Panasonic seems to have taken a liking to that of collaborations with video game studios and this time it repeats with Square Enix. If both companies recently launched a soundbar, now it is betting on another audio device that seeks to offer a much more immersive experience: the new Panasonic SC-GN01 . Do you want to know how it works?
Panasonic SC-GN01, immersive and personal sound
The fact of collaborating between companies that are not dedicated to the same thing at first can be a bit strange, but then interesting things come up if they reach a good understanding and have experience in their respective fields.
That is the case with Panasonic and Square Enix . The first is a consumer electronics brand (although its businesses expand to projects such as creating smart cities among others) and the second a developer of titles as important as the Final Fantasy saga itself.
Well, a matter of a few months ago they announced one of their first collaborations, a sound bar that had been jointly designed between the two. Panasonic for its part took care of all the electronics and Square Enix of the sound modes and incidentally licensed the use of the Final Fantasy brand.
Now both of them return with a somewhat particular proposal, one of those that blows your mind because of how they arise. And is that Panasonic and Square Enix have created a personal audio device that you place around your shoulders to enjoy a more immersive experience. Although here the sound is projected in a usual way and not by other systems such as bone conduction headphones.
To obtain this immersive audio experience, the system makes use of different speakers that surround the user and that allows you to have the feeling of being surrounded by the sound of the game or even other audiovisual content that you can reproduce. It also has several modes such as a game created by Square Enix to adapt the sound to each type of experience:
- RPG mode for Final Fantasy type games that creates a sensation of reality and intensity as if you were inside the virtual world of the game
- FPS mode to have greater precision and know where your rivals are
- Voice mode to improve communication in those online titles where talking with others can make a difference
With four speakers that provide a total sound power of up to 4W, this new device is also capable of serving as a communication device by including a microphone that has a noise cancellation system capable of even eliminating the sound from the speakers, which they are very close. Thus the quality of communication is as good as with other options.
For the rest, to make use of this new immersive sound system for games you will only need to connect them to the USB A port of your PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC and even Nintendo Switch when it is used next to the Dock in TV mode. If you want to use it with one of Microsoft‘s consoles you will have to resort to using the 3.5 mm audio jack directly plugged into the side of Xbox One as well as Xbox Series X and S.
An alternative to headphones and sound bars
There is no doubt that Panasonic’s proposal is somewhat particular and, above all, very personal. As with headphones, it is the wearer who is wearing them who truly enjoys the best experience. Still it offers advantages like those of a sound bar, because it avoids having something “covering” your ears during long periods of play.
So, this Panasonic SC-GN01 is a mix that could be interesting for those who do not support long periods of use with headphones or have a sound bar or other similar device that allows you to enjoy surround sound.
Price and availability
The new Panasonic SC-GN01 will arrive during the month of September , at the end to be a little more precise and will be available through the company’s store on Amazon. It seems that it will be the only way to get a unit and the price will be around