A special announcement from GDC in San Francisco
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 PlayStation®4 (PS4™). 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. 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.
Never expected VR ;)
Looks really good aesthetically, specs are more than I expected and can only get better from here. Hopefully this takes off and we see some really cool games for it.
First up: Elder Scrolls VI. :)
Thank you! :)
Can’t wait for this thing pre-ordered day one !!! GT7 and Drive Club here I come.
Amazing!!!! Thank you Shu, it looks awesome, cant wait till it will come out.
!!!!!
Thank you! :D
What if I’ve already spent £200+ on surround sound headphones and want to use those instead of the built in speakers?
Speaker is not built into the prototype, you can use your headset to plug into the unit.
I look forward to seeing this in action. Glad that version show is just a prototype, looks way too beefy.
I’ve been waiting all my gaming life for VR to come back. So glad I backed the Sony horse.
However, as I’ve said from the moment Move was announced… it’s a shame the controller doesn’t have an analogue stick. I know DS4 works with it but an analogue stick on Move would have made VR controls so much slicker, e.g. for turning; because turning your head or the whole “aim at the edge of the screen” to turn isn’t the same as turning your head independently from your body. I hope the controls turn out well without that second stick.
For conventional type game, you can use DualShock 4 no problem.
TRAXXAS58, External headphones are supported.
Very exciting and sleek looking!
Wish you would of used your patented leather gloves, to hold the VR set up to a beam of light though Shu :D
lol maybe next time :)
I’m a bit curious, will it connect wirelessly to the PS4? Also, does it utilize the PS4’s GPU for stereoscopic 3D or does it contain its own GPU?
Processor unit connects with PS4 via HDMI and USB, both PS4 and Processor Unit contribute to processing
Looks Great!!, and Glad to know its support 1080p for the resolution.
Will this VR Headset be a wireless device for video stream (like HMZ t3-w does)? or just a bluetooth display for PS4?
its already powerful than HMZ-t3w anyway.
Thank you Shu.
The prototype is wired. Latency is super important.
I want to be positive about this as the concept is sound but I think that the average gamer will be priced out of picking this new tech up. I’m also concerned that while I’m all for investing in new tech, there are still many issues that remain unsolved within SCEE. The disparity in regional pricing, games inconsistently releasing in one region and never seeing the light of day. The issues with missing content of ps plus in Europe. Lack of additional functionality for ps4 via firmware updates. The lack of major AAA games on ps4 and a reliance on indie titles to sell the machine. The lack of communication and responses from SCEE regarding said issues. The dismal treatment of vita owners in Europe. All of these are issues of the now. So while I applaud the vision for the future and it has some great potential (assuming priced reasonably) please fix the issues that are relevant now.
Shuhei, I know you try you best with feedback on twitter etc but please take feedback from Europe for problem resolutions and fixes. All regions take on board feedback, it’s acknowledged and improved on. In Europe we have no real outlet to do this other than the ps blog and tbh I would doubt if it’s ever passed on. So yes innovate but please fix the European treatment service and current issues before selling me more stuff. At present rate, there is no incentive to get excited because we all know nothing seems to change and so support and good service is likely to remain poor in Europe. Not a great point to sell the new awesome headset concept on.
Looks amazing Shu, question, will it allow for full body movements or just head?
Will you look into full body movements in future if not now?
Couple of arm/leg pads that can track full movement would be amazing.
PS Camera can track Morpheus Head Mount Unit, Dualshock 4 and PS Move at the same time
i will buy it the day it releases, my only concerns is the eye health from continuous use of the VR…make sure everything is ok SONY best of luck in this project!
Thanks, we are working with medical experts
Very interesting to see Sony go for consumer products in this space, excellent news. What will be used for audio? We’ve seen some claims that AMD’s TrueAudio was supported on PS4, but is that done through the CPU/GPU using emulation (basically a wrapper) or is there the same hardware/DSP found in TrueAudio graphical cards?
We have our own 3D audio solution which are used in demoes we are showing at GDC. We also work with middleware companies.
How much?!
Shut up and take my money now Sony….xD
:D
Incredibly exciting stuff! Thanks Shu, looking forward to giving it a try.
Playing an FPS made specifically with VR in mind is going to be epic! Looking forward to hearing more about the supported games.
Great work Sony! Thumbs up! :-)
Does it give any kind of physical feedback, like rumble?
ohhh why chinese made i want it to be american made
Good job Mr Yoshida!
Day 1 purchase for me!
