PANASONIC INTRODUCES FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online*¹ EDITION, SC-GN01 WEARABLE IMMERSIVE GAMING SPEAKER SYSTEM (WIGSS)

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 

• Exclusive design and unique packaging
• Iconic sound effects from FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online (FFXIV) play during power on and when switching sound modes
• Designed for gamers in collaboration with FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online from SQUARE ENIX® *²
• Offers three distinct sound modes to further heighten the gaming experience
• Realistic sounds with Panasonic's original True MAGESS technology equipped with 4-channel full range speakers
• Pursues comfort even when used for a long time with an ergonomic design that you wear on your shoulders
• Equipped with a high-performance noise and echo cancelling dual microphone for clear chats

Panasonic has announced the FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online Edition of the Wearable Immersive Gaming Speaker (WIGSS) SC-GN01.

Designed in collaboration with SQUARE ENIX® Co., Ltd., this special model comes packaged in a unique box and has both the FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online logo and iconic meteor logo printed directly on the product body.

Players will also love the special sound effects pulled directly from FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online when launching the game and when switching sound modes.

Special Sound Effects

Designed with players in mind, the GN01 includes special sound effects pulled directly from FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online.

Unique "Power On" Sound – Players of FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online will be greeted with the FINAL FANTASY® XIV "Prelude" melody line when powering on the GN01.

Switching Sound Modes – Inspired by FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online's unique Armory System, the job change sound is played when switching sound modes.

"When FFXIV players hear this sound, they'll immediately associate it with the act of "switching." Plus, players hear this sound effect often during gameplay, so switching the sound modes repeatedly recreates a situation similar to what happens in game — I think this makes the choice very effective for an FFXIV collaboration. I'm sure this will drive our players to spam the "switch sound mode" button for no reason!"

Masayoshi Soken – Sound Director and Composer at SQUARE ENIX®

The GN01 offers a high-fidelity sound field which enhances game audio and provides a truly realistic journey within the game world. The GN01 is optimized for use with FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online, the critically acclaimed MMORPG^*3 from SQUARE ENIX®. and provides an unparalleled audio experience within the world of Hydaelyn.

The GN01 is equipped with three sound modes expertly created through joint development with the FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online sound team, allowing users to fully enjoy immersive gameplay.

"Even when talking about game sounds collectively, the sound design varies greatly depending on the game content.

"Sounds to immerse yourself in the game world.
Sounds to aggressively grab a victory.
Sounds to feel the charm of your favorite characters.

"To maximize various elements of these game sounds, we went to Panasonic to discuss our particular ideas as 'gamers'. And this is a product that Panasonic has given their all to develop to meet our expectations. (With considerations beyond just sound design, Panasonic has demonstrated their attention to detail and focus on gamers with decisions such as adjusting the USB cable for an overall improved experience.)

I would like all gamers to experience this sound."

Masayoshi Soken – Sound Director and Composer at SQUARE ENIX®

"We equipped sound modes with many adjustments from the player's perspective, assuming various game genres and play styles.

In the RPG mode, we incorporated various adjustments to convey the immersive feeling of 3D spaces and powerful productions more dynamically, and in the FPS mode, we applied tuning to solidly capture 360° sounds without any unnecessary exaggeration.

We expect that everyone's surround sound and gaming experience will become even more special with modes that are optimal for each game."

Go Kinuya – Audio Editor at SQUARE ENIX®

Three Gaming Sound Modes

Great sound, whatever the style of play

GN01 is equipped with three distinct gaming sound modes:

• Role-Playing Game mode
• First-Person Shooter mode
• Voice mode

Role-Playing Game^*4mode - Ideal for role-playing games and optimized for FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online. This mode creates a sense of reality and intensity — as if you were inside of the game's virtual world.

First-person Shooter^*5mode - Provides accurate spatial audio which allows users to hear subtle sounds such as footsteps, giving players the advantage in first-person shooter and third-person shooter^*6games.

Voice mode - Enhances human voices to provide a truly immersive experience. Recommended for adventure games^*7, where clear dialog can provide important clues.

Switching between the three modes depending on the game being played will create an experience filled with intensity, tension, and a high level of reality.

The GN01 also includes a Music Mode and Cinema Mode to provide a realistic listening and viewing experience for content other than games.

Furthermore, by equipping a high-performance noise and echo cancelling dual microphone, the GN01 allows you to chat clearly with other players while still enjoying the powerful surround sound of the GN01.

Sound Quality Designed for Gamers

Immersive sound, thanks to the latest audio technologies

The GN01 features a wearable design that encapsulates the original sound technology, True MAGESS (Majestic Augmented Gaming Environment Sound System) with 4-channel full-range speakers. Panasonic offers a high-quality gaming speaker by combining their original processing technologies:

• True MAGESS (Majestic Augmented Gaming Environment Sound System) – Featuring 4 full-range speakers that deliver high surround sound in all directions around the neck, neodymium magnets are used by the speakers to create a high-quality listening experience.
• High-performance signal processor – With our original sound processing technology, the GN01 up-mixes 2ch content to 4ch to create a realistic surround sound experience around the ears. This technology is also compatible with multi-channel content and is able to reproduce it as natural sounding surround sound experience.

The GN01 speaker system and unique processing technology create a more realistic acoustic field, making the user feel as though they are enveloped by sound in all directions – helping gameplay by placing footsteps, gunfire and other critical sound effects accurately within the soundscape.

