PlayStation VR

PlayStation VR
Also known as Project Morpheus (code name)
Developer Sony Interactive Entertainment
Manufacturer Sony
Product family PlayStation
Type Virtual reality headset
Generation 1
Release date October 2016 (2016-10)[1]
Introductory price
Display 5.7" OLED, 100° field of view
Graphics 1080p RGB (960xRGBx1080 per eye; 90-120Hz refresh rate)"[1]
Sound 3D audio through headphone jack, and available microphone input
Input Positional tracking with 9 LED's via PlayStation Camera
Controller input
Camera PlayStation Camera
Touchpad None
Website Official website

PlayStation VR, known by the codename Project Morpheus during development, is a virtual reality gaming head-mounted display developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment and manufactured by Sony,[2] scheduled to launch in October 2016.[1]

It is designed to be fully functional with the PlayStation 4 home video game console. In certain games and demos for the VR, the player wearing the headset acts separately from other players without the headset. The video output projects differently for the headset and the console, and sometimes requires the PlayStation Move controllers.[3]

The PlayStation VR has a 5.7 inch OLED panel, with an RGB sub-pixel matrix resolution of 1080p, or 960xRGBx1080 per eye.[4][5] The headset also has a processor box which allows the headset to "second screen" the video output directly towards any monitor, as well as elevate the 3D audio effect used in 3.5mm headphone jacks.[4][6] The headset also has 9 positional LED's on its surface for the PlayStation Camera to track 360 degree head movement,[4][7] and connects to the PlayStation by HDMI or USB.

History

Sony's interest in head-mounted technology dates back to the 1990s. Its first commercial unit, the Glasstron, was released in 1997.[8] One application of this technology was in the game MechWarrior 2, which permitted users of the Glasstron or Virtual I/O's iGlasses to adopt a visual perspective from inside the cockpit of the craft, using their own eyes as visual and seeing the battlefield through their craft's own cockpit.[9]

In early 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment research and development engineer Anton Mikhailov said his team had been working on Project Morpheus for more than three years. According to Mikhailov, the PlayStation 3 Move peripheral, itself revealed in June 2009, was designed with unspecified, future head-mounted technology in mind. "We specced it and built it to be a VR controller, even though VR wasn’t a commodity. As engineers, we just said it was the right thing to do. At the time, we didn't have a consumer-grade project that we could work on, but it was definitely designed with that vision in mind."[10] Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Sony's worldwide studios, also said the project started as "grassroots" activity among engineers and programmers, which came into focus in 2010 once the Move controller had been released.[11] Sony also went on record to say it is mandatory for all games to have no less than 60 frames per second at all times.[12]

Project Morpheus was first announced at The 2014 Game Developers Conference. Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida introduced the device on March 18, 2014 and stated Project Morpheus was "the next innovation from PlayStation that will [shape] the future of games."[13]

On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Project Morpheus would be officially named PlayStation VR.[14]

On October 8, 2015, Sony acquired SoftKinetic, a tech startup whose focus includes visual depth-sensing gesture recognition, for an undisclosed amount.[15]

On November 2, 2015, Sony confirmed that they were still aiming for a release in the first half of 2016. On March 15, 2016, at the Game Developers Conference, Sony confirmed that the release date will be in October 2016, with price tag of $399 in the US, €399 in Europe, £349 in the UK, and 44,980 yen in Japan.[16][17]

Hardware

The prototype revealed at GDC'15 included an OLED 1920x1080 pixel display (providing 960x1080 px resolution per eye) with an RGB subpixel matrix,[5] and is capable of displaying content at 120fps.[1] It features a FOV of 100°, 6DOF head-tracking, stereoscopic 3D, and unwarped output to a TV, either for others to view what the headset wearer sees, or a separate display to compete against the headset user using a standard PS4 controller.

