According to Kotaku, Sony has announced their own virtual reality headset that will come to the PS4.

Link: http://kotaku.com/sony-announces-virtual-reality-is-coming-to-the-playsta-1546773778

Similar to the Oculus Rift this will put you "into" the game including one example with the player becoming Kratos.

Here are the announced specs:

• 1080p display with 90-degree field of viewP
• 15mm eye reliefP
• 1000hz displayP
• Full 360-degree movementP
• Supports forward predictionP

@finaldasa said:

God of War sex minigames played in VR, huh.

Virtual reality approaches, and that's exciting. A competitor to the Oculus Rift (perhaps indirect because we don't know if this will have PC support) is a good thing for us.

I wonder if Microsoft has their own project in the works or if they're sticking with their rumored alternate reality project.

The most important part, besides the price, is the content.

• There's also force feedback in it.
• Uses it alongside the PS4 Camera (sounds like you need the camera, it tracks the colors the headset omits like the PS Move)
• Some weird sort of sound set up is in it. Can use any set of headphones you want to.

I'm kind of bummed there was no on stage demos, but it sounds like you can mess with it at GDC anyway. Looks great though.

@fluxwavez: in the Q&A, Yosh said that it's only being designed to work with the PS4 for now at least.

But yeah, any form of competition for VR is a good thing for the consumers.

@turboman: Force feedback sounds amazing. Kind of a bummer you need the camera but if they bundle them together for a decent price (maybe with a game?) I'd certainly be down for getting one.

Did they say anything about there being a theater mode? So any games or blurays can be used as if you're in a 100 foot screen cinema? Hope this doesn't turn into another unsupported Sony technology.

This is only a good thing. Remember Oculus said they weren't supporting consoles anyway.

am I the only person that doesn't get VR?

I don't want to wear some thing on my head to play video games...

Sony has had a terrible history with supporting their accessories and the fact that they've unsuccessfully tried "VR" in the past and charged insane prices for it does not help.

Yes they are.

I would vastly prefer it if the PS4 supported Oculus. I'm excited for VR, but I'm not going to buy two different headsets.

@waderman: The dude on stage went out of his way to say "This is not a peripheral, this is a medium" and that they will fully support it. It's already working in a ton of different engines (Unreal, Crytek, Unity, etc) and seeing that it already works with Thief is a good sign of how it will be supported.

They've begun work? This thing's probably even more far off than the Oculus and Project Morpheus! Guess when word came out that Sony was actively working on their own thing they had to play catch up.

I've seen a lot of technological luddites when it comes to virtual reality in our circle of enthusiasts, which is kind of surprising, to be honest. In the past, were there people who were saying that they didn't get 3D games and that 2D games were just fine?

I guess if wearing something is that much of a problem, then fine, but I wear something on my head to play video games 100% of the time via my headphones. Maybe it'd be best to try it before dismissing it.

I'm real glad to see another high profile company enter the Vr market. It'd be nice to see them reach any kind of parody with the Oculus for a console audience.

@turboman: true but it's up to developers now really. Sony could eliminate some of the risk If it worked in some way with all games. I got the Oculus dev kit (cause i'm a DESIGNER) and the cinema apps are pretty cool. Using a VR helmet to play your video james while the significant other watches something on the TV is really compelling. Also, you could use it in bed or on the pooper.

I've never really had any experience with VR, and obviously it's not suitable for everything, but I'm nonetheless excited about the future of this tech and can't wait to see how it develops in coming years. Sony jumping in hard with support for this could be the big player that this sort of technology needs to stick around in the mainstream. It's all kind of thrilling to see unfold.

How much this motherfucker cost?

I was reading the live stream off of engadget, serious sounds awesome. Just seeing those early prototypes with the move controllers just stapped onto it with the stainless steel visor looked CRAZY.

Hopefully this will force more games to have FOV sliders. You can't have a VR headset strapped to your face with an FOV of 65 unless you want to strap a bucket to your chin to puke in.

I'm looking forward to seeing what people think of Sony's implementation, especially from people who've had lots of hands on time with the Rift.

@spraynardtatum: the final specs aren't even known yet!

@fluxwavez:

I don't know, were there people saying that? To me at least this seems to be a different situation, less about how the games look and more about how you experience them.

I don't see the appeal of wearing a device that shuts out the rest of the world, especially when its hooked up to a console that is most likely capable of putting that game on a big screen tv

remember when everyone left alexis all by himself when he was playing with the oculus?

someone sell this to me.

Good point, could well cost as much as a PS4...

Lol good memories. I like Morpheus, I think it'a an exciting technology and I can't wait to see some demonstrations!

Is this headed towards lenses projecting games directly onto your eyeballs?

That glow is awesome, like the move controller and the dualshock 4 controller.

Right about now, I wish Sony never did close down Sony Studio Liverpool to make a new Wipeout tech demo for this. sigh.

I'm interested in seeing what comes of this. I think it could be a great way to augment gaming experiences as well as produce new original content that can engross a person a world.

I wonder if this is going to be PS4 only. Any details about that?

Question: 90 degrees seems small to me, 180 seems like a number that should exist. What is the Oculus Rifts viewing angle? Is shoulder to shoulder VR possible with consoles/PC?

@nightriff: I think the Oculus Rift has a 90 degree horiz viewing angle as well. I imagine that will probably be increased to some extent in future generations, but for the time being, I think 90 is sufficient. There's diminishing returns as you start to expand beyond that, so focusing on delivering higher resolution images within that 90 degrees is probably the best move for the time being.

@chaser324: When they say 90 do they mean from facing forward and you can look left 90 or look right 90 (so in total 180)?

