and PS4 this year, so it’s quite possible for Sony to go on to be crowned the king of 2017.
PlayStation VR is available now.