Features

Cooperative gameplay

PlayStation VR is capable of rendering two different images simultaneously: one display for the headset and a completely different image for television. The purpose, Sony says, is to prevent VR from invariably being a solitary experience.[18]

Japan Studio has made a new demo called Monster Escape. So that's a five-player game; one versus four. One being the person wearing Morpheus [PlayStation VR]. And if you're in Morpheus, you become the Monster. And the four people holding the DualShock and looking at the TV and playing the game like a regular game [are] against the monster. ... And actually, third-party devs were ahead of us in terms of making the game called Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. ... One person is wearing Morpheus and that person looks at the bomb, like a time bomb. And in order to stabilize it, the other person [watching the television] who is not wearing Morpheus, has an instruction manual. And that person has to tell the person wearing Morpheus how to do the job. But that person doesn't see what the person wearing Morpheus sees. So they have to communicate. ... So that's a social experience.[18]

Cinematic mode

All standard PlayStation 4 games can be played in a "cinematic mode" that simulates a five-meter screen within a virtual space, Sony has said. Users can also view 360-degree photographs and videos, that are captured by devices such as omnidirectional cameras, through the media player. Other features, such as Share Play and Live from PlayStation, will also be compatible within the headset.[19]

Games

Title Genre(s) Developer(s) Publisher(s) Exclusive Europe Japan North America Ref.
100ft Robot Golf No Goblin No Goblin Timed 2016 2016 2016 [20]
Ace Combat 7 Combat flight simulator Project Aces Bandai Namco Ent. Yes TBA TBA TBA
Albino Lullaby Horror Ape Law No TBA TBA TBA
Allumette Penrose Studios Penrose Studios No TBA TBA TBA
The Apollo 11 VR Experience Simulation David Whelan No TBA TBA TBA [21]
Aquarion Evol Satelight Yes TBA TBA TBA [22]
Atom Universe Theme park Atom Republic No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Adrift First-person adventure Three One Zero No TBA TBA TBA [23]
Ark: Survival Evolved Action-adventure Studio Wildcard No TBA TBA TBA [20]
The Assembly nDreams No TBA TBA TBA [24]
Battlezone Vehicular combat Rebellion Developments Timed 2016 2016 2016
Bebylon Battle Royale Brawler Kite & Lightning No 2016 2016 2016
Chernobyl VR Project Adventure The Farm 51 No TBA TBA TBA
Classroom Aquatic Sunken Places No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Crystal Rift Dungeon crawler Psytec Games No TBA TBA TBA
Cult County Renegade Kid No TBA TBA TBA
Cyber Danganronpa VR Spike Chunsoft Spike Chunsoft Yes TBA TBA TBA
Dead Secret Horror Robot Invader No TBA TBA TBA
Distance Racing Refract Studios No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Driveclub Racing Evolution Studios Sony Computer Ent. Yes TBA TBA TBA [20]
Eagle Flight Ubisoft Ubisoft No TBA TBA TBA
Earthlight Opaque Media Opaque Media No 2016 2016 2016
The Easel Music Harmonix Music Systems Yes TBA TBA TBA [20]
Eclipse First-person adventure White Elk Studios White Elk Studios TBA TBA TBA
Eve: Valkyrie Space shooter CCP Games No Oct 2016 Oct 2016 Oct 2016 [25]
Fated Action-adventure Frima Frima No TBA TBA TBA
Final Approach Simulation Phaser Lock Interactive Phaser Lock Interactive No TBA TBA TBA
Final Fantasy XIV Role-playing Square Enix No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Futuridium VR Shoot 'em up MixedBag Games Yes TBA TBA TBA
The Gallery: Six Elements First-person adv Cloudhead Games No TBA TBA TBA
Gang Beasts Party Boneloaf Games Double Fine Prod. No 2016 2016 2016
Gary the Gull Interactive movie Limitless / Motional No TBA TBA TBA
Get Even First-person shooter The Farm 51 Bandai Namco Ent. No 2016 2016 2016
GNOG Puzzle KO-OP Timed TBA TBA TBA
Godling First-person adv Solfar Studios Yes TBA TBA TBA
Golem Adventure Highwire Games Highwire Games Yes TBA TBA TBA
Gran Turismo Sport Sim racing Polyphony Digital Sony Computer Ent. Yes TBA TBA TBA
Harmonix Music VR Music, rhythm Harmonix Music Systems Yes TBA TBA TBA
Headmaster Football Frame Interactive Yes TBA TBA TBA
Holodance Music, rhythm Narayana Games No TBA TBA TBA [20]
The Hum: Abductions Horror, Sci-fi Totwise Studios No TBA TBA TBA
Hyper Void Space-shooter IN|Framez Technology Yes TBA TBA TBA
