Sony are working towards a release for Project Morpheus, their VR headset, in the first half of 2016, but in an interview with DigitalSpy, Shuhei Yoshida has revealed that the actual hardware is “pretty much done”.
That hardware is pretty much done, but there are minor tweaks here and there the engineers know they want to improve. With the iteration process, this prototype is almost handmade, and the next iteration will lead us to the consumer electronics hardware making process.
“Now we have the core done, we can draw the road map towards the launch, so that’s what we will do. Of course, there’s the software side as well, like SDKs, drivers and tools. We will continue to develop and improve it, even after the launch of Project Morpheus.”
All of the things announced at GDC – such as support for 120Hz – do add to the cost, but they “want to make the first step right” and since they’ve achieved that, their job is to keep the “cost down as much as possible to deliver it to consumers at an affordable price”.
While the hardware will still be iterated on from now until launch, there will also be a focus on software, so they can get the all important games out for the system. When Digital Spy ask whether they’ll be working on full AAA VR experience, Yoshida was hesistant in his reply, stating that “a lot of learning and experimentation has to be done by developers” and there are currently “small teams iterating on different ideas to find out what mechanics work, and create games around it.”
“You might see some high production value products at the launch as well” continues Yoshida, but they won’t officially be unveiling the games until E3. As for the demos we’ve seen so far, DS ask whether they’ll become full games, to which Yoshida replies “These are demos, as of today.”
As for multiplayer, they’re taking an interesting approach to local proceedings, where one player will have the headset and another might interact using a controller: “Some of our teams are designing games around that idea, to have multiplayer where one player is wearing a headset, and the other player is watching the TV using DualShock to interact. We plan to show examples later this year.”
And online multiplayer, according to Sony’s head of R&D Dr Richard Marks, will be even better:
“Some of the experiences that I’ve gotten to try are really powerful, where you see the other person’s head move, and the motion of their head is very… it’s not a game character, it’s a real person, you can tell, because it’s so animated, and it might even be motions that you know, so you can see the person from that. Then there’s the voice, and having 3D audio and having that from the same place is really powerful.
“In VR you have somebody right next to you, and that’s a very strong feeling when there’s a person near you. I’ve had the experience of somebody whispering into my ear virtuality – and they’re in my space, that’s what it feels like!”
Project Morpheus will release in the first half of next year.
Source: DigitalSpy
baggyg
Wish them the best of luck. I am fully behind the PC headsets but there needs to exist a good accessible console version to gain mass appeal IMO. Reading reviews from GDC15 most people seemed to be surprised how good they have got it.
simplebob
As much as I’m sure this will be an impressive bit of kit, I seriously doubt I will ever get one. Having jumped on the EyeToy and Move bandwagons, Sony will need to have one heck of a games line up for this before I would even consider parting with cash.
SamBeThyName
I tried a VR headset for the first time last week. It’ll blow your mind, Ive always felt suckered by Move etc but these headsets are fooking amazing!
deepmenace
agreed…but i think
eyetoy + move + morpheus = all the bits of the puzzle.
we were being used as a test case.
boeboe
Exciting times.
What are people expecting price wise?
RudeAwakening
Im expecting to be no more than 300, Sony would be very unwise to price it more than the ps4 itself. I think Shu said in an interview that it would not be more than the price of the PS4.
JR.
Me too, around the £300 mark. That’s pretty reasonable if you already own a PS4 but it’s still pricey if they’re trying to appeal to those who don’t. Maybe they’re do bundles?
boeboe
Yeah pricing it above £300 and the Ps4 wouldn’t be a great look. And to be fair for brand spanking new tech to be around this price at launch, isn’t that bad when you look at how much those Sony HMD things are. Its going to get really interesting when all 3 (or is it 4?) VR headsets hit the shelves, all presumably at different prices..I can see it being a much harder sell for those like Occulus who are PC only.
PS4+Morpheus+a launch game+playroom type thing for £500 maybe?
Avenger
£300 is insane. It won’t be long before the PS4 is below that price mark, and frankly, the amount of things £300 could be better spent on when you’ve a perfectly decent TV, would just make £300 a stupendous price mark. I’d be surprised if it’s around that price mark, more so if it becomes popular.
For a guess, I’d say 149.99. It’s feasible given the tech, perhaps less so with the amount of research done and it being new tech, but still they mentioned ‘an affordable price’, and for a hi-tech peripheral, 149.99 is the limit. Anything more, and I’m not sure many people in the land of real life would want to know. No pun intended.
CrawFail
Yeah I’d say £149. I can’t imagine it’s going to be a premium build as far as its materials. the OLED screen will push the cost up a touch but that’s about all.
If they want to compete with the other big boys they’ll need to price competitively.
I’m also hoping they don’t follow suit with the Vita, PSMove, and PSTV and push it out the door and let it fend for itself. They need a good advertising campaign!
boeboe
£150, really? So the screen is the most expensive part followed by the accelerator/gyro things?
camdaz
Looking forward to playing Project Cars using Project Morpheus. I wonder which one we will see first?
Kennykazey
The Last Guardian.
bunimomike
Oh, now you’re just being silly. ;-)
TSBonyman
Anyone see the new episodes of Community? The Dean tries VR … after a few minutes of elaborate arm waving while running about on an omnitrack he announces “I’ve successfully increased the font size!”
RudeAwakening
I can’t wait for this, to me this is true next gen and im jumping on the wagon as soon as it arrives. The potential that morpheus has is astonishing, not just with gaming, especially the whole nasa partnership Sony announced at morpheus revealing.
JR.
I’m interested to know how this all works? Do you still use a DS4 like a normal game? I keep picturing myself walking around the room like I’m actually in the game. Walking into things and ducking if something flies at me. I wonder if you could wear if on a treadmill so it’s like you’re actually walking/running in the game?
Crazy_Del
Wear it while on treadmill…. what if you have to go in cover? Surely you’ll fall off the treadmill xD