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CES 2023: Sony Lays Out Plan to ‘Move People Forward’

Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman, president and CEO of Sony, took the CES 2023 stage to introduce the theme of this year’s event: Moving People Forward. After the tumultuous recent years, we all desire a return to normal despite uncertain times. There is a universal desire to experience joy, wonder and amazement, and Sony refers to these moments as “Kando.”

Sony’s corporate direction is getting closer to people, including content creators and users, and to fill the world with emotion. Through technology developments, Sony looks to collaborate with creators to develop their ideas, visions and stories to move people, and the company is constantly looking for new ways to support their creativity.

CES 2023 – Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman, president and CEO of Sony at Sony Press Conference
Yasuhide Mizuno with the Sony AFEELA

For example, Sony Venice cameras were used to capture spectacular visuals like in Top Gun: Maverick, and the Epic Games Unreal Engine is being used to drive technologies that bring life to virtual productions.

Sony is determined to continue developing its best-loved video game IP, moving from the PlayStation platform to the big screen. After the success of Uncharted in 2022, the company is bringing The Last of Us to HBO, with Twisted Metal and God of War projects in the works.

One of Sony’s most successful PlayStation titles is the racing simulator Gran Turismo, now in its seventh generation, and a Gran Turismo film will be coming to theaters on August 11. Based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, whose gaming skills won a series of competitions to become an actual professional race driver, this is the ultimate teenage wish fulfillment tale.

Director Neill Blomkamp said he is a super fan of the game, and also loves cars, and he said he wanted to capture the spirit and energy of the game, and make it feel like you’re in the car racing at 200 mph. Sony technology provided a way to shoot really high-performance scenes of real racing with real cars in real locations. Using an extension system with Sony’s Venice 2 cameras, the filmmakers were able to place high-res cameras into the tight spaces of GT cars, letting them simulate the grille angles and points of views inside the cars that gamers will recognize.

Jim Ryan, head of Sony’s PlayStation Group, took the stage to talk about PlayStation VR2, which launches on February 22 with more than 30 games at launch, including an upgrade to Gran Turismo 7. Ryan said this will usher in a new era of virtual game play that is highly interactive and immersive.

Another mission of the PlayStation Group is to make experiences available to all gamers regardless of physical abilities. In line with that, Project Leonardo is a new controller kit that will allow players with disabilities to have more accessibility and play longer with a robust kit of swappable components. This controller allows players to craft their own experience, and can be used standalone or paired with other controllers.

Ryan also claims that the supply chain on PlayStation 5 is improving and that more than 30 million PS5 units have been sold through to end users so far, with December 2022 being the biggest month to date.

At CES 2022, Yoshida unveiled the company’s VISION-S prototype EV, and announced that the company had established Sony Mobility, Inc. to accelerate plans of moving into the transportation arena along with exploring a commercial launch of Sony’s EV. This year, Yasuhide Mizuno was introduced as CEO of Sony Honda Mobility. This group’s purpose is to move people through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations, and Mizuno unveiled a new brand and vehicle, AFEELA. The company expects to start taking pre-orders for the vehicle in the first half of 2025, with cars delivered to customers in spring 2026.

Sony Honda Mobility looks to evolve automotive design and focus not only on driving dynamics and performance, but also on software networks and interfaces to create a fun, exciting and safe mobility experience. Sony’s sensors and Honda’s safety along with numerous cameras will deliver industry-leading auto-drive features.

Qualcomm has a mission to make everyone and everything connected, and they are also a key partner in this smart vehicle development, which will use a Snapdragon digital chassis. This will ensure car-to-cloud connectivity and power the cockpit platform, with the goal of transforming how people move and are moved.

Unfortunately, if you went to the Sony Press Conference at the Consumer Electronics Show with expectations of hearing about Sony’s 2023 line-up of consumer electronics, you were in for a real disappointment. Over the 45-minute presentation, there wasn’t a single mention of any Sony consumer electronics products. Nothing about TVs or displays, nothing about audio or headphones, nothing about cameras, and nothing about phones.

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