iO Moon Adventure Headtrip Games No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Job Simulator Simulation Owlchemy Labs Owlchemy Labs No 2016 2016 2016
Joysound VR Music XING Inc. Sony Computer Ent. Yes TBA TBA TBA
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes Puzzle Steel Crate No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Kerser Racing IRIS VR No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Kittypocalypse Tower-defense Bolvërk Games Bolvërk Games No TBA TBA TBA
Loading Human Adventure Untold Games No 2016 2016 2016 [20]
The Mars 2030 Experience Simulation NASA / Fusion Media NASA / Fusion Media No TBA TBA TBA [26]
Megaton Rainfall Action-adventure Alfonso del Cerro Pentadimensional Games Timed 2016 2016 2016
Mind: Path to Thalamus Carlos Coronado No TBA TBA TBA [20]
The Music Room Music Chroma Coda Chroma Coda No TBA TBA TBA
The Modern Zombie Taxi Co. Vitei Backroom Sony Computer Ent. Yes TBA TBA TBA
Mortal Blitz VR First-person shooter Skonec Ent. No TBA TBA TBA
Nighttime Terror 2 Shooter VR Bits No TBA TBA TBA
O! My Genesis VR XPEC Ent. / Bad Bird Yes TBA TBA TBA [27]
The Occasional Encounter UserJoy Technology Yes TBA TBA TBA [28]
Omega Agent Action Fireproof Games No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Paranormal Activity VR Horror VRwerx No TBA TBA TBA
Playroom VR Mini games SIE Japan Studio Sony Interactive Ent. Yes Oct 2016 Oct 2016 Oct 2016 [25]
PlayStation VR Worlds Mini games SIE London Studio Sony Interactive Ent. Yes Oct 2016 Oct 2016 Oct 2016 [25]
Pollen Sci-fi Mindfield Games No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Project CARS Racing Slightly Mad Studios No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin Puzzle, platform Double Fine Productions Yes TBA TBA TBA
Q.U.B.E. ² Puzzle Toxic Games TBA TBA TBA [29]
Rez Infinite Rail shooter, music Monstars Enhance Games Yes TBA TBA TBA
RIGS Shooter Guerrilla Cambridge Sony Interactive Ent. Yes Oct 2016 Oct 2016 Oct 2016 [25]
Robinson: The Journey Action-adv Crytek Crytek Yes 2016 2016 2016
Shadow of the Beast Action-adv, platform Heavy Spectrum Ent. Labs Sony Interactive Ent. Yes TBA TBA TBA
Snow Sport Poppermost Productions Poppermost Productions No 2016 2016 2016
Star Wars: Battlefront VR Action, shooter EA DICE Electronic Arts Yes TBA TBA TBA
Summer Lesson Simulation Bandai Namco Games Yes TBA TBA TBA [20]
SuperHyperCube Puzzle Kokoromi Yes TBA TBA TBA
Surgeon Simulator Simulation Bossa Studios No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Synthesis Universe Maze Olivier JT No TBA TBA TBA [30]
Technolust Scanlines Adventure IRIS VR No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Tekken 7 Fighting Bandai Namco Ent. Bandai Namco Ent. Yes 2016 2016 2016
Thumper Music, rhythm Drool Drool No 2016 2016 2016
Thunderbird Adventure, puzzle Innervision Games No 2016 2016 2016 [31]
TrackMania Turbo Racing Nadeo Ubisoft No TBA TBA TBA
Tumble VR Puzzle Supermassive Games Yes Oct 2016 Oct 2016 Oct 2016 [25]
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Survival horror Supermassive Games Sony Interactive Ent. Yes TBA TBA TBA
Unearthing Mars Winking Entertainment No TBA TBA TBA [32]
Untitled Beatshapers project Sci-fi, RPG Beatshapers TBA TBA TBA [33]
Untitled North West Studio project North West Studio Sony Interactive Ent. Yes TBA TBA TBA [34]
Untitled Just Add Water project Just Add Water TBA TBA TBA [35]
Untitled Secret Sorcery project Secret Sorcery Secret Sorcery Yes TBA TBA TBA [36]
Vanguard V Action Zero Transform No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Vector 36 Racing Red River Studio Red River Studio No 2016 2016 2016
VEV: Viva Ex Vivo Adventure, Survival Truant Pixel Yes 2016 2016 2016 [37]
VizionEck Adventure, Shooter VizionEck No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Volume: Coda Puzzle Mike Bithell Games Mike Bithell Games Timed 2016 2016 2016
Waltz of the Wizard Aldin Dynamics No TBA TBA TBA
War Thunder Action, MMO Gaijin Entertainment No TBA TBA TBA [20]
Wayward Sky Adventure, puzzle Uber Entertainment Yes TBA TBA TBA [20]
Werewolves Within Red Storm Ent. Ubisoft No TBA TBA TBA
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School Survival horror ROI Games No TBA TBA TBA
World of Diving Simulation Vertigo Games No TBA TBA TBA
World War Toons First-person shooter Reload Studio No 2016 2016 2016 [20]
Xing: The Land Beyond Puzzle White Lotus Int. White Lotus Int. No 2016 2016 2016

