Sony PS4 Virtual Reality Unveil (Project Morpheus)

[purbeast0]

Except the Kinect sold incredibly well for an expensive peripheral. 24 million units is a bit less than 1/3rd of the total Xbox 360 install base.

the kinect was a packin as well as a standalone, not really a fair comparison. the price is also going to be a lot more than a kinect was sold separately.

 

[clok1966]

The ORift is a pretty impressive piece of hardware, and so far there are a few devs who have publicly stated the SOny one is better. WIll it catch on? really hard to tell, playing Simon (old 70's- 80's color match game) on the Consoles sold millions of guitars and add ons to play it to music, not hard to imagine something that put you in the game more might do ok. its real roadblock is the motion sickness thing. It wont matter how much res/refresh rates, some people are not going to handle it. Price will be a huge deal, announced and actual. If you can handle the units (not get sick or eye strain) they are really quite impressive and after using one Its a bit like going from 2600 version of pacman to the actual, both are playing a game, but one is way better. A few hours with a Orift was all it took for me to order, no regrets at all, my only wish, more games supported it. I WILL buy the Sony one if its in the $300 area, easy, if it supports enough games and works as it seems people say it does.

 

[Aikouka]

The ORift is a pretty impressive piece of hardware, and so far there are a few devs who have publicly stated the SOny one is better. WIll it catch on?

In regard to comparing the two, it seemed like a mixed bag from what I read on IGN. They liked all the things that Morpheus did in conjunction with the PS4's various peripherals (how well it tracks you), but they stated that the screen was not as fast as the Rift, and the field of view was a bit narrower, which reduced the overall immersion a little.

 

[exdeath]

Except the Kinect sold incredibly well for an expensive peripheral. 24 million units is a bit less than 1/3rd of the total Xbox 360 install base.

Wii sold millions too. Doesn't mean waggle is the next coming of Jesus.

Wii and Kinect were just a "I have the latest cute iPhone, do you?" type mainstream fad. It's marketed to the same kind of people who think talking diabetes meters and tire pressure gauges are just sooooo cool. "oh wow it talks to me!".

Fads die and the mainstream moves on to the next one. Nintendo learned this with Wii U and the inability to carry the Wiis momentum. Remains to be seen if Microsoft will experience the same fate when people get bored of Fruit Ninja and move on to Temple Run 9 on their iPhone 12.

Waggle and arm flailing and shouting at your TV have no place in real games.

And without a 4 way treadmill with a ceiling harness I don't see how VR is ever going to work quite right in the home either.

Things get interesting when you combine a VR headset, a 4 way treadmill with a ceiling anchored harness, and the potential of Kinect 2.0. The closest we will get to a holodeck with current technology.

How about the harness rig being tethered by 4 points with the ability for the rig to tug on the player, eg safety rig keeps the player, upright and centered on the treadmill and also acts as a torso force feedback device. Chaotic multi directional tugs while the screen is flipping around and treadmill knocking your feet out from under you when you crash or get knocked on your ass. You'd be so disoriented and feel like youre falling and off balance, but you'd be perfectly upright and secure from smashing your living room up.

Just a head tracking headset alone does not make VR. It too like 3D will just be a passing fad without everything else to make it work.

 

[clok1966]

the kinect was a packin as well as a standalone, not really a fair comparison. the price is also going to be a lot more than a kinect was sold separately.

In regard to comparing the two, it seemed like a mixed bag from what I read on IGN. They liked all the things that Morpheus did in conjunction with the PS4's various peripherals (how well it tracks you), but they stated that the screen was not as fast as the Rift, and the field of view was a bit narrower, which reduced the overall immersion a little.

Yep i read a few newer ones and it wasn't all Roses as the first two i read. I should have known better to agree with just 2. But it still sounds like it compares pretty well with the ORift (which I think is worth every penny as a gamer) size looks good on the SONY compared to the Rift, but all this early talk is just that, talk.. Already rumors MS is doing one. Thier projector system looks damn neat also.. but it has so many gotchas. dark (paint) it wont well in, room with bright light is a no go.. Rooms with crap all over (like most of us have) speakers, pictures etc.. small bedrooms. Still it was impressive looking.

I still think its amazing the ideas they are coming up with, and VR after the little spurt in the 90's with massively crude ( but surprisingly fun) VR, it might just come into its own soon. No better time to be a gamer, thats for sure.

 

[BoberFett]

I've got a question...If I put my cell phone under 6 inches close to my face, I have an extremely hard time focusing on it.

I imagine this VR stuff will be useless to me, unless it has some distance manipulation optics like the OculusRift

When looking at an object like a phone at close distances, your eyes are straining because they are both attempting to focus on the same point. You're basically going cross-eyed. These headsets have a screen for each eye, so there are two separate points to focus on straight ahead, which is also what allows for the virtual depth of field.

 

[Aikouka]

And without a 4 way treadmill with a ceiling harness I don't see how VR is ever going to work quite right in the home either.

