You Really Shouldn't Expect Oculus Rift Support on PS4

John Carmack's not holding his breath

by Sammy Barker Sat 23rd Nov 2013

In a development about as predictable as the day making way for night, industry legend John Carmack has quit his role at id Software. The writing was on the wall earlier in the year when the DOOM programmer announced that he would split his time between the Bethesda owned outfit and Oculus VR, the firm behind the PC-based Oculus Rift headset.

“John Carmack, who has become interested in focusing on things other than game development at id, has resigned from the studio,” said studio director Tim Willits in an official statement. “John’s work on id Tech 5 and the technology for the current development work at id is complete, and his departure will not affect any current projects.”

Willits added that the developer still has a “brilliant group of programmers” that will drive the company forward in the future. Meanwhile, writing on his personal Twitter profile, Carmack admitted that he wanted to remain a technical advisor at the studio that he helped to create, but that it “just didn’t work out”.

The luminary will now focus his attention entirely on the Oculus Rift headset, which it seems is not coming to the PlayStation 4. Asked about support for the next generation console, Carmack explained that “Sony would have to allow support for the sensor interface”. He added that he’s not holding his breath.

Of course, there’s a good reason why he may feel that way. Strong speculation suggests that Sony is working on its own Oculus Rift-esque headset for use with its newest addition to the PlayStation family. Rumours indicate that the peripheral was due to be announced this year, but was held back until 2014. Are you eager to strap yourself into a new dimension? Kit up in the comments section below.

[source twitter.com, via twitter.com, polygon.com]

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.

1
Paranoimia
Sun 24th Nov 2013

I used one of the early VR headsets in an arcade in London's West End in the late 80s. Although I'm sure this will be technically far better, the experience will be fairly similar, so... no, I can't say I'm particularly interested or bothered about it.

Having something strapped to my head was extremely distracting and uncomfortable, and after being eager to try it out, I couldn't wait to get it off my head.

2
InsertNameHere
Sun 24th Nov 2013

First party games would be built to support Sony's VR-headset, while the OR would be exclusive to third party titles. If that's the case, then I couldn't care less about the PS4's lack of Rift support.

I also think Sony's headset will be the superior one, which makes me care even less about whether or not the PS4 supports the Oculus Rift.

3
JuanitoShet
Sun 24th Nov 2013

If Sony really did end up announcing their own device, I'm sure it'd be a great one. Better in buid quality comoared to the Rift, I'd say. They know how to make good products.

4
Hokage17
Sun 24th Nov 2013

I'm guessing thats not the final design of the Rift because it looks very uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. No matter how advance the tech is, if it's not appealing to the public eye and the price isn't right, nobody's gonna care, and this just so happens to be one of Sony's biggest strengths.

I've read several articles where the Rift team is down talking consoles saying they're not powerful enough to support the Rift unlike the PC, but in my opinion if the consoles aren't supporting them then their potential is limited because all the hardcore gamers and most casuals play games on consoles. For the record, Valve is also rumored to be building one to support their Steam Machine so if valve is also in the race then Rift has an even slimmer chance because Valve practically is PC gaming.

5
NathanUC
Sun 24th Nov 2013

I had the opportunity to try one of these out and I wasn't all that impressed. To be fair, it was a dev build so the resolution was very poor, but the overall use of the motion tracking made it feel really awkward and intuitive.

The idea of a 3D display you can wear on your head is brilliant if it's comfortable and affordable, but all the extra bells and whistles of the Rift seem a bit forced and difficult to properly utilize.