The Japanese electronics and gaming giant, Sony, unveiled a prototype
virtual reality headset to be used in conjunction with its PlayStation 4
(PS4) video game console during a Tuesday talk at the Game Developers
Conference.
Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide
Studios, showed off the slick black-and-white headset at the annual
gathering of game designers. He said Sony has been working on the
technology for more than three years.
The adjustable device is codenamed Project Morpheus and features a
head-mounted display with 1080p resolution and a 90-degree field of
view. Sensors built into the headset can track a wearer’s head movement
in concert with a PS4 camera.
“This prototype is by no means final,” said Mr. Yoshida. “We will
continue to work on this to improve it, but we believe it’s a good
representation of how PlayStation will deliver VR.”
Anton Mikhailov, a senior software engineer working on Project Morpheus,
said the current version of the technology must be attached to a PS4
console with a cord that’s about 15 feet (4.5 meters) long, and users’
virtual perspectives can be simultaneously broadcast on a television
screen. “The experience can be shared, and that’s only going to allow it
to spread,” said Mr. Mikhailov. “I think that’s going to be the key.
Once people see someone else interacting in VR, they’re going to want to
put it on and try it next.”
Mr. Mikhailov said users will be able to interact with the virtual world
displayed on the headset with the gesture-detecting PlayStation Move
controller, as well as the standard DualShock 4. He declined to specify
when the headset would be released or how much it would cost.
Project Morpheus will be available for demonstration beginning Wednesday
for conference attendees on the conference’s expo floor with four
games-diving cage simulators “The Deep,” medieval combat game “The
Castle,” sci-fi dogfighter “EVE- Valkyrie” and a VR rendition of the
stealthy action-adventure title “Thief.”
While Sony Corp. has released other head-mounted display units, Project
Morpheus marks the company’s first foray into VR with PlayStation.