Introducing Project Morpheus

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Introducing Project Morpheus
Shuhei Yoshida Head of PlayStation Indies, SIE

Greetings from GDC 2014! Earlier this evening, I had the pleasure to introduce Project Morpheus, SCE’s prototype virtual reality (VR) system that works with PS4. Virtual reality is the next innovation from SCE that we believe will shape the future of games.

Project Morpheus - PS4

I have long dreamed about VR and the possibilities it brings in regards to game development. 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 prototype for Project Morpheus is the culmination of our work over the last 3+ years as we’ve refined our vision for VR. This prototype will serve as the first development kit for PS4 developers that are as enthusiastic about this new medium as we are.

At GDC 2014 this week, attendees will be able to check out Project Morpheus in action at the SCEA booth through a handful of technology demos.

gdc14playstation gamesproject morpheusvirtual realityvr

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578 Comments

  • From_Concentrate
    March 18, 2014 at 7:34 pm PDT

    They look so sexy. Day 1 buy for me if the price is not to steep.

  • perrandy
    March 18, 2014 at 7:35 pm PDT

    sry but this looks like another gimmick to take an extra buck from consumers.just look at the move and ps eyetoy and 3D.the support for these features were just terrible.virtual reality has been done before just like 3d and it flopped.so, i expect this to flop as well if it ever sees the light of day because of lack of support from devs and publishers.

  • carols22
    March 18, 2014 at 7:35 pm PDT

    so many clueless people. “this will never take off.” VR will eventually take off , no doubt about it. will it be with this? maybe. and to the guys who said this is clunky…what do you want? I dont think you realize what a vr headset means

  • jonahgirma
    March 18, 2014 at 7:38 pm PDT

    Is it safe for your eyes?

  • djsaiyan
    March 18, 2014 at 7:39 pm PDT

    Judging by how the Oculus Rift has become so popular they can’t even keep the parts for it on hand anymore, and it’s not even DONE yet, I’d say there’s definitely a market, however niche, for this kind of product.

    If it works well. I hope it works well. I wouldn’t mind strapping on one of these bad boys.

  • finaler
    March 18, 2014 at 7:41 pm PDT

    I am glad this is finally officially announced. VR seems very exciting to me, and I’m glad this one seems to have what sounds like a great headphone attached to it (It confuses me why the Oculus Rift doesn’t).

    Now….I have high hopes Destiny will work with this but I kind of doubt it will. Err…any clue when this may be released to consumers? 2014?

  • speedycerv
    March 18, 2014 at 7:41 pm PDT

    Very awesome.

  • nsomaley
    March 18, 2014 at 7:42 pm PDT

    OH ITS SUCH A PERFECT DAY…. IM GLAD I SHARED IT WITH SHU!!!! YOU GUYS AT SONY ROCK…. I AM SO EXCITED RIGHT NOW… hey Mr. Yoshida, any idea on how long before this releases to the public?

  • perrandy
    March 18, 2014 at 7:43 pm PDT

    @carols22 just like 3D took off?dude open your eyes we are still years away for this to be taken seriously.i do think that people are right to be suspicious of something that has been tried before and failed. but if you want to believe then knock yourself out :)

  • Amnalehu
    March 18, 2014 at 7:44 pm PDT

    I hope we will be able to see our hands i the VR space. With the PS Move tech this should be doable. I have often imagined what it would be like to play a FPS and be able to shoot in direction A. Run in direction B. while looking in direction C. MLB baseball with move controls could really put in IN the game! Great job SONY!

  • RunOnTheRoof72
    March 18, 2014 at 7:44 pm PDT

    Looks nice. Can’t really tell what that think lying on the headset is but it must be necessary lol. Probably gonna be pricey af. Watch it be 200-300 dollars. So prob gonna keep a bun pch of people away from it especially if they just recently got something expensive like a ps4. Also, I wanted to know if you need a ds4 to control the movements of the player when in VR. And is it wireless?

  • DScareface
    March 18, 2014 at 7:44 pm PDT

    can’t wait till this comes out, glad to have been with the playstationnation since ps2

  • WhoDatHooligan
    March 18, 2014 at 7:46 pm PDT

    Looks great! Keep up the good work Sony, you guys never seem to disappoint me!!

  • RunOnTheRoof72
    March 18, 2014 at 7:46 pm PDT

    Also, I wanted to add that this thing won’t be releasednfor a while. Probably not until the ps4 slim or whatever the next version of ps4 is released. And even then, its gonna be cool, but will it worth it?

