Sony And Honda Plan To Beat Tesla At Its Own EV Game By Putting PS5 Consoles In Cars
The Japanese mashup of Honda and Sony that came about earlier this year has eyes on the electric vehicle (EV) market pie. One idea that has emerged from this joint venture revolves around entertainment—which is Sony's area of expertise.
Sony's Izumi Kawanashi, the creator of infamous Aibo robot dog as well as the PlayStation 3, points out that it is commercially feasible and technically possible for inclusion of a PlayStation 5 platform into the partnership's electric cars. There's also been a go ahead for Sony to provide its know-how and media content for Honda EVs as they become available sometime in 2025.
If this sounds like a direct challenge to larger rivals like Tesla, you would be correct. The partnership is hoping to combine Honda's manufacturing assets and Sony's content to place it ahead of Tesla's infotainment/gaming plans.
It must be said that late last year, Tesla pushed out a controversial OTA software update that gave the ability for drivers (technically, passengers) to play games like "Sky Force Reloaded" on the touchscreen while driving. Honda-Sony is aware of such dangers, even in the current advanced state of autonomous driving capabilities. In an interview in Financial Times, Kawanashi hinted that self-driving technology still needs to improve. He said, "To enjoy the space in your car, you have to make it a space where you don't need to drive. The solution for this is autuonomous driving".
Collaborations between auto manufacturers and entertainment brands aren't new. We mostly remember them as sound system or head-unit upgrades, such as Bose, Kenwood, or B&O, to name a few. Today, with Tesla seemingly leading in-cabin infotainment wars, the rest of the EV industry have brought in companies such as Google or Apple to develop competing infotainment systems.
