Sony sets sights on metaverse gold with sports animation purchase

TOKYO, Nov 23 (Nikkei) - Sony is looking to add sports to movies, music and games as a new core pillar of its entertainment business, acquiring technology companies to help it create 3D content for the metaverse.

The Japanese company recently acquired all outstanding shares of Dutch startup Beyond Sports, which specializes in using 3D animation to produce content from actual sports games or match data. The purchase price has not been disclosed, but is believed to be around 5 billion to 10 billion yen ($35.36 million to $70.72 million).

Sony's purchase of Beyond Sports was handled through U.K.-based Hawk-Eye Innovations, which develops camera systems that track the movement of balls in sporting events. Hawk-Eye was acquired by Sony in 2011.

Hawk-Eye's technology has become invaluable to the sports world. Its camera systems are used in more than 20,000 sports games and matches every year, in more than 90 countries. ...continue reading