Updated: Everything we know about Sonys VR headset - price, games and more
First demoed at last years GDC, Sonys Project Morpheus now has an official name - PlayStation VR.
The VR headset has the tech and gaming communities all a quiver as it, along with rivals like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, points towards a huge shift in the way video games are played and a massive virtual reality revolution.
And, at GDC 2015 we finally got the launch date news we were after...its hitting the shops in 2016.
Hands-on: PlayStation VR review
But what do we know of Sonys VR gaming headset? How much will the headset cost and what games will you be able to play on it?
Read on to find out everything we know....
In a blog post, Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios, said, "Our goal with VR is to deliver a sense of presence, making the player feel as though theyve stepped inside the world of a game. The new Project Morpheus prototype brings us closer to that goal, as it improves the visual experience and tracking accuracy, both of which are critical to achieving sense of presence."
Sony has given us a rather vague release date for PlayStation VR: the first half of 2016. In an interview with Gizmodo, Yoshida said that a more precise timing could be nailed down once Sony is certain of the technical specifications.
Theres still no word on the cost of PlayStation VR, but Yoshida told Gizmodo that "this is a console product so we like to provide our hardware at as low price as we can do."
A more important upgrade here is to the refresh rate, which runs at a 120Hz instead of 60Hz - higher than both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vives 90Hz. Early games wont natively run at 120 FPS - instead the PlayStation4s reprojection software will add an extra "tween" every frame to make it feel like they are, but the overall experience should be silky-smooth.
Another contender? Xbox One VR headset rumours and news
Other additions include an upgrade of the number of head-tracking LEDs on the unit from six to nine, and a halving of latency times, which combine to make lag a thing of the past.
The headset itself is said to be comfortable, with the majority of the units weight resting on the top of your head, and its even usable when youre wearing glasses. A quick-release button makes it easy to get on and off, and its the only VR headset weve seen so far which doesnt look like a climbing accessory.
Sony PlayStation VR will, of course, hook up to the Sony PlayStation 4. The PS4 is at the very beginning of its life cycle so its malleable, and its AMD graphics processor has been built to handle stereoscopic 3D processing.
However, Sony has created a secondary box that connects to the PS4 via USB and HDMI, to handle the specifics of the headsets operation. A nice feature of the box is that it also includes HDMI-out, so you can connect a screen and see what the users experiencing without any distortion.
Sony has suggested that it could develop a wireless version of the VR headset; Senior game designer Jed Ashforth said the company would "never say never" when questioned about the possibility of a wireless Project Morpheus.
In the demos that weve seen so far, Project Morpheus games have been controlled using the standard DualShock 4 controller, which is spatially aware – along with the PlayStation Move paddles.
Speaking as part of a panel at PlayStation Experience in December, Shuhei Yoshida, Worldwide Studios president stated the big ambitions for core games on the platform.
“Weve been showing experiences that are intentionally passive and easy on people to make sure that everyone who tries has a great time," he said.
“Weve been doing lots of experiments, and discovering lots of great stuff. Some of the experiences are quite fast, and we are surprised at how we dont get sick. that I cant talk about that gamers will enjoy."
You can watch the full panel discussion:
The VR headset has the tech and gaming communities all a quiver as it, along with rivals like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, points towards a huge shift in the way video games are played and a massive virtual reality revolution.
And, at GDC 2015 we finally got the launch date news we were after...its hitting the shops in 2016.
Hands-on: PlayStation VR review
But what do we know of Sonys VR gaming headset? How much will the headset cost and what games will you be able to play on it?
Read on to find out everything we know....
PlayStation VR: Release date and price
At GDC 2015 Sony unveiled a completely updated design of Project Morpheus. While its a hand-built one-off it gives a better idea of what consumers can expect from the unit.In a blog post, Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios, said, "Our goal with VR is to deliver a sense of presence, making the player feel as though theyve stepped inside the world of a game. The new Project Morpheus prototype brings us closer to that goal, as it improves the visual experience and tracking accuracy, both of which are critical to achieving sense of presence."
Sony has given us a rather vague release date for PlayStation VR: the first half of 2016. In an interview with Gizmodo, Yoshida said that a more precise timing could be nailed down once Sony is certain of the technical specifications.
Theres still no word on the cost of PlayStation VR, but Yoshida told Gizmodo that "this is a console product so we like to provide our hardware at as low price as we can do."
PlayStation VR: Design
The 2015 Project Morpheus model keeps its predecessors Full HD 1920 x 1080 display, but ups it from 5-inches to 5.7-inches, which gives a 100-degree field of vision. It also features RGB subpixels, which help smooth out the image.A more important upgrade here is to the refresh rate, which runs at a 120Hz instead of 60Hz - higher than both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vives 90Hz. Early games wont natively run at 120 FPS - instead the PlayStation4s reprojection software will add an extra "tween" every frame to make it feel like they are, but the overall experience should be silky-smooth.
Another contender? Xbox One VR headset rumours and news
Other additions include an upgrade of the number of head-tracking LEDs on the unit from six to nine, and a halving of latency times, which combine to make lag a thing of the past.
The headset itself is said to be comfortable, with the majority of the units weight resting on the top of your head, and its even usable when youre wearing glasses. A quick-release button makes it easy to get on and off, and its the only VR headset weve seen so far which doesnt look like a climbing accessory.
PlayStation VR: Hardware
Sony PlayStation VR will, of course, hook up to the Sony PlayStation 4. The PS4 is at the very beginning of its life cycle so its malleable, and its AMD graphics processor has been built to handle stereoscopic 3D processing.
However, Sony has created a secondary box that connects to the PS4 via USB and HDMI, to handle the specifics of the headsets operation. A nice feature of the box is that it also includes HDMI-out, so you can connect a screen and see what the users experiencing without any distortion.
Sony has suggested that it could develop a wireless version of the VR headset; Senior game designer Jed Ashforth said the company would "never say never" when questioned about the possibility of a wireless Project Morpheus.
PlayStation VR: Motion tracking
PS VR uses the PlayStation Camera to provide tracking and is able to locate the back of the head as well as the front so users can look directly behind them. The camera tracks the VR headset around 1,000 times per second providing a seamless experience.In the demos that weve seen so far, Project Morpheus games have been controlled using the standard DualShock 4 controller, which is spatially aware – along with the PlayStation Move paddles.
PlayStation VR: Games
Check out the boxout on the left for our pick of the confirmed titles - theres plenty to get excited about. PlayStation VR demos at the Tokyo Game Show include Final Fantasy XIV from Square Enix, Hatsune Miku, Summer Lesson and Danganronpa VR. Sony is taking PlayStation VR to Paris Games Week at the end of October so we could see some more demos and announcements there.Speaking as part of a panel at PlayStation Experience in December, Shuhei Yoshida, Worldwide Studios president stated the big ambitions for core games on the platform.
“Weve been showing experiences that are intentionally passive and easy on people to make sure that everyone who tries has a great time," he said.
“Weve been doing lots of experiments, and discovering lots of great stuff. Some of the experiences are quite fast, and we are surprised at how we dont get sick. that I cant talk about that gamers will enjoy."
You can watch the full panel discussion:
