It's only been a year since Sony announced Project Morpheus, but at the time, we were impressed with the way that the Japanese giant muscled into the virtual reality space, seemingly nudging Oculus aside. Since then, the latter company has been acquired by Facebook, fierce competitor Microsoft has announced a different approach with HoloLens, and Valve has revealed its own wearable tech. Suddenly, the PlayStation maker looks like the underdog again.
That's not stopped it from quietly overhauling its own headset behind-the-scenes, however, and as the race to dominate the virtual reality space heats up, it may have temporarily regained the upper-hand. In addition to a slightly more specific 2016 release date, it's also announced some significant hardware changes – including a new OLED display that outputs at "1920 x RGB x 1080 resolution", and includes red, green, and blue sub-pixels for impressive clarity.
The most important thing, however, is the screen's 120Hz refresh rate, which is hopefully going to result in some seriously slick looking content. Speaking during a press conference in San Francisco, Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida added that the PlayStation 4 has been built with 120 frames-per-second in mind, meaning that games are going to run super smooth when supporting the peripheral. The firm's also apparently concocted a method of doubling the framerate of titles already running at 60 frames-per-second, which it's demoing to the press.
Lastly, it's reduced latency to 18 milliseconds, meaning that you should see an immediate response when you move your head. This is a significant improvement over the previous prototype, and it's boosted by the addition of three extra LEDs, which will help with head tracking. Expect more on this over the coming days, as Sony provides a big update on the peripheral to the press and developers alike.
[source polygon.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 37
This is going to be so expensive. I don't know how they're going to keep the price down.
@BLPs Someone has to be at the forefront, though, right? If they wait, all that will happen is that Oculus Rift and Valve's thing will come out, and they'll look reactive.
Goodbye Reality, Hello Immersion. #LongLivetheVita
Up to 1k, I can spend on this device. Any more and I'll have to wait for a price drop.
@TheMemorandums Freedom Wars sequel compatible with Project Morpheus, would be great. or God Eater. I won't be picky.
@get2sammyb http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/04/oculus-sony-motion-sickness-virtual-reality posted this link as its really important and one of the main reasons oculus is taking so long to bring out the consumer version. The latency issue is massive as 18ms is only tiny, but your head interprets that lethargy in thought processing as sickness. Combined with the fact games are moving and you are not like travel sickness, your brain just implodes. I believe games in a cockpit will fare best on the other hand fps will not work at all.
My body is ready. Hit me with a price at E32015.
Couldn't care less. If it's more than £150-200 max it won't sell to people other than die hard Sony fanboys and tech heads. Even around or under that it will be hard to sell as you can't see it in advertising so there's no point advertising it (hello 3DS in it's first eight months). Complete waste of time and money from a company who really can't afford to be wasting money and have a record with console add ons so bad even Sega shake their head. For what it's likely costing they need nearly every PS4 owner to buy this when less than a tenth will give a damn.
@rastamadeus I think you're being a bit cynical, but I can't say I disagree with any of your points. If they thought figuring out how to get the darn thing working in the first place was going to be hard, then they're going to find selling it infinitely more challenging.
I do think that in a weird way having Facebook and Valve and all of these other companies involved helps them a bit, because the mainstream media is really latching onto this stuff right now. It's still going to be a very, very difficult sell, though, I agree.
@rastamadeus I don't know. Yes, whether or not the tech actually works is a BIG question mark. I too have many reservations, especially around queasiness etc. Only time will tell.
But, I don't think price etc will be the main driver, and I think it will appeal to much bigger audience than traditional gamers.
What matters is content. If there are the right games/other content people will pay. It could be huge, but they need high quality games, and other content. I can image a playstation home like application. The Sims etc. I always think of Ready Player One.
@BLPs I wouldn't necessarily buy project Morpheus, but I also think nintendo gets some free passes where it should. And I say this as a ps4, PS3, wii u, vita, 3ds, and former wii owner. You spoke about how long it took them to get to HD. It is completely unforgivable and behind the times to not have an account system that keeps track of your downloads. Seriously - I don't trust in the company at all with this - if my wii u fails, I expect that I'll lose all my digital downloads. I sold my wii u at first to fund the ps4, and later also got a wii u when they had games I wanted (for Christmas). For those saying that Nintendo can put the games back on your wii u - I lost every game I ever bought, which simply wouldn't happen even on the PS3 and 360. I talked with a nintendo rep and he didn't care one bit.
Sony isn't perfect and I don't dislike them or nintendo. But Nintendo has its issues too.
Hmmm... Sounds really impressive, but like everyone else here, I dread what the price will be.
