Sony Plans Project Morpheus for 2016

If 2015 is the year of the wearables, it looks like next year might be the year of virtual reality. On Tuesday, Sony announced that it intends to release Project Morpheus, its long in-development virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4 console, in the first half of 2016.

The news comes by way of a blog post by Sony Computer Entertainment President Shuhei Yoshida, who offered up some more details about what kind of work has gone into the Morpheus headset since its early prototype days. Those improvements include a new, larger OLED display, a doubled refresh rate, super low latency, and more accurate head tracking – another helpful feature to eliminate latency and that queasy feeling that it brings. Additionally, Morpheus has been redesigned with a single strap, making it easier to put on and take off.

Said Yoshida:

“Our goal with VR is to deliver a sense of presence, making the player feel as though they’ve stepped inside the world of a game. The new Project Morpheus prototype brings us closer to that goal, as it improves the visual experience and tracking accuracy, both of which are critical to achieving sense of presence.”

How much will it cost? What games are being developed for it? When will you let me give you my money? These are all questions Sony has yet to answer. But even these details are enough to make gamers pretty excited. While Oculus may be the market leader in terms of exciting virtual reality technology, it’s becoming clear that the obstacles that once stood in VR’s path are being cleared at a pretty quick pace.

HTC’s newly announced Vive headset, for instance, will apparently be out by the end of the year, the result of a joint collaboration with Valve. Between these two headsets, gamers will have the chance to enjoy virtual reality gaming at both the PC and the console level. If developers are able to take full advantage of these new headsets, we could have the birth of a whole new gaming genre – one we’ve been waiting for since the early days of VR back in the 1990s.

But that’s a pretty big “if.” Projects like Vive, Morpheus, and Oculus all depend on developers being able to make great software and experiences. Without that, these headsets will be little more than gimmicks. Fortunately, there’s been enough hype around this resurgence of virtual reality that good gaming experiences don’t seem that out of the question.

After that, it won’t take long for other applications for VR to start showing up in our headsets. Virtual tourism, more immersive Second Life-type experiences, virtual concert or theatrical ticket sales – there are a lot of directions in which this new tech can take us. Will you come along for the ride?

[PS4 VR Upgraded, Coming in 2016]