Take a walk through the corridors of / r / battlestations and it won’t be long before you start spotting a bunch of PC gaming configurations that also include the latest game consoles. PC gaming monitors that work well with high-end consoles are not a new idea, but Sony is taking the opposite approach with its latest “Inzone” accessories. Technically, they are PlayStation 5 accessories that also work with your computer. The launch collection includes two wild-looking monitors and a trio of headphones.
The Inzone monitors are very clearly in the style of the PS5, with large stretches of curved white plastic offset by black cuts. Integrated support is also … let’s call it “unique”. A huge central pillar tilts from front to back, adding several inches of depth directly behind and in front of the screen. The panel can be moved up and down the inclined plane, which means that moving it forward also moves it down and vice versa. If you don’t like this, the monitors can be used with standard VESA mounts and there’s some RGB lighting on a strip on the back.
The monitor comes in two varieties, both 27-inch. The most premium Inzone M9 has a 4K and 144 Hz resolution on its IPS panel with a response time of 1 ms, while the Inzone M3 comes with standard 1080p and 240Hz. Both include support for Nvidia G-Sync and similar VRR mode on the PS5. Inputs include two HDMI 2.1 ports, a single DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C (no word on power for charging the laptop), standard triple USB-A ports, and a headphone jack. Monitors can switch between inputs in the usual way, but when connected to a PS5, they will automatically enable automatic HDR tone mapping and switch dynamically between movie mode and game mode depending on the content.
The Inzone M9 will cost $ 900 when it hits the market, which is a bit pricey, but in line with Sony’s somewhat aspirational market position. The Inzone M3 will cost $ 530.
But what if you also want your head to be perfectly equipped for your PS5? Sony offers you three headset designs, the Inzone H9, H7 and H3. The flagship H9 is wireless with virtual surround sound, noise cancellation and ambient voice detection, features taken from Sony’s high-end Bluetooth headset designs. The cans include 40mm drivers, 32 hours of battery life and physical controls, as well as 2.4GHz dual USB audio and Bluetooth 5.0. When they hit the market, they will charge a very expensive $ 300.
The slightly less indulgent Inzone H7 has the same features as the H9, minus the noise cancellation, which also increases battery life by up to 40 hours. It costs $ 230. The wired version of the headphones is the H3, which also has no noise cancellation (and with a black plastic microphone instead of white), which comes in at $ 100 much nicer.
The Inzone headphones will be launched at the usual retail suspects on July 7, and the monitors will arrive in a more nebulous “summer 2022” time period. All of them will be compatible with a new package of Inzone Hub drivers and configuration software for Windows after release.