Marketing

"Our biggest challenge will be to get people demoing VR. Because there's no way to sell VR until you've tried it... You can watch over the shoulder, you can read articles, but – and I mean this genuinely – everybody that I know who has tried PlayStation VR has taken off their headset with a smile, and said 'wow'. So you've got to try it. That's the challenge."

—Michael Ephraim, SIE Australia[38]

Sony say they have realistic expectations regarding sales of PlayStation VR and predict that interest will build steadily, through word of mouth.[38][39]

PlayStation VR was first demonstrated on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, playing The Castle and as a playable concept during E3 2014.[40] The device was also featured at Sony's PlayStation Experience Expo in Las Vegas, NV in December 2014.[41] Sony announced new information regarding Project Morpheus at the 2015 Game Developers Conference, in line with the official schedule posted on their website[42] and released updated specifications.[43]

In an interview with Nikkei Japan in March 2016, Sony indicated the possibility of enabling use of the PlayStation VR in connection with a PC. This would allow the device to work with platforms extending further than the PlayStation 4.[44]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "PlayStation VR Launches October 2016". Sony. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Sony announces Project Morpheus, a virtual reality headset coming to PlayStation 4". Polygon. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ Pino, Nick (March 16, 2016). "PlayStation VR hands on review - Tech Radar". Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Stein, Scott (December 6, 2015). "Sony PlayStation VR Release Date, Price and Specs - CNET". CNET. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Alessio Palumbo. Sony Dev Explains Why PS VR Screen Is Crisper Than The Others, wccftech.com, November 2015.
  6. ↑ Sarkar, Samit (March 16, 2016). "PlayStation VR"s processing unit doesn't add any power to the PS4". Polygon. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  7. ↑ O'Kane, Sean (March 15, 2016). "Sony's PlayStation VR costs $399 and is coming on October". The Verge. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ Adam Rosenberg. Sony's long-standing interest in virtual reality gives Project Morpheus an edge, digitaltrends.com, March 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ Tony Sperry. Beyond 3D TV, Lulu Pres, Inc., November 2003.
  10. ↑ Sony’s Anton Mikhailov on Project Morpheus’ launch price and potential as a platform, Edge magazine, April 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Jamie Feltham. Project Morpheus Started as ‘grassroots activity’ Following PS Move’s Release, vrfocus.com, December 8, 2014.
  12. ↑ Grubb, Jeff. "Sony will reject PlayStation VR games that aren’t at least 60 frames per second". Venture Beat. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Watch the full reveal for Sony's virtual reality headset, Project Morpheus". Polygon. Mar 26, 2014.
  14. ↑ Aaron Souppouris. "Sony's Project Morpheus is now 'PlayStation VR'". Engadget. AOL.
  15. ↑ Eric Johnson. "Sony Acquires SoftKinetic, Which Can Track Hands for Virtual Reality". Re/code.
  16. ↑ "Sony: "It’s a Bit Too Early to Sort out" PlayStation VR’s Price and Release Date".
