SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc.’s brand tech business, SUNNY SIDE X Inc. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Daizo Nishitani; hereinafter referred to as “the Company”), has entered into a business alliance with Potlatch, Inc. (Head Office: Nakano-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Taiga Kobayashi), which provides content for XR devices. As a new service of the brand communication studio “XR STUDIO,” newly established in September of this year, we will newly start producing VR content for goggle-type XR devices “head-mounted displays” (HMD).

SUNNY SIDE X, which plays a role in medium- to long-term strategic investment in the technology field in the brand communication area centered on PR that our group is developing, opened the XR Studio in September and launched an ecological new service with green power certification, “X-GREEN,” in October, and is actively working on the brand tech business and the development of new services. This time, in order to further expand the VR (virtual reality) market in Japan with the power of XR, we have entered into a business alliance with Potlatch, Inc., and will provide a new service that allows VR content for head-mounted displays (HMD) to be produced more easily and affordably through the collaboration of both companies.

An HMD is a device that is worn on the head like goggles, allowing users to enjoy a highly immersive virtual space in front of their eyes, including movies, videos, games, and other VR content developed for HMDs. Until now, compared to general video content, HMD content in Japan has often been produced by limited vendors at high costs, making it difficult to produce easily, so the number of productions has not grown as much as in overseas VR markets. Our company is focusing on this situation. By making full use of Potlatch’s global network, which has bases in the United States and Japan and produces and provides content for XR devices, including the development of VR training “Beatle,” we have succeeded in significantly reducing the time and cost of production. By simplifying the production of VR content for XR devices through the collaboration of the two companies, we will develop an environment in which companies and organizations can develop branding and communication measures using XR more than ever before.

[Example of future use cases]

・Simulated experience of unfinished products and services at new product launch events
・Simulated content that realistically reproduces tourist attractions throughout Japan for the purpose of regional revitalization
・”Sacred site pilgrimage” experience that links unrealistic content such as anime content with real regions
・AR tools for smartphones
・Educational content that recreates scenes from Japanese history

In order to keep up with the world’s XR market, which is expected to grow further in the future, we will develop content for new devices from XR STUDIO, which combines “the latest technology” and “creativity,” in order to expand domestic needs and make XR more accessible to companies, organizations, and even consumers.

■Comment from Daizo Nishitani, President and Representative Director of SUNNY SIDE X Inc.

With this business alliance as an opportunity, we believe that a system will be established that allows XR/VR content to be used at a wider range of touchpoints by SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc., which provides brand communication solutions that go beyond the PR domain to companies and organizations, and Potlatch, Inc., which has a global production system for VR content for XR devices. We hope you will pay attention to the possibilities that XR technology brings to all communication activities of various companies and organizations, not only in the entertainment field where conventional XR/VR content has been enjoyed.

■Potlatch, Inc., CEO Taiga Kobayashi Comment

For over two years, we have leveraged our VR development team in India to provide high-quality solutions at lower prices compared to other companies. We have also announced partnerships with wonderful partner companies, but SUNNY SIDE X Inc. is our first in the PR industry. Although the spread of XR solutions such as smartphone AR is progressing in the PR industry, there are still not many cases of collaboration with VR devices. Amidst this, I met Mr. Nishitani of SUNNY SIDE X Inc. and sympathized with his vision of using XR solutions to sprinkle technology into the PR industry, which led to this partnership. Through this partnership, we will provide higher quality VR solutions at lower prices to the PR industry.

Click here for inquiries to SUNNY SIDE X Inc.’s “XR STUDIO”: https://www.ssu.co.jp/contact/ssug

■Potlatch, Inc., Company Profile

Company name: Potlatch, Inc. (Japanese subsidiary: Japan XR Center, Inc.)
President and Representative Director: Taiga Kobayashi
Date of establishment: November 11, 2020
Head office location: 1 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA, 94111