Niantic has announced that an Audio AR feature is heading to Ingress that will make use of Sony spatial surround sound technology and the new LinkBuds.
Niantic announced yesterday through a press release that it is working with Sony Corporation to combine its real-world AR technology with Sony’s audio technology. Niantic’s mobile title Ingress will be the company’s first title to use this Audio AR feature and should allow players to hear their game’s audio, while also filtering through the real-world sounds surrounding them.
This could be a good thing for those who find comfort in gaming out in public but want the safety of hearing their surroundings still.
Hiroshi Nakamura, head of mobile product business division, home entertainment, and sound products business group at Sony Corporation said, “By linking Sony’s Spatial Sound technology with Niantic’s game content, we aim to deliver astonishing experiences that fuse reality with games through headphones.”
Niantic’s vice president, Setsuto Murai said “By combining Sony’s audio technology with Niantic’s AR technology, we believe that we can offer a new level of AR experience, beyond just what you can see.”
In Sony’s press release it’s detailed that the company aims to release the feature to Ingress within 2022 and will allow players to “enjoy auditory AR” and mentions the recently announced LinkBuds wireless headphones.
LinkBuds were announced on February 15, and they fit into the user’s ear like an earphone, but there’s an open ring that allows audio from the outside world to filter through. The device also adjusts volumes depending on the environment and comes with a voice assistant as well as allowing gestures to control music.
More information on how Ingress will use Audio AR technology and the LinkBuds will be revealed later this year.
