Sony already has experience with headsets

As the rumours surrounding the PlayStation 4 taught us before it was officially announced, there’s no smoke without fire. It seems, then, that Sony really is making a push into the virtual reality sector, quietly concocting a PS4 headset that could rival the Oculus Rift. Our friends over at Eurogamer.net broke the news earlier in the week, and now Games Industry International has uncovered a little more information.

According to the site’s sources, the peripheral is very much in production, and was demonstrated to select developers behind closed doors at E3 earlier in the year. While a Tokyo Game Show reveal had been mooted, the publication claims that this is off the agenda for now, while the platform holder focuses its attention on its next generation console’s launch. An announcement, according to the article, is much more likely to be made next year ahead of a holiday release.

Perhaps most interesting is how the device will work, though. Apparently, the headset uses the PlayStation Eye – similarly to the PlayStation Move motion controller – and tracks bobbles on the outside of its chassis. This makes the unit much more accurate than the Oculus Rift, allowing you to essentially enter game worlds and look around in an intuitive manner. However, it creates some aesthetic issues, which the firm is still ironing out.

Allegedly, the company is aiming to promote the device heavily. The site’s sources state that the manufacturer is planning a bigger push than its aforementioned motion peripheral, and is hoping that the technology will become a key differentiator in the future. We still think that cost will be a big issue, though – Oculus Rift development kits aren’t cheap, and when you factor in the price of the console itself and a PlayStation Eye camera, this is going to be an expensive option.

Still, considering the hints that company executives like Shuhei Yoshida have been dropping, we very much believe that this is on the way. Sony’s apparently trying to get more developers onboard behind-the-scenes, and we hope that it’s successful with its efforts; there’s an enormous amount of potential in technology like Oculus Rift, and the platform holder is one of the few firms with the muscle required to make it mainstream. Are you interested in the idea of a PS4 headset? Let us know in the comments section below.

[source gamesindustry.biz]