Sony And Honda's EV Could Integrate A PlayStation 5 To Steal Tesla Buyers
If you've ever wanted to get a round of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" in at a red light, the time is quickly approaching, says Sony and Honda execs. Back in September, the two partnered up in an endeavor called Sony Honda Mobility, which is described as an effort to compete with rivals in the young-but-growing-fast field of entertainment components in electric vehicles.
What would this new, not-yet-named, entertainment-centric vehicle look like? According to an interview with the Financial Times (cited via TheGamer), that'll include visual entertainment like movies and streaming, music, and — of course — the PlayStation 5. Izumi Kawanishi, president of the Sony Honda Mobility venture, says that the strengths of the partnership are a "strength against Tesla."
Long term, Sony-Honda says that its goal is for users to be able to "enjoy the space in your car" by not having to use that space for actual driving. "The solution for this is autonomous driving," Kawanishi told the Financial Times, adding that such developments still need plenty of time to mature. Sony Honda Mobility says that the first models of this car could debut in the United States as soon as 2025, reports The Gamer.
Tesla, BMW also interested in helping drivers do less, well, driving
Sony and Honda aren't entirely laying new groundwork for the future of EVs, though. BMW and Tesla would like to add contenders to the car-entertainment center hybrid space. Just last month, BMW said that you can start playing games on the dashboard touchscreen next year, utilizing AirConsole, which also provides gaming on smart TVs from Amazon, Android, and Google (via EuroGamer).
Meanwhile, British video game developer Sam Barlow recently said that Tesla approached him with an offer to integrate the "Her Story" game into a car. But when Barlow wanted to talk details on payment, Tesla offered every creator's worst nightmare — payment in "exposure". Putting "Her Story" in the entertainment system of Tesla "remains one of the sillier ideas I've heard," Barlow said in an October 30 tweet.
While it would be the epitome of common sense to not play video games while operating the vehicle, none of the manufacturers seem to have released details on how the games would be disabled for the driver while the vehicle is in motion — except for Sony-Honda's ambitions to one day create an autonomous entertainment hub on wheels.