Still, Sony surprised us with the relative affordability of the Vita and PS4 - so maybe Morpheus WON'T require gamers to take out a second mortgage?
I hope they get this right. Cause if they don't, it could kill interest in VR for the foreseeable future.
Having said that, I'm actually optimistic. I don't think they'd go through with it if they didn't have faith in it. Price doesn't really concern me, well, unless it's obnoxiously out of the question like $800 or more. But even if they can get it down to 500 or 600, I can work with that. PROVIDED, there are games worth playing. I don't want Call of Duty VR, and Minecraft ain't gonna cut it.
If I can watch movies, youtube and play games I'm a happy guy. if it can virtually create a screen size of 100 feet I'll be astounded. The VR headset could be the gadget to replace big monitors or tv screens. keep it below £200 and it'll be my next tv upgrade... except I can lounge on my bed or sofa and move my tv wherever I want it. neat!
Lol really? I expected at least one comment about sword art online.
I wish Sony success with this, even if it's not really something I'm interested in. I just hope it doesn't do something like make an Uncharted or Syphon Filter exclusive to this device. It does need games to sell but new IPs would be the way to go. I am interested to see how everything plays out.
I can't wait for this to come out. Take my money Sony. Sold
Only fools like myself will buy a kit like this for over $400, but what the hell is Sony thinking? Sony is still stuck in the post Japanese bubble mid- 90s, where there was loads of cash to spend, but Japanese companies were out of ideas what to do with it. Not only did it bring us the PS, and many other consoles for that matter, but also projects like MiniDisc and Aibo. VR isn't a PlayStation, it's an Aibo: an immensely expensive toy which will either fail commercially, or make Sony go bankrupt, or both.
If they're not gonna "sponsor" fhese headsets themselves, nobody will buy one. But there just isn't enough money to be made. In order to actually make money after selling it with a huge loss, their apps/ games should be >$100 to recoup some of the cost. And "experience" aside, VR games will simply be the weakest in terms of length, gameplay and at first graphics.
I saw Nintendo mentioned earlier and although they're getting lots of BS from gamers, they actually have a business model that make sense: bringing out hardware with cheaper components that are widely available and make sure you can make a profit out of it. Nintendo too had this crazy Japanese mid- 90s idea which we now remember as Virtua Boy, if we remember if at all, but the difference being that Nintendo actually learned their lesson, but Sonh still seem to think they've got money too burn. If MS were to do this: dumb, but what he heck. Sony on the other hand, it'll kill em if they do it right, it'll kill em if they don't.
I'm not a fan boy or a tech geek but I'd pay up to 500 quid if after its been reviewed it does what it supposed to and there's at least some games that interest me. I don't think it'll be anymore than £400 but the problem will be that if they ain't allowing most games to be straight forward compatible such as drive club and they have very little to offer on the software front, well, it won't sell at all, maybe as an add on for your blu ray player? Also, if it don't have eye tracking then I'll be almost completely disinterested.
Seems like they're pretty set on keeping queasiness and such down which is a very good thing! They're going to need the stable 120 fps and low low latency if they don't want to make people sick. Makes me wonder how good of graphics they'll be able to get if they need it running that smoothly. Didn't they say they believe they could get PS3 level graphics? That'd be great!
It'll be an interesting sell for sure. I feel as a whole there will be a lot more VR content to be found on a PC, but if Sony can provide some really good VR games and experiences I'll pick up a morpheus as well! For now though I'm sticking to PC for my VR needs. I'd be saddened to drop a couple hundred bucks on another VR headset and end up using it rarely due to a lack of content. They're going to need some good content in order to sell it for sure.
No matter how hard I try, I still can't be anything but skeptical about this tech. I'm sure it's awesome but just can't see it being mass-market...
@Spleetal the graphics strangely dont need to be brilliant, there was a 3d version of the original Zelda made by a student and it was blocky as hell, the person playing got sucked right into it (this is on the oculus) and thought he was in the game. But there are also problems with the pixilation, having a screen right on your nose you can see every pixel. I would post sources just type oculus pixilation issues and a hole ream of stuff comes up. That said I want this to work and would be happy to pay upto £200.
@Boerewors I'm very cautious of Sony and super new tech. I'll keep an eye on it in the coming years. But no doubt, if it works with all these companies, Nintendo will do their own version in a few years with a Nintendo twist.
If it's anymore than €200 then Sony will be fecked with this As I can see it kinda failing sadly.
