The School of Information Technology and Computing entered into an agreement with Sony that grants the department access to develop projects compatible with the company’s gaming systems.

The contract gives the school access to Sony’s Playstation and Vita systems, which includes access to Sony’s virtual reality technology.

Dr. Brian Burton, associate professor of digital entertainment technology, said that after the school was ranked 27th on the Princeton Review’s Top 50 undergraduate game design programs, that it should take advantage of that high ranking and send an application to Sony.

“Sony is very protective with their devices but they have allowed select universities around the world to be able to develop applications for them,” Burton said. “We’re not making apps for them, but we’re teaching students to make applications that could potentially be installed on a Playstation.”

Burton said he sent the application to Sony in April and played a waiting game until late June when he finally got the tech company’s approval.

With gaming taking a turn for the realistic, Burton affirmed that a good portion of the development with Sony’s technology will focus on creating virtual reality games.

“We’ve made a huge investment into virtual reality and augmented reality equipment and this is just one more area that we will be able to develop,” Burton said.

Along with access to Sony’s technology, the school will also have access to development tools from the company. Burton said the school will also be receiving a Sony Playstation for testing student applications that is expected to arrive in October.

Burton said the honor of working with Sony is a testament to the school’s talent and potential.

“This means that we are creating things that the game companies want to see. The students in the program have the resources and the tools to create what might be the next blockbuster game,” Burton said.

Austin Graham, senior, digital entertainment technology major from Corpus Christi, said the partnership is a great opportunity for students to dip their toe into the workforce while still studying at university.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity. It really shows how our department is looking to work with companies out in the field to help DET majors and SITC to get some hands-on experience before actually going out into the workplace,” Graham said.