14 DAY TRIAL // Sony might be working on its own PlayStation 4 based Project Morpheus virtual reality headset, but the company seems to be content with the acquisition of Oculus Rift by Facebook, mainly because it will make the technology more interesting to the public in the long term.
Shuhei Yoshida, who leads the Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, is quoted by VG247 as saying that, “We meant to validate Oculus by announcing Project Morpheus, and the Oculus guys knew what we were working on. I think they were waiting for us to make the announcement, so it would be Sony and Oculus together, but now Oculus being acquired by Facebook is helping to validate our efforts.”
The executive also believes that Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is actually interested in virtual reality because it would allow his company to stay ahead when it comes to tech development and to expand the way individuals can interact with one another.
It seems that Sony also has plans to collaborate directly with all other companies who are creating VR headsets in order to make sure that they get over a number of technical obstacles and are able to deliver the best possible experience to users.
Yoshida adds, “early prototypes had larger latency and positional tracking and may not have worked as well. I feel really sorry for people developing VR stuff. They have to test it. With the [Project Morpheus] kit we have now, what we demonstrated at GDC, I think it’s the first time we can really provide developers with something and say, you can use ours, and you’ll be alright.”
At the same time, the executive believes that game developers will need time in order to create experiences that take advantage of the unique capabilities of virtual reality without making players feel uncomfortable in any way.
Project Morpheus for the PlayStation 4 was announced during the Game Developers Conference and is currently in the prototype stage, with Sony saying that a commercial version might be launched before the end of the year.
At the same event, Oculus Rift announced a second, updated version of its own tech, which is at the moment offered for developers.
Even after the Facebook acquisition, the company continues to work on a customer version of the headset, which is at the moment set to arrive in the fall.
Rumors are also suggesting that Microsoft might be exploring a virtual reality solution for its own Xbox One.