Project Morpheus – Sony’s Virtual Reality Headset

Gaming has evolved over the years, but the next frontier that remains is the virtual reality. At the 2014 Game Developers Conference, Sony proclaimed that virtual reality was the future of gaming — and introduced the Project Morpheus Virtual Reality Headset to back up their claim. It is designed to work with the PS4 and provide immersive worlds for its players. A few years ago, that would have been ridiculous. Now? Probably not.

The Morpheus system relies heavily on current-generation technology, including external hardware like Sony’s PlayStation Move and PlayStation Camera. By harnessing the existing PlayStation ecosystem, Morpheus can track both player movement and head orientation to reproduce realistic visual feedback. In addition, “3D audio technology” re-creates stereoscopic sounds and changes orientation in real-time. The system brings an extra element of freedom by allowing players to simultaneously use DualShock 4 and PlayStation Move controllers. The current development  kit display is 1080p, with a 90 degree plus field of view. The tracking is at 1,000 Hz with a 3 meter working volume at a full 360 degrees.

“Games for the Morpheus are going to be very different,” said Jed Ashforth, a senior game designer with Sony, “The sense of having a presence within the game is something totally new. It’s a very different experience.”

However if you were expecting to see it in the form of a consumer product this year, you’re in for disappointment.  Sony has repeatedly emphasized that the device on hand at Game Developers Conference 2014 is an early prototype. Since Sony is still working on the tech,  The Morpheus VR will not be releasing this year. There are no talks on its price yet.

Currently, Sony is demoing a selection of games on Project Morpheus, including Oculus Rift title Eve Valkyrie, Thief and a few games of its own. At E3 2014, Sony couldn’t stop itself from announcing new hardware but also did mention about the Project Morpheus at the end of the Keynote including two new titles, Jurassic Encounter and Street Luge.