Sony reveals Project Morpheus, its VR headset for PlayStation 4 | VERY HEAVY UPDATE ADDED

[AlexGoesHigh]

http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/18/5523984/sony-reveals-project-morpheus-its-vr-system-for-ps4

 

Update the whole post to add as much content its possible

 

highlighted most remarkable parts but i recommend to read all of it 

 

 

Sony has revealed its plans for virtual reality technology on the PlayStation 4. Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, showed off a prototype headset at a Game Developers Conference 2014 event entitled Driving the Future of Innovation. "Nothing delivers a feeling of immersion better than VR," said Yoshida. "VR has been a dream of many gamers since the computer was invented. Many of us at PlayStation have dreamed of VR and what it could mean to the gaming community."

 

"NOTHING DELIVERS A FEELING OF IMMERSION BETTER THAN VR."

 

The VR system is currently codenamed Project Morpheus, and will work with PlayStation 4. While still in prototype form, Yoshida says that Morpheus is the "culmination of our work over the last three years to realize our vision of VR for games, and to push the boundaries of play." The headset uses a 1080p display, offers a 90-degree field of view, and will integrate with the PlayStation Camera for tracking and PlayStation Move for motion control. Sony says the headset doesn't put weight on your nose or cheeks, and its design allows for airflow without the lenses fogging up.

 

"VR IS GOING TO BE PERVASIVE."

 

Sony Magic Lab's Richard Marks, who pioneered the EyeToy camera and PlayStation Move, joined Yoshida on stage to offer further details on Project Morpheus. "The thing that makes VR special is really the feeling of being in another place... there's no way to explain it to you that will make sense, but it's that feeling of presence," he said. "VR is going to be pervasive, and what I mean by that is it's going to be used for all sorts of things you might not think it would be used for." As one example, Marks says he's been working on a project with NASA and its Jet Propulsion Lab that will allow PS4 owners to feel like they're right with the space agency on Mars.

 

Marks has identified six areas that Sony needs to crack in order for VR to work: sight, sound, tracking, control, ease of use, and content. For sight, Marks refers to Sony's considerable weight in optics and imaging technology. For sound, the company is working on 3D binaural tech to aid presence and immersion. For tracking and control, Marks says the PlayStation Camera and PlayStation Move are ready-made solutions. For ease of use, Sony plans to make it a comfortable, plug-and-play experience. And for content, Marks showed a long list of software partners including Epic Games, Crytek, Autodesk, Unity, and more. Sony will be showing demos of Thief, EVE Valkryie, and more running on Project Morpheus at GDC.

 

Although VR is yet to turn up a viable consumer project, the concept has been gaining momentum ever since Kickstarter-funded startup Oculus VR showed off its first headset, the Rift, in 2012. The company demonstrated a more refined Oculus Rift prototype, codenamed Crystal Cove, earlier this year, with more contenders set to join the fray. Valve is working on similar VR technology of its own, and Microsoft has explored augmented reality glasses, known as Project Fortaleza, that would work with the Xbox One's Kinect sensor.

 

Sony's announcement today, however, marks the first serious effort from a first-party platform holder, and could prove the most attractive option yet for VR developers. "We have seen passionate people at Oculus VR and Valve introduce VR prototypes and share their learnings," said Yoshida. "I have an enormous amount of respect for them. This shows how all of us as an industry can rally around a new medium like VR to push gaming forward."

 

 

huge image reel from the verge live blog in the spoiler

they talk about sony's tech that went into the prototype

 

 

very early makeshift prototypes

 

 

features that VR needs to work

 

software partners for content

 

the six guidelines needed for VR to work

 

 

 

tracking features

 

 

 

they are going very hardcore into VR and they have been working on this since the move launched essentially, even before oculus started their kickstarter and showed their first prototype  

[beebskadoo]

I didn't think that the PS4 would be able to push the refresh rate and resolution required for VR?

Interesting to see what this thing is like.

