Everything you need to know about Project Morpheus/PlayStation VR before its release next year
Last week, Sony announced that Project Morpheus will officially be called PlayStation VR, and further details about Sony’s PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset have now surfaced.
While the name might not be that exciting, the new possibilities that the headset could bring to gaming certainly are. Be it PlayStation VR or Project Morpheus, here’s everything we know about Sony’s VR headset.
Project Morpheus / PlayStation VR at a glance:
- Powered by the PlayStation 4
- Launching in 2016
- Will use existing PlayStation Move controllers
Latest news: Project Morpheus / PlayStation VR Price
Sony has given its first indication of PlayStation VR/Project Morpheus’ asking price. In an interview with Bloomberg conducted at the PlayStation Japan’s Tokyo Game Show keynote, Sony Computer Entertainment’s chief executive officer Andrew House revealed that the company’s first headset “will be priced as a new gaming platform.”
While it’s not the precise figure we hoped for, it’s the most information we’ve ever had about the cost of the device.
A look at the prices of the past and present PlayStation consoles can provide some insight. The PlayStation 4 retailed for £349 when released, while the PlayStation Vita set early adopters back around £180. Going a generation further back, the PlayStation 3 cost a huge £425, the highest price of any dedicated PlayStation console.
Thanks to its first generation status and sophisticated technology, it’s likely the PlayStation VR’s price will register on the upper end of that scale. That may seem like a lot, but when compared to the Oculus Rift – which will allegedly cost $1,500 to set up, including a computer – a figure of £700-800 for a PS4-powered VR experience is a bargain.
Project Morpheus / PlayStation VR: release date
According to Facebook post by Dennis Castleman, a hardware R&D engineer at Sony Computer Entertainment, PlayStation VR will be released in 2016:
“I’ve been working on Sony’s Project Morpheus for three years. It’s going to go to market in 2016. It’s a bit different for things like cell phones or established technologies. When I was designing televisions, it was usually 18 months to get a new model into production. A VR HMD is a bit different. It also takes time for the component vendors to ramp up for million-unit volumes.”
Castleman also confirmed the actual hardware development of PlayStation VR is finished, and that Sony is now waiting for a critical mass of software before launch. “In our case, the HMD hardware is ready to go. We’re just waiting for the game titles to catch up with the hardware,” he added.
Significantly, this shows that Sony is treating PlayStation VR much like a console release. Rather than beating its competitors to the market, Sony has decided to wait and launch strongly, with a roster of killer apps. With the better-known Oculus Rift on the way, it could make all the difference.
Project Morpheus / PlayStation VR: design
The main body of PlayStation VR is a black curved visor, with white, LED-illuminated edging, which is held on with a strap that goes all the way round the head. Unlike the Gear VR and Oculus Rift, there's no top strap running from the front to the back of the head, but there is a little cap extending from the top of the visor which helps hold it on securely. While there don’t appear to be any headphones integrated into the PlayStation headset, Sony has actually included bone conduction headphone technology into the headband.
The sensor on the back of the head is also a tad bulky, but other than that, Project Morpheus looks sleek, well-designed and visually appealing. It's lighter and more comfortable than the Oculus Rift DK2, and the slit at the bottom of the player's field allows for more light bleeding in than other headsets, which could be an effort to reduce motionsickness.
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