  • mrkingdomhearts
    March 18, 2014 at 7:48 pm PDT

    Will this have integrated audio? this looks sexy.

  • JeRzYzFyNeSt
    March 18, 2014 at 7:49 pm PDT

    When will it be the next major update for the PS4?? any hints? pleaseee

  • Enforcer_X
    March 18, 2014 at 7:49 pm PDT

    NEED IT!

  • subadictos
    March 18, 2014 at 7:49 pm PDT

    Will you explore other alternatives besides videogames for Morpheus like virtual tourism or educational applications?

  • JohnKarnes
    March 18, 2014 at 7:49 pm PDT

    Hope the price can be held down at least to the PS4 price. Hope to see more news in the coming week. Hope its not to far off. This alone is going to sell millions of PS4 consoles Sony is doing a Amazing Job at pushing the PS4 ahead..

  • Enforcer_X
    March 18, 2014 at 7:50 pm PDT

    @65 mrkingdomhearts

    I hope that’s not a serious question …

    And I quote, from the article above you obviously didn’t read.

    “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.”

  • IOblige
    March 18, 2014 at 7:52 pm PDT

    Gaming will always be about the games. A balance between in-game content and visual appeal. Who knows what developers could think of. This is AWESOME! I see in the future, “A PS4 bundle that comes with a VR headset”.

  • JMBlakk
    March 18, 2014 at 7:53 pm PDT

    Wow when you guys stated that you were working with NASA on a VR version of Mars, I could see where you would go with this. I would hope you bring PS Home to PS4 and make it compatible. Also looking into education would bring the console to a lot more homes. Maybe you could use soon of the foundation from PS Home and call it PS HomeSchool lol.

  • MegaPurtle
    March 18, 2014 at 7:53 pm PDT

    Need a tester :P

  • QNoir
    March 18, 2014 at 7:54 pm PDT

    I loved PS Move and still want Move support on PS4 FPS games, by the way.

  • Doomtack
    March 18, 2014 at 7:55 pm PDT

    I love the fact that sony is continuing to push 3D content. I love my 3D content, and hardware, and this looks like a day 1 buy for me.
    Here’s hoping we get more 3D content as a result

    (Salivates at the thought of playing Infamous Second Son in VR)

  • thematic168
    March 18, 2014 at 7:55 pm PDT

    please add support for PC/Oculus Rift compatible
    between Oculus Rift and Morpheus, I prefer Morpheus.

    but I also play using my PC, so without PC support, I’ll probably going towards Oculus Rift

  • TurismoM3
    March 18, 2014 at 7:57 pm PDT

    Off topic Shu, North America needs 64gb Vita memory cards like Japan. Please…………Pretty Please!!!!!

  • YO-MAMAS-HOUSE
    March 18, 2014 at 7:58 pm PDT

    This looks like its going to be an amazing product for the players. So if the PsMove is compatible with this are we going to see the PsMove come to the PS4 soon? Another question is that a couple friends and I are having issues with the ps4 which the one that occurs the most is after playing a recently played game the system will delete the game or the game will vanish from the screen but still show that the data is still there for it in the system storage, is there something we can do to make that stop?

  • FerrettKiller
    March 18, 2014 at 7:58 pm PDT

    Is the first game to be released for it ‘Sword Art Online’? If so, sign me up now.

  • S3NT13NT_GL1TCH
    March 18, 2014 at 7:59 pm PDT

    What I want to know is, how does this differ from any other attempt at VR? Other companies have been trying to do this for decades (remember the VirtualBoy anyone?) and all have been met with failure. Even the Oculus Rift has some serious hurdles ahead of it. Basically, any VR unit like this one will face at least three main problems:

    1.) Pricing. (Units like this are EXPENSIVE to manufacture, which means that they are expensive for consumers to buy.)
    2.) Comfort. (VR units are notorious for inducing motion sickness, causing eye-strain and for being very heavy and uncomfortable to wear for extended periods.)
    3.) Support. (You can’t just expect to use a VR headset with any game. Developers need to have devkits, and as we’ve already seen with 3D-TV, most game developers don’t see it as worth the financial risk to add native support for a device that not even 1% of the population owns.)

    I’m curious how you plan to find practical solutions for these three very important issues.

  • GummyCore
    March 18, 2014 at 7:59 pm PDT

    Talking about innovative gaming technologies, whatever happened to Simulview on 3D displays? Only a handful of supported games (count them!) and that’s the end?

