After months of speculation, Sony finally announced its PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset named Project Morpheus last night at the Game Developers Conference.
The device has been in development since 2010 and while it remains a prototype, Sony intends to developer it further for a commercial launch.
Project Morpheus has built-in inertial sensors and works with the PlayStation Camera which tracks head orientation and movement meaning that as the player's head rotates the image of the virtual world changes in real-time.
It's also compatible with PlayStation Move motion controllers and can produce a sword in players' hands, for instance so players can feel like they're actively fighting in a game. 3D audio can be generated from the front, behind, left, and right to recreate stereoscopic sounds.
GDC attendees can test out the technology at Sony's booth with demos of CCP's Eve Valkyrie and Square Enix's recently released Thief. In addition, Sony is showing off The Castle which makes use of PlayStation Move and The Deep which sees players explore an ocean in a shark tank.
The prototype's technical specifications, which Sony notes could change before final launch, are:
- Component: Processor unit, head-mounted unit
- Display Method: LCD
- Panel Size: 5 inches
- Panel Resolution: 1920xRGBx1080 (960xRGBx1080 per eye)
- Field of View: 90 degrees
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope
- Connection interface: HDMI + USB
- Function: 3D audio, Social Screen
"At SCE we view innovation as an opportunity to build on our mission to push the boundaries of play," said Shuhei Yoshida, President of SCE Worldwide Studios. "Project Morpheus is the latest example of innovation from SCE, and we're looking forward to its continued development and the games that will be created as development kits get into the hands of content creators."
Sony has yet to indicate what Project Morpheus will cost or when it will be released to consumers.
