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Official: Sony VR headset 'Project Morpheus' revealed
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida unveils 'Project Morpheus' VR headset for PS4
As expected, Sony has officially confirmed plans to release a PS4 virtual reality headset during a GDC presentation Wednesday.
Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed the long-rumored device during the presentation titled: 'Driving the Future of Innovation at Sony Computer Entertainment'.
"VR is the next innovation from from Playstation that may well shape the future of games," said Yoshida, who stood next to a covered-up prototype.
Yoshida briefly showed videos of a prototype version of the headset - which appeared to consist of Sony's currently available head mounted display with a Move controller attached to the side - used to play a first-person version of God of War 3. The firm also showed a trailer of downloadable title Datura testing with the virtual reality headset.
Sony has worked on the VR headset for three years, said Yoshida, as he unveiled the latest version of the Project Morpheus unit (pictured). "This is by no means the final unit", said Yoshida.
"We believe Morpheus will further enhance the world of PS4" with seamless integration with the PS4 controller and Move controller, said Yoshida.
The "current dev kit" tech specs are as follows:
Code:
- 1080p display
- 90 degree field of view
- 1000Hz tracking
- 3 meter working volume
- Full 360 degrees
- Supports forward prediction
- DualShock 4 and PS Move with the same camera
- True spacial sound, synthesized by stimulating the human ear.
- Highly Adjustable
- Comfortable for Prolonged use
- Direct on-board audio jack for headphones.
- 'Social Screen feature' mirrors experience onto TV (Allows for unique asymmetric gameplay)
- No weight placed on nose or cheeks.SCEA R&D senior software engineer Anton Mikhailov declined to comment on 'final retail' tech specs during a Q&A at the presentation.
Four demos will be playable at GDC on Wednesday. They include:
Code:
- The Deep, London Studio (deep sea diving sim)
- The Castle Demo, PlayStation R&D, (object interaction, swordplay)
- Eve Valkyrie, CCP
- Thief, Square Enix (a special build specifically for VR)SCEA R&D senior director Richard Marks took to the stage to offer further details on Sony's outlook on VR development. Marks shared visions of how VR will be used not just for gaming but for other parts of everyday life. Users will, for example, be able to preview a hotel virtually before booking a room.
The Project Morpheus unit contains hardware that will allow it to mirror its display on a TV, allowing others to spectate gameplay.
Via this functionality, Mikhailov detailed the possibility for developers to create multiplayer games that will have players passing the headset from one person to another - a concept that's somewhat similar to multiplayer mechanics in some Wii U games using its GamePad controller. Only a single VR headset will be connectible to a PS4 console at a time.
For VR to succeed, Marks said the technology must excel in six key areas; sight, sound, tracking, control, ease of use and content.
Marks hinted that the PS4 camera was especially designed for VR head tracking. 'The PlayStation Camera has stereo cameras, almost as if it was designed for VR," he joked. The camera will help accurately track head motion with Morpheus, in much the same way as the camera tracks the Lightbar on the top surface of the DualShock 4 controller.
"We want to make PlayStation the best place for VR," said Marks, before confirming several companies and game engines Sony is working with to foster VR content, including Unity, Havok, Epic Games, Crytek and Silicon Studio.
"This is like the wild west right now. There's no killer genre you have to support. How often do you get to start a new media?" Marks asks.
Mikhailov discussed the unique challenges of developing games for VR. Players' sense of presence, he said, is critical.
"If you don't feature presence, it's not clear why people aren't playing the game on a screen," Mikhailov says. Third-person games can work better to let people observe all content from a set perspective, said Mikhailov.
Virtual tourism and other interactive media are other major avenues for VR, but 'games are best', added Mikhailov.
Some additional info:
Code:
- Morpheus is using both HDMI and USB ports together when plugged into PS4
- wireless will probably not be an option, "floating" nature of screen will allow players to check the cables when playing
- 960x1080 per eye / stereoscopic 3D
- 40-30 ms latency ATM with goal of significant reduce
- HDMI out for option for other people to experience players perspective of playing on conventional set in the same room (HDMI pass trough basically)
- currently needs to be within 3m of Camera view for accurate positional tracking
- online Morpheus play is naturally possible
- no PC plan ATM but everything is "possible"
- PS3 compatibility is not excluded
- no dates, no price
Q&A
Q"Would the unit ever be stand-along without a playstation?"
ANo not really.
Q"Is it wired?"
Acurrent protoype is wired... 5 meters. We're investigating other solutions, obviously everyone wants it to be wireless.
Q"When will the unit come out?"
A "As soon as possible" (laughs)
Q"Are you working with Oculus or other makers to sync APIs?"
A"I think now it's all just in spirit, there isn't any standardization yet."
Q"Will it support PC? HMZ series was popular among PC gamers because it was HDMI. Do you see a future where it could go beyond the console world?"
A "We're not discussion product decisions today."
Q"How many units do you plan people to have?"
A"Right now it's one per PS4"
Q "Are you looking into eye tracking?"
A "Yes"
Q"given the horsepower question, will the VR experience rendered for the PS4 be rendered slower than 2D games on the PS4?"
A"The graphics are so rich because you are immersed. You need a different kind of graphics optimization."
Q"Seems like Project Morpheus works in conjunction with the PS Move. Is the next step in the process to work on haptic responses?"
A "I think haptics would further enhance presense. We're not currently working on any specialized VR haptic peripheral, but down the road I think haptics will be a big part of VR"
Q"what do you guys see for VR for school systems? Do you see this project being used for education?"
A "One of the great things about consumers electronics is affordability.There's great work now by USC using VR for PTSD treatment. Our hardware will be useful for those efforts too. Currently our experience with NASA has been positive."
QOn the list of content and tool partners, there were many involved in 3D. Can you comment in the specific role that you see 3D playing with Project Morpheus."
A "It's different than 3D cinema -- this is fundamentally different because we're correctly rendering the view for each eye. The experience is different than 3D TV. Some of the tools will overlap, especially the authoring tools will be useful for VR rendering."
Q"I'm wondering why the name 'Project Morpheus'
A "Well... we decided on the name last week" (laughs). "It was decided because Morpheus is the god of dreams... not a Matrix reference." (laughs)
Q"have you let your kids try it or any kids... are there recommended age ranges?"
A"We've had young people try it and they've been very excited by it."
Q"Locmotion: you can put your hands in the game with the PS Move... any option to get your feet in there so you can move around?"
A "We're researching... it depends on what you're trying to accomplish."
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