[zxcvbnmmssdh]

How long will this take, like 4 more years until complete

[Vitalius]

I didn't think that the PS4 would be able to push the refresh rate and resolution required for VR?

Interesting to see what this thing is like.

Not sure what you are talking about Beeb.

1080p and 60 hertz is all that's needed. At least, imo. Apparently the Rift was good even at 720p (although, obviously, 1080p would be a welcome improvement and 1440p would be even better, though a console isn't going to push that).

Draw 1 picture, and change the center of it and mirror it in each display so that it looks like you are looking from 2 slightly different view points. From the console's perspective, that's just 1080p at 60 hz and mirroring the display (which uses next to no resources AFAIK). 

[totjup5]

LOL this is going to be terrible. The ps4 isn't even close to being powerful enough for vr.

[onionring]

I didn't think that the PS4 would be able to push the refresh rate and resolution required for VR?

Interesting to see what this thing is like.

it doesnt(at 1080p 120hz)

but you could run it at 720p 60 fps per eye. (like the current oculus dev kit)

OR

they could run at 1080p 24fpds per eye (like crystal cove which reduced frame rate in order to reduce nausea caused in the dev kit)

[Vitalius]

LOL this is going to be terrible. The ps4 isn't even close to being powerful enough for vr.

Not seeing why you think that, but ok.

I find PC enthusiasts (even though I'm one of them) seem to over-do all requirements for things. Because bare minimum isn't enough to us I suppose, but whatever.

[beebskadoo]

Not sure what you are talking about Beeb.

1080p and 60 hertz is all that's needed. At least, imo. Apparently the Rift was good even at 720p (although, obviously, 1080p would be a welcome improvement and 1440p would be even better, though a console isn't going to push that).

Draw 1 picture, and change the center of it and mirror it in each display so that it looks like you are looking from 2 slightly different view points. From the console's perspective, that's just 1080p at 60 hz and mirroring the display (which uses next to no resources AFAIK).

720 on the rift was OK but it was apparently noticeably jaggy. Not optimal IMHO for a realistic experience. It's 60 hz for each eye so 120 hz essentially from what I understand.

[Vitalius]

720 on the rift was OK but it was apparently noticeably jaggy. Not optimal IMHO for a realistic experience. It's 60 hz for each eye so 120 hz essentially from what I understand.

*not understanding why 120hz is required*

[MagnetSh0CK]

*not understanding why 120hz is required*

I thought Carmack allowed it to be 250hz, because it was so important. Either way, Oculus Master Race!

[Askew]

What about Valve's VR?

[Vitalius]

I thought Carmack allowed it to be 250hz, because it was so important. Either way, Oculus Master Race!

Until it's explained, I see no reason to require 120hz for VR. 

If (assumption) the displays were to be effectively mirrored, 60hz would be fine. 

That's probably not how they are doing it then. Weird.

[Misanthrope]

In case anybody needed more proof of VR being the next stupid fucking trend right after 3D and motion controls, now we'll have console manufacturers jump aboard.

[Sharkyx1]

Again Oculus uses one big 1080/800/xxxx resolution display, you don't need 60hz per eye beacause both eyes look at the same screen

 

and again, 1080 60hz is not difficult, its just a matter of choosing the detail level you want to render, you should all know this, you probably game on pc.

 

PS4 could render 4K 60hz if they set up the game for it, just as easily as my computer could.

 

Metal Gear Solid : Ground Zeroes & Tomb Raider Definitive

1080 60hz

 

Believe it or not, some devs look at the hardware and prefer a more detailed image over 60hz

no screenies but: Infamous Second Son,The Order: 1886, Ryse and several others

[alchemist11]

According to tear-downs and reported news of the Oculus Rift, Project Morpheus has almost the same specifications as the Crystal Cove version; 1080p viewing display with up to 1000 Hz refresh rate (the Verge has failed to report this detail). Some of the more smaller technical details reported on the Oculus are not present (at least not reported yet) on Project Morpheus. One thing that should duly be note is that Project Morpheus is not closed completely to the console; right now just PS4 is supported and rightly so. Considering SOE will be supporting the Oculus Rift for PS2 and EQ, there is also a possibility Sony will support Project Morpheus on the PC as well.