@chaser324: The new version of oculus that just got announced have 100 degree. http://www.oculusvr.com/dk2/

@fluxwavez: Wow, that was kind of rude.

Use case is important in this discussion. I enjoy lounging in the living room where I can still interact with my family/people while playing games. I don't want headphones on and I especially don't want almost complete sensory blockage from the world around me. VR is great for those that want it, but I don't want to play games like that. That doesnt make me a Luddite.

@nightriff: That's the viewing angle directly in front of you. I haven't actually used an Oculus, but I get the impression that it's intended for you to keep your eyes looking straight ahead and to move your head to look around. For some people, that might not feel 100% natural at first, but it's just what's possible with the technology at this point. The 90-100 degrees might not be enough to completely cover your peripheral vision, but it covers enough of your prime visibility to still make it pretty immersive.

Then I'm not referring to you. I'm referring to people who can't see the appreciation for the technology and think that "it is not needed." If you personally don't have a desire for it, then that's your preference.

"Luddites" are the ones who strongly believe or want virtual reality to just be a "fad" when it is the next technological leap into how we experience media. Imagine people in the past say that there's no need for television, no need for DVD players, no need for tablets... that's how I feel when I hear things like that towards VR.

I'm very interested, but I have to wonder about motion sickness.

http://www.oculusvr.com/blog/announcing-the-oculus-rift-development-kit-2-dk2/

• Crystal Cove model with polished external look
• 960x1080p AMOLED
• External camera
• Tracking LEDs are hidden into the headset surface
• Consumer version unlikely in 2014
• Preorders will be available on OculusVR website today, first shipments July of 2014 [first come, first serve]
• Supported refresh rates 75Hz, 72Hz, and 60Hz
• 440g without its cable
• $350

I have zero confidence in this. This will easily cost $200+, probably more, and most likely be exclusive to the PS4. Will the mass market be willing to buy an accessory that at the time of release probably will be as expensive, if not more expensive, than the actual console? Also, since this won't be bundled with the PS4 I expect that a Catch 22 can easily make it DOA: Devs won't develop stuff for it before the install base is big enough, but the VR headset won't sell before there's enough interesting software.

I like that there's competetion to the OR, but I'd be shocked if this takes off in any meaningful way. I don't know enough about the technical side of this, but I do know that you need at LEAST 1080p (and probably 60fps) for it to be even tolerable to look at a screen that close, and I seem to remember reading that running a game through a VR headset with two screens will impact the performance of the game in a big way. Either way, OR's biggest advantage will probably be that PCs are only getting more powerful while the PS4 stays the same.

I don't think so, I'm pretty skeptical. VR could very well be 2015's motion control. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

Curious to how this will turn out for Sony in the long run. Still VR is getting big and better as people are willing to try it out.

Do all these VR headsets work well for people that wear glasses? Because unless they do, I have absolutely no interest.

@ichthy: The guys at Tested say the Oculus Rift is fine for those with glasses. They're both comfortable and have different lenses which change the focus. Not sure how Sony will handle that issue, but I assume they'll take a page from the Rift book and do the same.

@fluxwavez: We see the technology differently then. I assumed your comment came from the perspective that VR is the next linear step in video game consumption technology, which appears to have been correct.

I consider VR to be no more than an equal step in a forking path away from TV, which is as much "the next step" (as it also develops) as VR is.

You seem to consider VR to be "THE future". I only see it as "AN option". Hopefully one that becomes widely accepted for those who want it.

@finaldasa: it was said in the presser that the Morpheus is designed for glasses also

No, I see VR as an option that will become more prevalent in use in the future (and not just with video games), while consumption of media without VR will always exist.

Again, that's why I wasn't referring to you when I talk about the people who want it gone for no reason other than "they can't understand its appeal."

I really hope Sony gets behind this and doesn't let it flop like every other peripheral they seem to dream up.

If you're nearsighted you don't need to wear glasses but you're kind of screwed if you're farsighted. Occulus has said that they work for people that wear glasses but it isn't the most comfortable thing.

From Occulus' FAQ Page

Most people can use the Rift while wearing glasses, however it also depends on the shape and size of the glasses. To accommodate as many glasses as possible, the Rift Development Kit comes with 3 removable sets of lenses. Each pair has a different depth that place the lenses closer or farther from the users face. In addition, the screen itself can be moved closer and farther away.

Pretty much expected, but it's confirmed that Project Morpheus won't see a retail release in 2014, according to The Verge.

Hunh wonder if Oculus Rift is going to regret not selling their tech to Sony or Microsoft (or Valve). If I remember correctly Nintendo didn't internally develop Wii's Motion Controls, they bought it from a Seattle Avionics company and then obviously refined it.

Getting into a Hardware war with those Wall Street funded deep pockets has to be super intimidating. I could totally see a scenario where VR happens and blows up into this gen's motion controls, but Oculus not having any part of it since each platform has their own.

Would be a shame if that happened since those guys are the guys who basically rebuilt the interest in this tech.

>90-degree field of view

That may not be enough with the device extremely close to your face.

>1000hz display

That's TV manufacturer style nonsense. A top end connector could probably do it at 240Hz (fps/cps) if the display and chipset were above enthusiast grade. BenQ sells a 1080p monitor at 144Hz (True Hz as in you can run a game at 144 fps) and that is a display that costs more than the PS4 itself. These consoles are going to run at Toaster resolution and Toaster frame rate in two years anyway.

All in all this is pretty awesome, though. It shows that VR headsets could be a real thing and Sony is willing to take a risk to make it work. I hope it get's more support than the last PlayStation branded display device.