Sony's Project Morpheus VR device will "shape the future of games," claims Yoshida
Sony unveiled its long-rumoured virtual reality headset at GDC 2014 last night, and the company's President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has penned a blog on the concept, suggesting it could "shape the future of games."
We have a full report on Sony's Project Morpheus VR reveal, during which Yoshida confirmed it is distributing dev-kits to developers, with a view to pushing the "boundaries of play." Early prototype footage suggests the device was in development as far back as 2010, and at present it works together with PS4, PS Move and the PlayStation camera.
Now; Yoshida has penned a post on PS Blog EU that elaborates on some points, starting, "Virtual reality is the next innovation from SCE that we believe will shape the future of games."
"I have long dreamed about VR and the possibilities it brings in regards to game development," he went on. "This new technology will deliver a sense of presence, where you as the player actually feel like you’re inside the game and your emotions feel that much more real.
"Our current prototype for Project Morpheus features a head mounted display with 1080p resolution and a 90 degree field of view. Accelerometer and gyroscope sensors built into the head mounted unit as well as PlayStation Camera accurately tracks head orientation and movement, so as your head rotates, the image of the virtual world rotates intuitively in real-time.
"Project Morpheus also features our new 3D audio technology that re-creates stereoscopic sounds in all directions and changes in real-time depending on your head orientation. In addition to PlayStation Camera, Project Morpheus works with DualShock 4 Wireless Controller and PlayStation Move to deliver an easy-to-use, plug-and-play VR experience."
The plug-and-play issue is one of key concern for VR sceptics, who feel they would have to buy several component parts to get devices like Oculus Rift running. It's something I discussed with a group of VR-developing studios in my latest roundtable interview.
Yoshia confirmed that Project Morpheus has been in development for over three years, and is playable on the GDC 2014 floor.
What do you think of the device so far?