 

As there is no set standard in the VR space, one cannot say a system is better than the without trying them. Unlike Oculus, one aspect Project Morpheus may have an edge is sound. It looks like Sony will be using their assets from their sound division (along with their camera division) to provide the best immersive experience in 3D surround audio with the device.

[MagnetSh0CK]

As there is no set standard in the VR space, one cannot say a system is better than the without trying them. Unlike Oculus, one aspect Project Morpheus may have an edge is sound. It looks like Sony will be using their assets from their sound division (along with their camera division) to provide the best immersive experience in 3D surround audio with the device.

I wouldn't trust Sony for anything but the playstation. Everything they do SCREAMS proprietary, so this won't be an exception. Oculus didn't include headphones so they could let the consumer use what they probably already own, which cuts down cost and makes less points of failure. Unless it costs twice as much as the Oculus, it's just fake surround sound to make Gamer's "feel immersed."

[Rassilon]

I didn't think that the PS4 would be able to push the refresh rate and resolution required for VR?

Interesting to see what this thing is like.

It totally could. Hell, if they tried they could do 1080p120Hz.

 

Won't look pretty, but it'll work. 

[Rassilon]

it doesnt(at 1080p 120hz)

but you could run it at 720p 60 fps per eye. (like the current oculus dev kit)

OR

they could run at 1080p 24fpds per eye (like crystal cove which reduced frame rate in order to reduce nausea caused in the dev kit)

60 per eye doesn't mean observed 120. It means 60. 

[AlwaysFSX]

I didn't think that the PS4 would be able to push the refresh rate and resolution required for VR?

Interesting to see what this thing is like.

If it's anything like the prototypes of the Oculus Rift where the resolution is much, much smaller than a normal gaming monitor then the PS4 shouldn't have that much of a problem.

[ACatWithThumbs]

Until it's explained, I see no reason to require 120hz for VR. 

If (assumption) the displays were to be effectively mirrored, 60hz would be fine. 

That's probably not how they are doing it then. Weird.

To display 3D you need 120hz or more to have 60hz for each eye.

[Mindtrickz]

It's apparently better than Oculus Rift:

 

Geoff Keighley: "Developers who have used Project Morpheus tell me the fidelity of the image and experience is superior to Oculus Rift."

[qwertywarrior]

i want sony to DIE

please die !!!

 

 

this is the shit that they always do

they come late

do half assed crappy work

[ACatWithThumbs]

Geoff Keighley: "Developers who have used Project Morpheus tell me the fidelity of the image and experience is superior to Oculus Rift."

It doesn't matter, everybody knew Sony could make a better VR headset.(They already had the Head Mounted Display that was better than Occulus)

But the Ps4 just can't drive 1080p/60FPS in 3D.

If they make PC support it will be hard for Occulus to compete.

But if it will be Ps4 only it will fail really hard.

[Mindtrickz]

i want sony to DIE

please die !!!

 

 

this is the shit that they always do

they come late

do half assed crappy work

 

 

 

You are aware that Sony has been producing a head mounted display since 1997, right? And that they have been in that market far far longer than Occulus.

 

The first was the Glasstron from 1997:

 

Then the HMZ-T1 from 2011:

 

 

The HMZ-T2

 

 

 

Their latest HMZ-T3 and the HMZ-T3W

 

 

Anyway, they have been working on Project Morpheus since 2009.

 

 

2012:

[qwertywarrior]

 

snip

i tired the T1 btw it was a pos

i guess u dont know why pretty much every one hates them as a company

1.proprietary crap they keep doing

2.over price the hell out of everything