Platform: PS4

Developer: Sony

Release Date: Unknown, product has been in development for three years

Type: Video Output Accessory, Virtual Reality Headset

By Malefico

Is the future of entertainment all in your head?

Project Morpheus is Sony’s codename for one of its most ambitious ventures in recent history – a virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4. Just unveiled to industry press, Morpheus is without a doubt a slick-looking piece of hardware. Sony hinted at technical specs that are just as impressive. As seen in the image below, Morpheus sports subtle blue LED lighting and a pleasing, curved design. Conceived and designed to take gamers to the next level of realism, it looks every bit the part of the futuristic (probably the wrong word as the future is now) VR accessory. But maybe “accessory” is  the wrong word as well. Read on to find out why.

Sony seems to have embraced Virtual Reality as an important trend in not only gaming, but the delivery of other entertainment and educational content as well. In fact, during their presentation to journalists, Sony made it clear that they consider VR to be an entirely separate medium, not just a nifty peripheral to their PS4 platform.

Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios and Richard Marks from Sony Magic Lab went on to say the defining factor of Morpheus would be its ability to create VR presence, a way of saying users will be immersed in the virtual world to an extent that it seems real, that the VR headset can simulate your actual presence in whatever world the developer creates.

Sony also espoused the viewpoint that VR is inclusive, saying it will be a “pervasive” element in society, and that it can be for everyone, not just a few. Some of the talking points included the fact that VR heightens the user’s emotional involvement in the experience, makes entertainment more social and that the use of the technology has widespread applications, not just games. As an example, they mentioned a virtual expedition to Mars as one project already underway in cooperation with NASA.

Regarding the actual device, Sony said it was designed for user comfort, and that it would put no weight on the nose or cheeks. It will work in conjunction with the existing Dual Shock controllers, the PlayStation Move accessory and the PS4 camera, which Marks remarked was “almost custom-built for VR”.

Internally, the headset contains an accelerometer and gyroscope sending signals to the display, and trading information with the other elements in the input/output system like the PlayStation Move input device, pictured below. It will utilize both HDMI and USB connections, and although the prototype shown yesterday had a single cable apparently carrying both data streams, the goal for the final consumer version will be wireless connectivity.

Morpheus will be able to broadcast the user’s appearance and position within the virtual environment to an HDTV screen. The 5” LCD display produces resolution of 1920 X 1280 (960 X 1280 per eye) and has a field of view of just over 90 degrees. The headset will feature binaural audio for what Sony describes as “true spatial sound”, but users can opt for their favorite headphones instead, and they will plug directly into the unit. The Morpheus prototype also has working volume and head movement tracking.

With Sony jumping headlong into Virtual Reality, and Microsoft to follow suit console gamers will have a real alternative to Oculus Rift. But how successful will the new medium be? Clearly, PC and console game hardware companies are going all in and betting that VR will be the next big thing in gaming and entertainment in general. Although past ventures into VR have failed, it’s clear that technology is finally catching up with the elusive, immersive virtual world that many are banking on.

Past devices, including Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, the never released Sega VR,  Tiger Electronics R-Zone and a handful of arcade VR systems suffered from a host of problems. Among other things, they lacked the ability to realistically depict a virtual world- R-Zone had a small HUD that covered only one eye, and it and Virtual Boy only displayed images in red. Users complained of nausea and headaches during use of Virtual Boy. And neither of the devices attracted enough interest to make them worthwhile as commercial enterprises. Virtual Boy sold only 770,000 units in North America and Japan combined, remained on the market less than a year, and hosted a paltry 22 games (only 14 of which were available in North America). From what I remember about the arcade games, they commanded a high price per paly and had hordes of gamers in line to sample the virtual world, when they worked. Still, they proved to be an arcade fad at best, a feeble attempt to prop up an industry that was already giving way to home console entertainment.

While we finally have the tech to make Virtual Reality a real possibility, it remains to be seen if consumers will care enough to make them viable in the market. Will consumers embrace this new “medium”? Or will the additional expense and complexity of the devices limit their use to the rarefied few who are looking for the ultimate realistic experience? Only time will tell.

Morpheus does seem to have the support of major game studios, including Epic Games and Crytek. But in order to support this new technology, Sony, Microsoft and others will have to recruit many more developers in order to maintain a steady supply of new titles.

To me, VR seems to be on the gimmicky side. I liken it to 3D technologies. Cyclically, firms who manufacture video displays trot out 3D and herald it as the “must-have” technology, claiming it will revolutionize how people watch TV, etc. And just as predictably, consumers don’t really care enough to buy it. Although 3D HDTV’s have made slight headway into the market, most people either can’t afford the devices, or apparently don’t consider them worth the expense. Likewise movie studios keep releasing 3D movies, but does the optical effect really add that much to the experience?

The decision to pursue such projects is smart business. Third party hardware developers will most likely not be able to keep up with the technical advances that MS and Sony can roll out. So, VR will likely remain the exclusive purview of the OEM manufacturers. If enough people buy the new headsets, they will prove to be a gold mine.

One thing is clear. Companies like Sony, Microsoft and Oculus VR intend to push the interactive entertainment experience to the next level. If they can bring products to market that deliver on the hype, and at a price that makes them accessible to the masses, they will change the face of video gaming forever. Is the future of entertainment to be found not in front of, but inside your favorite games and eventually beyond? We’ll find out soon enough.