Five Sony Stores across Japan’s major cities are holding collaboration events with InFold Game’s Infinity Nikki, running from January 10 to February 3. The Ginza Sony Store’s exhibit in Tokyo is of particular interest, as it showcases a demo prototype of Sony’s latest olfactory technology – the Grid Scent. This means that visitors get to smell the world of Infinity Nikki – and there have already been some reports of what it’s like.

The Grid Scent is experimental spatial aromatherapy technology that emits scents with precise control over factors like distance, angle and duration, with the goal of adding the dimension of smell to movies, games and music (source: Sony).

Sony’s concept images for the Grid Scent (left) and Tensor Valve technology (right)

Sony’s collaboration with Infinity Nikki allows visitors to enter a cubic theater called Shikaku, inside of which they can view (and smell) Infinity Nikki’s promotional videos as the Grid Scent does its magic.

As for what it actually smells like, 4Gamer describes identifying the fragrances of roses, lavender and vegetation while viewing establishing shots of the village, as well as an oceanic smell during fishing scenes. Scenes of Nikki herself were enhanced by the smell of her perfume.

Despite there being a surprisingly large number of scents during the 2-minute experience, they apparently did not mix or linger, and there was no sensation of mist hanging in the air or something being sprayed around you. Gamer.jp reports that “the scent is emitted from a nozzle at the bottom of the monitor, and the amount is adjusted to prevent multiple scents from mixing, taking into account the distance from the viewer.” The Grid Scent seems to be equally effective at eliminating scents as it is at creating them.