Wired specifications for minimizing sound delays

Comfortable gameplay with less delay

With an emphasis on eliminating sound delays, a wired connection with a USB cable was chosen to ensure the best experience possible. Many game consoles enable connections with a single USB cable^*8, so you can play without worrying about delays in various game playing environments.

Ergonomic Design for Comfort

Powerful immersive sound enclosed in a wearable design

The GN01 was designed to be worn on your shoulders and features optimal speaker placement and signal processing technology to deliver a rich and powerful sound experience. The shoulder-wearing design allows you to enjoy long gameplay sessions without the fatigue that comes from over ear headphones squeezing your ears.

The GN01 features Panasonic's original housing structure based on the results of human body data analysis that pursues comfort even during extended gameplay.

SC-GN01 Main Feature Summary

Great Sound with Comfortable Design

• Three game-specific audio modes
• True MAGESS (Majestic Augmented Gaming Environment Sound System) with 4-channel full-range speakers
• Original signal processing (up mix/down mix to 4ch)
• High performance noise and echo cancelling dual microphone for chatting
• Ergonomic design for comfortable extended gameplay

NB: Functions, function names, and specifications are subject to change without notice.

Why Use a Wearable Immersive Gaming Speaker System?

Enhances the Gaming Experience

Gamers often use headphones for immersive gameplay, which can become uncomfortable after prolonged use. The GN01 allows gamers to play in the same immersive manner without the discomfort of a headset.

Specifications

A comfortable gaming speaker with great surround sound

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® also named the Panasonic SoundSlayer Wearable Immersive Gaming Speaker System – Final Fantasy Edition (SC-GN01PPFF) a CES® 2022 Innovation Awards Honoree in two product categories – Headphones & Personal Audio and Gaming. The SoundSlayer WIGSS is honored for its thoughtful, wearable design, innovative sound engineering and combination of immersive sound modes. The announcement was made ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022, the most influential technology event of the year, which will take place January 5-8, 2022 in Las Vegas, NV and digitally.

"We are proud that the SoundSlayer WIGSS has been named a CES 2022 Innovation Award Honoree," says Ellison Ferdinand, Sr. Product Manager - Audio. "At Panasonic, we are committed to purposeful innovation that not only pushes the bounds of technology, but that is useful and helps us achieve a better life for a better world. Special thanks to our engineers and our friends and partner, SQUARE ENIX for joining with us to create such an innovative product." 

The CES Innovation Awards program, owned and produced by CTA, is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in 27 consumer technology product categories. The SoundSlayer WIGSS was selected by an elite panel of industry expert judges who reviewed more than 1,800 submissions.

In 2021, the SC-HTB01, the first product in the SoundSlayer line, was also honored as a CES® 2021 Innovation Awards Honoree.

The SoundSlayer WIGSS – Final Fantasy Edition will be available in February 2022 (MSRP: $249.99) on Amazon and BestBuy.com. The full SoundSlayer line will also be available for demonstration at the CES 2022 Panasonic booth.

About Panasonic Corporation of North America    
Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is committed to creating a better life and a better world by enabling its business-to-business customers through innovations in Sustainable Energy, Immersive Entertainment, Integrated Supply Chains and Mobility Solutions. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation. One of Interbrand's Top 100 Best Global Brands of 2021, Panasonic is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. Learn more about Panasonic's ideas and innovations at https://na.panasonic.com/us

About CES 2022 Innovation Awards
The CES Innovation Awards program, owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products across 27 product categories. An elite panel of industry expert judges, including members of the media, designers, engineers and more, reviewed submissions based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetic and design.

Panasonic North America Social Handles:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/panasonic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanasonicNA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panasonic
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/panasonic-northamerica
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/panasonicusa

Please visit our website for details: https://www.panasonic.com/gaming/

Functions, function names, and specifications are subject to change without notice.

*¹: Developed by Square Enix® Co., Ltd., the critically acclaimed MMORPG FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online takes players on an epic and ever-changing adventure as they explore with friends from around the world and experience all of the hallmarks of the FINAL FANTASY® series. Find out more and sign up for the free trial here: https://sqex.to/FFXIVFreeTrial

*²: About Square Enix, Inc.

Square Enix, Inc. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX®, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content throughout the Americas as part of the Square Enix group of companies. Square Enix, Inc. is affiliated with a global network of leading development studios such as Crystal Dynamics® and Eidos Montréal™. The Square Enix group of companies boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 164 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 83 million units worldwide; TOMB RAIDER®, which has sold over 85 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix, Inc. is a U.S.-based, wholly owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. More information on Square Enix, Inc. can be found at https://square-enix-games.com

*³: Massive multiplayer online role-playing game: any story-driven online video game in which a player, taking on the persona of a character in a virtual or fantasy world, interacts with a large number of other players.

*⁴: Role-playing game: A type of video game genre in which players adopt the roles of imaginary characters in an adventure.

*⁵: First-person shooter: A type of video game genre in which the player assumes the field of vision of the character, so that the game camera includes the character's weapon, but the rest of the character model is not seen.

*⁶: A type of video game genre in which the player assumes a perspective view of the character, typically positioning the camera over the shoulder of the player.

*⁷: A type of video game genre characterized by investigation, exploration, puzzle-solving and interactions with game characters, and a focus on narrative rather than reflex-based challenges.

*⁸: Be sure to check the instruction manual of each compatible device before using it by connecting it.

Trademark Notice

FINAL FANTASY XIV ©2021 Square Enix Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

FINAL FANTASY and SQUARE ENIX are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Square Enix group of companies.

SOURCE Panasonic Corporation of North America