You mean like this one? http://www.virtuix.com/

When looking at an object like a phone at close distances, your eyes are straining because they are both attempting to focus on the same point. You're basically going cross-eyed. These headsets have a screen for each eye, so there are two separate points to focus on straight ahead, which is also what allows for the virtual depth of field.

The Oculus just has one screen, and I'd assume that the Morpheus works the same way. It works by rendering the content for both eyes onto the screen at the same time, which is why you'll see sites like Ars say that the new Rift dev kit is 960x1080 per-eye. But it works pretty much the way you're suggesting apart from that. It tries to focus the eyes onto their designated part of the screen. You could accomplish a similar thing if you put something (like your hand) in between your eyes and held your phone up against the object.

 

[purbeast0]

You mean like this one? http://www.virtuix.com/

wow that is pretty damn neat, i'd love to try it out. $500 is pretty cheap for that too imo. i'd never get it but it would be neat to try out. would get tiring pretty quick in a game like cod though.

 

[Aikouka]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/...es-its-serious-about-virtual-reality/#image-5

Ars seemed to like the Morpheus for the most part. They also commended the way the Morpheus felt on your head compared to the Rift, but they did say that it took a lot more effort to put it on and there was a small gap at the bottom that let light in.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I still say that until these are out in the retail world as a demo unit for people to try for themselves, it'll be a hard sell for all but the most hardcore buyers.

 

[Aikouka]

Sony held a short (what!?) conference on Morpheus today. Here's an article outlining some of the changes.

To give you a short version:

• 1920x1080 full-RGB OLED Display
• 120Hz Refresh Rate
• <18ms latency
• 5.7" screen
• 100 degree FOV
• 9 LEDs for 360-degree head tracking
• Easy to put on, take off, or flip up.
• Wearable with glasses
• Releasing in 1H 2016

 

[Rage187]

I'm in at $299 but I think $199 is far more likely.

 

[mmntech]

As cool as it seems, I can't help but shake the feeling that Morpheus will end up like the Move and Vita. Great pieces of hardware but very little software support. Especially long term.

 

[purbeast0]

too many vr displays in the works in general right now imo.

 

[mmntech]

too many vr displays in the works in general right now imo.

With all these companies jumping into the pool screaming "me too", it certainly has the stench of 'fad' all over it. Like 3D a couple years ago.

A year after my last post and I'm still not sold on it. I suppose I'd have to try it first before I can make any decisions. Still, I don't see VR devices being big sellers. People had a hard enough time wearing glasses with their 3DTV.

 

[Aikouka]

People had a hard enough time wearing glasses with their 3DTV.

At least from what they said, this shouldn't be a problem with Morpheus. Although, at least with the current Oculus dev kits, you cannot wear glasses and use them. Ars's article seemed pretty enthused about the overall experience, but they expressed reservations about the 1080p resolution... especially since Oculus is already higher than that, and for good reason. They still noticed the screen door effect with the Morpheus at 1080p.

 

[purbeast0]

At least from what they said, this shouldn't be a problem with Morpheus. Although, at least with the current Oculus dev kits, you cannot wear glasses and use them. Ars's article seemed pretty enthused about the overall experience, but they expressed reservations about the 1080p resolution... especially since Oculus is already higher than that, and for good reason. They still noticed the screen door effect with the Morpheus at 1080p.

i think he's talking about the fact that you have to simply put something on your head, not put 3D glasses on top of normal glasses.

 

[mmntech]

i think he's talking about the fact that you have to simply put something on your head, not put 3D glasses on top of normal glasses.

That is correct good sir. It adds a level of inconvenience when people would just rather chill in front of the TV. I can see people getting fed of with it quickly once the initial novelty wears off.

As for glasses, you shouldn't need to wear them with a VR headset. The screen is fairly close to your eyes and any good set should have a diopter adjustment. Just like the old fashioned camcorder viewfinders.

 

[xantub]

the problem with a PS4 device is just that, it's only for the PS4. No multi-platform games, need to be approved by Sony, etc.
I'm rooting more for the Rift, the PC is really the place for new devices, freedom to develop and experiment.

 

[mizzou]

the problem with a PS4 device is just that, it's only for the PS4. No multi-platform games, need to be approved by Sony, etc.
I'm rooting more for the Rift, the PC is really the place for new devices, freedom to develop and experiment.

Hopefully that won't be true. Considering the multi-platform development of games lately, the device itself should be easily supported if it' fully supported on one platform. Will it work as nicely as an XBOX controller does on PC? I don't know....

 

[cmdrdredd]

Hopefully that won't be true. Considering the multi-platform development of games lately, the device itself should be easily supported if it' fully supported on one platform. Will it work as nicely as an XBOX controller does on PC? I don't know....

I see it more as a problem to be so open. You have less control over the quality of the software bs a closed platform.

 

[finbarqs]

OR is pretty bad ass... feels no lag when you look around. Bundle that with awesome integrated headset, and a flesh light, the endless possibilities...