Sony’s InZone Wants To Be The Nike Of Esports

Sony's InZone line of peripherals launched last month, with three headsets and and two monitors aimed at PCs, but are also compatible with PS5. The top of the line monitor comes with a 4K display and a 144-hertz refresh rate, costing a whopping $899, while the lower end one will cost $529 and feature a 1080p display with a 240-hertz refresh rate. Sony has also partnered with various esports tournaments where InZone products will be used.

If you're thinking this sounds an awful lot like a sports brand, that's exactly what Sony is going for. In an interview with Nikkei (spotted by VGC), executive deputy President Kazuo Kii said that the brand aims to deliver to esports pros what sports brands deliver to athletes.

“We’re going to start at the top and learn what top esports gamers want,” he said. “The vision we have in mind is that of Mizuno and Nike providing shoes for athletes. You can win prize money in esports. If a monitor’s response time lags even slightly, you lose. Sony products aren’t going to let people engaged in these grueling battles down.”

“There is no dominant leader yet among established producers. The situation is like a landscape of warring states. This presents an opportunity for Sony," he continued. "Many existing producers trace their origins to PC manufacturing. Because monitors are designed to display data, there are problems to overcome with vibrancy and contrast.

“Sony is unique in that we come from a background in TV manufacturing. We take pride in our picture technology. We look forward to showing customers our immersive experience and realism.”

When asked if inZone's PC peripherals would conflict with SIE's PlayStation products, Kii mentioned that the latter taught them a lot about gaming, helping them target PC users specifically.

"There is also compatibility between the two sides. Seventy percent of PC gamers also play on the PlayStation or other consoles. There are cases where they play hard games on the PC and easy games on the PlayStation when they want to relax. SIE is not fixated on the PlayStation, either. We share the same view of the future. For the group to grow, we need to respond to a variety of things.

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