VR is Why You Can't Turn Off the PS4 Controller's Light Bar

[hal9001]

From tom'sHARDWARE:

"About six months after Sony launched the PlayStation 4, the company introduced us to Project Morpheus. Morpheus is the company's virtual reality effort and comes at a time when the VR industry is on the cusp of a major breakthrough. Though the PS4 was around before we ever heard of Morpheus, Sony has said it has been working on Morpheus for several years, so it should come as no surprise that the platform has influenced certain aspects of the PS4. In fact, we now know that the feature of the PS4 controller that hasn't really made a lot of sense up until now was specifically designed with Morpheus in mind.

Speaking to TechRadar, senior Sony designer Jed Ashforth said that the DualShock 4's light bar is a tracking light put in place by Sony's VR team. As a result, despite complaints about the light draining battery too quickly, reflecting off the TV, or being a distraction, users won't be able to turn it off or deactivate the light completely, even though Morpheus won't be around for quite some time. While that light bar is going to go unused by any kind of VR technology for now (it's going to shine on for the motion tracking camera), it will eventually be used by Project Morpheus, so it stays.

Like most of the VR solutions we've been getting really, really excited about over the last year or so, Morpheus isn't quite ready for prime time just yet. Sony has been working on this project for more than three years, and the company says it will continue to develop Project Morpheus for a "future commercial launch." Nothing more specific than that. We know that Sony is currently working on getting a dedicated SDK out to developers. The company did demos of the technology at GDC back in March, featuring EVE Valkyrie, Thief, The Castle, and The Deep, but it will likely be next year before we see the technology available for consumers."

Source URL:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/sony-ps4-light-bar-function,26742.html

I am personally interested in the rift more as are most of you, but competition promotes innovation and lower prices, so keep it up SONY!

Lol #firstworldproblems

[Askew]

Sounds like bollocks to me, it could just switch on when using tech that needs it.

[heineygoat]

Yeah, still don't see why it can't be turned on and off..

[othertomperson]

Or why they couldn't use IR. It would have been lower power and far less obnoxious.

[StingBull]

"In fact, we now know that the feature of the PS4 controller that hasn't really made a lot of sense up until now was specifically designed with Morpheus in mind"

 

I don't buy it. I don't believe Sony planned for any of this, they are just pretending to appear smarter than they actually are.

 

Whether or not Sony thought the Morpheus before or after Oculus Rift is a moot point. Morpheus was a reaction to Oculus Rift. It was never going to go into production if it wasn't for Oculus helming the way for virtual reality. They didn't put the light on the controller so that Morpheus could use it, it was for the PS camera thing and also could be used as a status light.

 

Ever since Wii, consoles needed a gimmick to sell and this was Sony's gimmick along with the touchpad area. But now they have Morpheus and they figure hey we might use that thing we put on the controllers!

[LeTexan]

It's obviously a lie, the Kinect 1 & 2 don't need you to put a lamp in your hands in order to track your whole body, and even if the light was actually used to track your hands, joined, what a crappy thing ! So much technological late, very 90'

Sony trying to bullshit us as they always does with the PS4, I'm starting to doubt I will ever buy a console after my PS2.

[KakaoDj]

Repost breh

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/149524-breaking-news-sony-designed-the-ps4-for-vr-from-the-start/?hl=sony

[ItsComrade]

So wait, they are anticipating a technology which is nearly completely unknown, at the launch of the console? Are they really expecting that many people to buy it that is already integrated? Wow Sony, that's pretty ballsy...