  17. ↑ PlayStation (March 15, 2016), Andrew House, President and the Global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Announcing the price and release date for PlayStation VR, retrieved March 16, 2016
  18. 1 2 Joseph Volpe. An intimate chat with Sony PlayStation's Shuhei Yoshida, engadget.com, June 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ Crossley, Rob (March 16, 2016). "All PS4 Games Can be Played in PlayStation VR". gamespot.com.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Tamoor Hussain. Every PS4 PlayStation VR Game Confirmed, gamespot.com, March 16, 2016.
  21. ↑ David Whelan. Moon Arrival Demo Available Now, kickstarter.com, September 29, 2015.
  22. ↑ Jamie Feltham. New Details on PlayStation VR’s Aquarion Evol Revealed, vrfocus.com, December 2, 2015.
  23. ↑ Jamie Feltham. Adrift Confirmed for Project Morpheus, , vrfocus.com, May 13, 2015.
  24. ↑ Patrick O'Luanaigh. Announcing The Assembly for PS4 and Project Morpheus, PlayStation Blog, June 11, 2014.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Mark Walton. PlayStation VR launch lineup has five slick Sony-made games, arstechnica.com, March 16, 2016.
  26. ↑ John Gaudiosi. NASA Is Using Unreal Engine 4 To Make Mars A Virtual Reality, unrealengine.com, January 26, 2016.
  27. ↑ Jamie Feltham. O!My Genesis VR Announced for PlayStation VR, vrfocus.com, January 27, 2016.
  28. ↑ Sal Romano. Taiwanese studios announce PlayStation VR titles at Taipei Game Show 2016, vrfocus.com, January 27, 2016.
  29. ↑ Dan Da Rocha. Q.U.B.E. ² Coming to PS4, PlayStation Blog, August 14, 2014.
  30. ↑ Kevin Joyce. Synthesis Universe -Maze- Confirmed for Project Morpheus, vrfocus.com, May 28, 2015.
  31. ↑ Will Mason. Thunderbird's World of Wonder Will Satisfy Your Desire for Myst in VR, uploadvr.com, January 12, 2016.
  32. ↑ Jamie Feltham. The Telltale Project Coming to PlayStation VR, vrfocus.com, January 27, 2016.
  33. ↑ Alexa Ray Corriea. Beatshapers working on sci-fi RPG with plans for Project Morpheus, polygon.com, April 9, 2014.
  34. ↑ Jamie Feltham. Sony Forming ‘ambitious’ New VR Dev, North West Studio, vrfocus.com, May 18, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! Dev Teases Project Morpheus Development". VR Focus. April 30, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  36. ↑ Ex-Sony veterans announce partnership with PlayStation, Develop, March 4, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Microscopic survival game VEV: Viva Ex Vivo announced for PS4". PlayStation blog. February 29, 2016.
  38. 1 2 Jamie Feltham. Sony: PlayStation VR Doesn’t Have To Do ‘a million units during launch’, vrfocus.com, November 3, 2015.
  39. ↑ Dan Pearson. "The beauty of PSVR is that we have the PS4 to power it", gamesindustry.biz, October 28, 2015.
  40. ↑ "Joshua Topolsky Demonstrates Sony's Project Morpheus". NBC.
  41. ↑ "VR with Project Morpheus". Sphinx Gamer.
  42. ↑ Feltham, Jamie. "SONY PROVIDING ‘AN UPDATE’ ON PROJECT MORPHEUS AT GDC 2015". VR Focus. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  43. ↑ Orland, Kyle. "'Sony’s new Project Morpheus prototype boasts 120Hz refresh rate, OLED display'". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  44. ↑ "'ソニー「プレステＶＲ」、399ドルで試すヒットの法則 display'". Nikkei. Retrieved March 27, 2016.

External links

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