Sony announced Project Morpheus, a virtual reality system
for the PlayStation 4, at the Game Developers Conference.
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--- Virtual reality, the emerging 3D technology many
expect to be the next quantum leap in the video gaming
world, just got a little more real.
Sony, makers of the top-selling PlayStation 4, has rolled
out "Project Morpheus," a virtual reality system it says will
pair with its top-selling gaming console to immerse players
in the virtual worlds in which they're playing.
The system, announced Tuesday at the annual Game
Developers Conference in San Francisco, joins Oculus Rift,
a similar full-immersion VR system that has captured the
imaginations of gamers since its $2.4 million debut on
Kickstarter in 2012.
"At (Sony Computer Entertainment), we view innovation as
an opportunity to build on our mission to push the
boundaries of play," said Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE
Worldwide Studios, at the conference. "Project Morpheus is
the latest example of innovation from SCE, and we're
looking forward to its continued development and the
games that will be created as development kits get into the
hands of content creators."
Virtual reality utilizes a headset that gives the wearer a
360-degree field of vision, allowing them to interact with
their surroundings as if they were really there. Morpheus
will feature a visor-style headset and interact with the
camera on the Playstation 4 using sensors that track the
player's head movements.
Despite a multitude of other
dramatic changes through the
decades, the way console
gamers have interacted with
visuals has remained virtually
unchanged. The prospect of
replacing the static, two-
dimensional screen has many in
the gaming world anxiously
contemplating the possibilities.
"VR is exciting because it
thoroughly immerses players in
ways not possible on a regular
TV set," said Dan "Shoe" Hsu, a longtime gaming journalist
and editor-in-chief of GamesBeat .
"Wherever you turn your head, that's where you'll look, even
if it's physically behind you. That sort of 360-degree
immersion has never been done in a believable manner in
the past, but the technology has caught up. We can now
experience the same high graphical fidelity that we see on
HDTVs within virtual reality now."
Sony did not announce a specific timetable or price details
for Morpheus, saying models that will be made available to
developers are prototypes.
It all raises the question of whether top-tier game
developers will be willing to make the considerable
investment of time and resources it will take to create
games for a new, untested system that will only be owned
by some gamers who own one particular console.
Hsu thinks Sony is in a good position, though. In just three-
and-a-half months, the PlayStation 4 has sold more than 6
million units worldwide.
"Not every PS4 owner will buy it, of course," he said. "But
because Project Morpheus is essentially a new platform on
its own, there will be plenty of developers who will want to
be first or early on it. This is a chance for developers to
plant their flags in a new market."
So, what does the arrival of Morpheus mean for Oculus?
With Xbox-maker Microsoft also rumored to be working on
its own headset, will the independent shop get squeezed by
gaming's big names before it even hits the market?
Don't count on it.
For one, the Oculus Rift is designed to work, primarily, with
PCs. So, even if the console makers each develop their own
systems, there's plenty of space for the system to thrive
despite the competition.
And it's got plenty of momentum itself. Oculus has
drummed up more than $90 million in funding and, in
August, brought in legendary gaming developer John
Carmack, the lead programmer behind classic games like
"Doom," "Quake" and "Wolfenstein 3D," as chief technology
officer.
"Oculus is still in a great position with its head start in
development, both in hardware and software," Hsu said.
"Third-party games have been in the works for the Oculus
Rift for quite some time now, so the company is in a good
spot for when the headset releases."
The system got a profile boost at this month's South by
Southwest Interactive festival, when it was used for a
popular exhibit promoting HBO's "Game of Thrones."
"Competition is always, always good," Hsu said. "If Sony's
announcement forces Oculus to be even more aggressive in
creating a top-notch VR unit and getting it to market more
quickly, then the consumers will benefit."
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