Dream come true Mr Yoshida !
Thanks for everything !
Just one question, is this google+ profile your official ? ;-)
https://plus.google.com/116254743331541186636/posts?utm_source=chrome_ntp_icon&utm_medium=chrome_app&utm_campaign=chrome
The look of the device looks realy nice, clean and stylsh like every Sony product we met so far. But what kind of software is available to show what can the device is capable of?
Even if it elicits my FPS/motion sickness, I’ll still be getting one just to have on display.
It’s a thing of beauty….this is what the future looks like.
Now this is something spectacular. Didn’t expect to see these VR devices starting to get developed atleast in 10 more years. Looking forward to purchasing one! Congrats SCE!
LOL @ Project Morpheus and Stealth Inc next to each other in the mesh :-)
Wonderful piece of technique, but it stands or falls with support. One has to wonder if this is going to get a better support than the Move, PS Eye, PS3 Remote Play, and Wonderbook.
Looking forward to it, though I’m not too into these things.
Thank you Shu! I have experienced VR already with Oculus, but I was not happy with resolution and I am VERY curious how sony handled it.
It would be great if Jonathan Blow (Thekla) add this Morpheus to The Witness as he announced VR support for PC
Well, I can’t really say I’m surprised, seeing as the rumors of this have been flying all over the internet, but I’m excited to see it officially announced all the same. :)
This + PS Move + Sharpshooter attachment = Would be very cool!
I’d also like to use this for something like The Unfinished Swan, for example.
But I wonder if I will have to buy new PS Move controllers and attachments. Either way, I am looking forward to seeing more. I don’t think VR is something I would want for every game, but will be fun to play with on occasions, with certain games.
You know what would make this a true gamer’s device? Built-in eye [pupil] tracking. For aiming. Or endless other possibilities. It could also open up a word of accessible gaming. Make it happen!
Awesome! :D
How many games are currently being developed for Project Morpheus?
I am not feeling much for the design yet. I think minimalistic design is better. But how is the morpheus going to compete with the Oculus?
Looks great.
I think i’ll pick it up once it’s released.
Any words about the price tag?
Thank you so much for bringing VR to the Playstation family.
Please Sony, DO NOT take this lightly, this is HUGE! This is indeed a new media format. Whether it reaches sucess with PS4 or not, is up to you. I trust you to do the right thing.
You must not fail at these:
1- Must have great content (you know… the reason why you turned around the psp and ps3 weak results, also why you earned market respect and PS4 explendid results)
2- Must match tvsets regarding vison safety
3- Must be extremely confortable with/without glasses (different types of glasses too)
4- Must have intense marketing investment (speacially closer to launch with ‘hands on’ in every show, event, store possible)
5- Must use the same winning filosophy of the PS4 regarding price/quality
Yoshida you are the best.
First time i see a RP guy answering all those comments one by one
Is the PlayStation camera needed in order to use the VR headset?
This looks awesome, but I have one question. Is it one screen for each eye inside the set? or is it just one big screen inside? I´m afraid some of the 3D effect will be lost if the set doesnt account for the fact that we use both eyes to judge distance.
No thanks, I’ll stick to traditional gaming. I got the Move on launch too and am still surprised by the lack of support it has gotten. To this day I only really enjoyed Heavy rain with it, which isn’t even an actual Move game.. Besides, nothing beats my 52 inch Bravia :p
Wow! This looks great!! Really want to know what the price will be, so I can save my money ;) !!
Awesome!!! Never expected this Shu, VR is all about NextGen! When can we expect to see this in our stores? Any idea on price range? Cant wait! Thanks
Amazing!!! I can’t wait. :)
This is fantastic, can´t wait to get to try this out. I have been following the occulus rift VR headset for some time and hoped it would work with playstation 4 so it is great to hear that Sony is working on a VR system for playstation. Keep up the good work :)
Great news!! I also read it’s comfortable to use for people with glasses which makes it even better, 3D didn’t work well for me because of my glasses.
PS4 + VR = Win!
Hope its not like the hmztXXXXX, very poor video experience
This should be exciting. Been waiting for ages for this announcement. :D I would also like to know if the PS4 camera is required for this. Also would like to know what kind of games will be supported. I hope all games.
This prototype looks like a great start. I’m sure once the development community get there hands on it, they’ll jump at the chance to create or adapt projects for it (It’s actually given me quite a few project ideas). I cannot wait to see what the final build offers up in hardware and software, hopefully it is on par with the release build of its competitors.