Sony to Launch Virtual Reality Video Service in Japan

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)--Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. said Wednesday that it will start video service for virtual-reality devices as early as this year in partnership with U.S. content provider Little Star Media Inc. The new service's content will include some 7,000 items of news and short dramas from Little Star as well as live music feeds from Sony Music, a unit of Sony Corp. <6758>. The service will be available on devices such as the PlayStation VR, a virtual-reality headset for Sony's PlayStation 4 video game console, the Gear VR headset from South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics Co. and the VIVE of Taiwan's HTC Corp. The service will initially be offered free of charge. Ahead of the launch, Sony Music plans to release a smartphone application in mid-September to offer the virtual reality content on a 360-degree video format. END