  • XeahuleXolic
    March 18, 2014 at 8:00 pm PDT

    Shu Yoshida your amazing thank you for showing us this!! :D When it is complete I will be adding this to my wonderful sony collection ;)
    吉田秀 （は、世界で最高です ！

  • MYAIRSPACE
    March 18, 2014 at 8:00 pm PDT

    This seems really promising! I hope there are already great developers working on this! One question though: Will the framerates/resolutions of the games that will be playable with Morpheus be unified and be 1080p, or will there be fragmentation across game graphics?

  • Falaut
    March 18, 2014 at 8:01 pm PDT

    Absolutely incredible. The only remaining worry is the price. Around $500 and I’m in.

  • stuballs86
    March 18, 2014 at 8:01 pm PDT

    Shu, I have decided to be a beta tester :P

  • xXE-manXx
    March 18, 2014 at 8:02 pm PDT

    Awesome! Though, why does this only have a 90 degree viewing angle instead of 110?

  • Virtute1979
    March 18, 2014 at 8:02 pm PDT

    If the Camera is required will there be more of them in stock in the near future (or ever)?

  • kunluncat
    March 18, 2014 at 8:03 pm PDT

    I bet Grand Turismo 7 will support it! If so, I will buy it day one!

  • cyberpunknut
    March 18, 2014 at 8:03 pm PDT

    Looks nice.

    Now make some more PS4 cameras please.

  • RyuZX
    March 18, 2014 at 8:04 pm PDT

    So, what is up with the PS Store?

  • pablofsi08
    March 18, 2014 at 8:07 pm PDT

    My biggest problem with this kind of technology isn’t how you will control it, or how real the games will actually feel, or how many games will actually be developed for it or with an option that includes it because you guys (especially in Japan) know how to implement stuff adequately. My biggest problem is and I’m gonna use cruel adjectives: geeks and nerds jumping onto this wagon to stay out of reality even more, giving an infamous (inFAMOUS :p) name and publicity to this, and making people that never played a videogame, more prone to labelling all videogame players as people that want to live in virtual realities to escape their own. Geeks/nerds, worldwide, are a minority of the actual public that plays games.

    I know this sounds like a clique thing and me exaggerating but, these are decisive factors for the success or lack of of videogames as a hobby in the future, or even affecting society in a positive, or negative way. Think about it.

    PS: While you are at it, we want a Knack Multiplayer, lol.

  • sciteach
    March 18, 2014 at 8:07 pm PDT

    The possibilities are endless, and I’m excited that Sony is pioneering this. I like that just more than games are expected as a result. Thanks Sony, I really appreciate your “Next gen” attitude, and your confidence in moving forward.

  • Xanzar
    March 18, 2014 at 8:08 pm PDT

    So this means that game characters will no longer be brought to our world, rather we will be brought to theirs……….ITS A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN GAMING. This is just a prototype but it looks so good. I mean if the prototype looks that cool the final form must be(will be) twice as awesome. :D

  • FiresHatred
    March 18, 2014 at 8:09 pm PDT

    Can’t wait I’ll purchase day on day 1. :D

  • nephanor
    March 18, 2014 at 8:10 pm PDT

    I can’t wait to see the stats on the final. I hope it at least has HD video, and perhaps a built in chat microphone. Either that, or make it so that you can wear a bluetooth earpiece with it. As someone who got to play with Dactyl Nightmare when it first came out and loved the whole idea. Make this work, and you can bet I will pre-order this months in advance just like I did my PS4!!

    PS. Please let me use my Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset with my PS4, I miss it’s noise reduction, perfect for loud games.

  • pablofsi08
    March 18, 2014 at 8:10 pm PDT

    Oh and motion sickness: I have that problem with some 3D games so… I think I’ll have to pass on this.

  • DaNTi3L
    March 18, 2014 at 8:10 pm PDT

    It looks gorgeous i can’t wait to learn more about what it can do !!!

  • july161986
    March 18, 2014 at 8:10 pm PDT

    will it support all the ps4 and how will moving forward, side to side, backward as well as jumping, crouching and prone work?

  • issowi
    March 18, 2014 at 8:11 pm PDT

    I know you have said its a prototype in response to a few peoples question. Though what is a VERY HIGH LEVEL guess at a release window? Meaning less than 2 years, 2-5 years, 5+ years?

  • Izzy_Sparks
    March 18, 2014 at 8:11 pm PDT

    Looks pretty nifty. But does someone want to fix the rocksmith dlc pack that isn’t working today…just saying.

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