Sony have sent out a press release announcing that they’ve entered into a two-year licensing agreement with Lenovo for the design of the PlayStation VR headset, which Lenovo will be using for their of virtual reality headset, the Mirage Solo. The press release doesn’t go into any details about the agreement beyond that, and it’s unclear whether Sony could maybe extend licensing for their design to Lenovo for future headset models as well.
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s chief legal officer, Riley Russell, does mention that the agreement should help “the VR industry expand”, so that remains a possibility. “We are pleased to announce that we have licensed the PS VR headset design to Lenovo,” said Russell. “The industrial design for PS VR has been widely acclaimed, and that was the result of years of hard work by PlayStation engineers. This agreement with Lenovo is a testament to the quality of PS VR’s design, as well as SIE’s commitment to creating great virtual reality experiences and helping the VR industry expand.”
Lenovo’s Yao Li, vice president of Lenovo Consumer Tablets and Smart Devices Product and Business Management, gave a similar statement, talking about the “preeminence” of the PS VR design, and saying that the agreement between the two parties shows that consumer brands can come together to work to help the budding VR industry grow.
“Lenovo is pleased to partner with Sony,” Li said. “The preeminence of the PS VR design is obvious. This agreement will allow us to work together to greatly enhance the design sophistication and appeal of the rapidly expanding VR field, and is an outstanding example of how great consumer brands in the VR industry can work together to benefit the consumer VR market.”
To their credit, Sony have been making strong efforts to realize the potential of virtual reality. For instance, the recently released VR platformer Astro Bot Rescue Mission has received high praise from critics across the boards, and should hopefully pave the way for similar experiences in the not-too-distant future.