Sony PlayStation is working on a Breaking Bad virtual reality experience. The news comes as the tech company announces that its PlayStation VR headset has sold one million units across the globe.
The PlayStation branch of Sony is currently developing a Breaking Bad VR project alongside the show's creator Vince Gilligan. Although it is unclear exactly what the project will include, such as whether it will be episodic, Sony has confirmed that it will not be a game and that it is not expected to launch this year either. Tools for live-action 360 video are described as "primitive" and so the PlayStation team is helping to create the project using computer graphics.
Teasing the project, Andrew House, the global chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment also says that "I think [this] could be another interesting way to see how VR can drive towards the mainstream." The executive further explains that the Breaking Bad VR project was born out of an event in which Sony brought seven of its Sony Pictures Television showrunners, including Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ronald D. Moore. Although several were "intrigued," it was Gilligan who said, "‘I really want to do something with this. I want to experiment with this.'”
The Breaking Bad VR project - which doesn't have a name either - won't be the first popular non-gaming property to get the VR treatment from a gaming team. An Alien multiplayer VR game is in the works, for example, and also promises to be a "genre defining experience."
It's true that because these are big-name properties, more people will take notice of them than completely new virtual reality IPs. But whether these will really propel virtual reality headsets into the mainstream or whether they will remain relatively niche is another question. Executives have also argued that the Fallout 4 VR game can also shake up the market and get people to take notice, but again, that's unclear.
The popularity of the license is less important than the quality, some critics may argue. Additionally, it's vital that VR games and experiences are released regularly so that those who do choose to pick up a VR headset do not find themselves with a content drought. How creators in the VR sector rise to that challenge as the industry ages will be interesting to watch.
Sony's PlayStation VR is available now.
Source: Variety