@themcnoisy Yeah, I actually have an Oculus DK1 and have that downloaded! That game was tough enough as is, but its 20x harder when you have to look around corners and watch above as those monsters jump over you haha. Still is super fun though! The immersion is definitely still there with low graphics for sure! I was more just wondering what they will be able to output on the PS4 as it'll be an awesome experience for some games to seem more realistic art style/graphics wise as well as the more unique art styles and such!
Yeah, the DK1's pixels are very much recognizable, but still doesn't ruin the immersion strangely. I'd like to think with the OLED screen will eliminate the screen door effect. Immersion wise it is very easy to get sucked in if your just sitting still and looking around. It's not until you try to reach for something and don't see your in game body move or feel what your trying to grab which Sony seems to be using the PlayStation move to support that kind of thing. Of course you wont feel anything besides a controller still, it's a step in the right direction!
It's crazy though, on driving or roller coaster/amusement park experiences you do get that sense of moving or going upside down and such. I love to look up when going through loops and such as it really makes my brain think its on a ride or something haha
@readyletsgo
With these specs it simply has to be more; Sony isn't in a position to "kickstart" the VR Revolution by throwing billions at a time at it. And surely nintendo will adopt it once it's proven a succes, that's why they make money on every console sold. Sony should let others fight the initial "war of public acceptance" and get in once it's an actual business. MS and Nintendo are laughing their asses off atm: let Sony invest and we'll improve on that (or make it fun in nintendo's case) whenever it turns out a to be a hit after all.
If they make an elders scrolls game or fallout for it i will pay up to 1k for one!.
...2016...u wot m8
I want to try VR so bad ; ; havent had the chance to try any of the upcoming VR devices.
PS4 owners love 'moar powar' (and resolution apparently) and therefore this is going to fail hard. Same as Vita. The PS4 can hardly run the latest COD at 1080p 60fps, what are you expecting the Morpheus to run? Surely not COD.
@Ginkgo I disagree on its appeal. People who buy just a couple of games a year won't invest until their games (COD, GTA, FIFA, etc) are on it and those companies won't touch it until it's looking like a winner, which it won't be as after initial opening day hype it will rot as no-one really wants it. Vita 2.0.
@get2sammyb I'm only cynical as VR comes around every five years then vanishes without a trace. Seen it happen time and time again (showing my age) and this won't be any different.
Two other points I'd add is even here - on a Sony site - it's 50/50, and it looks stupid. Johnny Casual and his missus won't put that on their head as they'd look a tit, no matter how impressive the tech is.
@rastamadeus haha 'look a tit'. And it's very true.
I'm not great remembering buttons on a controller as I have so many different ones. If I'm playing gamecube for a few week and then I go to ps or mega drive or whatever, I have to look at the controller to know the buttons again. So with that in mind, 'VR', I'm out.
People saying they will spend a grand on this, are you people crazy!!!!
I doubt this will sell well at 1k a pop but 500 should be doable (but still a hard sell this day and age)
Hopefully the games they are wasting time on making for this can be played on a normal TV with the PS4(without the VR stuff of course) Because i do hate when we get things like this & PS MOVE & PSP/Vita & Cam stuff games because all that time and effort making those games could of gone into making normal PlayStation 'Home Console' games. Well that is the way i see it Oh well.
I don't have much of an interest in these headsets, I think it's the wrong way to try and bring more immersive elements to gaming. I mean you have to wear a huge thing on your head, shove small screens directly into your eyeballs, lose the ability to interact with other people in the room, and it's for sure going to cause motion sickness or overall harm. Your body is ready? Your eyeballs and brain arent.
Let's not even talk about bumping into things on a near constant basis, better buy spill-resistant water bottles for the house. It feels like these headsets are getting bigger and bigger as the years of advertising "we promise VR works!" goes on and on.
@get2sammyb Any idea if this thing's definitely going to be wireless? My guess is it will be, but 1080p at 120hz with 18ms lag sounds like a tall order, especially if the video (and audio) feeds are transmitted over wireless.
My price point estimate (as many others have offered their own guesstimate) is £299 at launch. I'm not sure if Sony would make a profit at this price but any more than £300 and I'm not sure it will get much buy-in from the mainstream consumer market.
As long as Project Cars supports Morpheus I'll be at the front of the queue when it launches. And GTA support would be awesome (I can dream!).
Don't know if I could play this thing long enough to get woozy, it looks so uncomfortable and heavy I hope for Sony's sake it delivers.
@get2sammyb I'm just hoping they never release good games that require the expensive headset to actually play them.
(I purposely avoid PS Move exclusives etc)
@NomNom If Freedom War or God Eater came to Project Morpheus. I would be the happiness gamer in the world! #LongLivetheVita
Tap here to load 37 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...