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[Man]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-09-25-sony-morpheus-gamble-could-change-course-of-vr

right now it feels like Sony is going to launch a reasonably cost-effective VR headset while Oculus is still in the prototyping phase

Oculus Connect showed off a new prototype of Rift which is still clearly in a process of evolution. The new hardware is lighter and more comfortable - closer to being a final product, in short - but it's also still adding new features and functionality to the basic unit. Oculus, unlike Sony, still doesn't feel like a company that's anywhere close to having a consumer product ready to launch.

These are two very different strategic approaches to the market. The worrying thing is that they can't both be right. If Oculus is correct and VR still needs a lot of fine-tuning, prototyping and figuring out before it's ready for the market, then Sony is rushing in too quickly and risks seriously damaging the market potential of VR as a whole with an underwhelming product. This risk can't be overstated; if Morpheus launches first and it makes everyone seasick, or is uncomfortable to use for more than a short period of time, or simply doesn't impress people with its fidelity and immersion, then it could see VR being written off for another decade in spite of Oculus' best efforts.

If, on the other hand, Sony is correct and "good enough" VR tech is pretty much ready to go, then that's great for VR and for PS4, but potentially very worrying for Oculus, who risk their careful, evolutionary, prototype after prototype approach being upended by an unusually nimble and disruptive challenge from Sony. If this is the case (and I've heard little but good things about Morpheus, which suggests Sony's gamble may indeed pay off) then the Facebook deal could be either a blessing or a curse. A blessing, if it allows Oculus to continue to work on evolving and developing VR tech, shielding them from the impact of losing first-mover advantage to Sony; a curse, if that failure to score a clear win in the first round spooks Facebook's management and investors and causes them to pull the plug.

It's exciting and interesting to see Sony taking this kind of risk. These gambles don't always pay off, of course...

...but Morpheus is a clear pass, an interesting and exciting product with the potential to truly turn around the company's fortunes.

I fear the biggest issue with Oculus will be it's pricepoint and hardware demands. How many own a powerful stationary PC these days? How many will buy both an Oculus ($300+) and 3D controllers (currently $500+ on PC's...)? How many PC games will be adjusted to those 3D controllers? The ideal Oculus Rift experience next year will be experienced by a subset of a subset of its audience and there's a huge price of entry even at the lowest barrier.
Sony's pricepoint + bundling solutions + defacto 3D controllers and plug-and-play nature will aid them greatly.

Edit:

And, obvious:

 

[gunslikewhoa]

Considering Oculus' partnership with Samsung and their work on Gear VR, I doubt that they're still concerned about this sort of thing, particularly after the Facebook deal. In the end, they're going to bring an experience that simply can't be denied, even if there are several attempts at VR that flop beforehand.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

I'm looking forward to this if only because i trust Sony more with making the headset comfortable and that the PC community will probably find a way to get this to work on PC, whereas I don't see the Rift ever going the other way and functioning on Sony hardware.

 

[Damerman]

If only sony had the hardware(PS4 wont cut it, lets be honest) to make present the morpheous in its best possible form. the marriage of morpheous and move would be incredible.

 

[lukeskymac]

Change from LCD to OLED and you're done, Sony.

If only sony had the hardware(PS4 wont cut it, lets be honest) to make present the morpheous in its best possible form. the marriage of morpheous and move would be incredible.

Even Samsung managed to impress people with VR running from goddammed smartphones. This makes zero sense.

 

[DieH@rd]

If only sony had the hardware(PS4 wont cut it, lets be honest) to make present the morpheous in its best possible form. the marriage of morpheous and move would be incredible.

If Oculus is praising Note4's capabilities [which are not great], then PS4 is more than good enough.

Plus, Oculus is fumbling on the area of hand controllers. Sony already has that solved.

 

[Veritigo_X]

If only sony had the hardware(PS4 wont cut it, lets be honest) to make present the morpheous in its best possible form. the marriage of morpheous and move would be incredible.

PS4 is less powerful than current smartphones?

 

[StuBurns]

They're not competing at all. If Morpheus blows up, it's not going to hurt Oculus, they're not on the same platforms.

Oculus have good reason to hold off, PC performance will improve, meaning they can drive QHD panels at higher framerates, PS4 is what it is.

 

[stryke]

Eh, Oculus will be fine regardless.

 

[MaDKaT]

If only sony had the hardware(PS4 wont cut it, lets be honest) to make present the morpheous in its best possible form. the marriage of morpheous and move would be incredible.

Only if you are expecting Driveclub or The Order type graphics. Should be perfectly fine with graphics on par with last gen but pumped up to 1080p/60.

Very much looking forward to giving it go if priced right.

 

[Durante]

I highly doubt the entire premise of Morpheus being released as a product significantly before the Rift.

 

[paskowitz]

It is not first to market, it is first to a user base.

 

[BadWolf]

If Oculus is praising Note4's capabilities [which are not great], then PS4 is more than good enough.

Plus, Oculus is fumbling on the area of hand controllers. Sony already has that solved.

It's pretty interesting how Move which was a huge "me too" moment from Sony last gen and didn't catch on will end up being a big asset in the new gen with VR.

 

[Mdk7]

This kinds of products are far from being consumer-ready, UDK2 was kind of a disappointment to me since i expected it to be way way better than the original, yet the screen still needs A LOT of work IMHO.

If Sony decides to launch Morpheus in 2015 it might do well at first (you know, novelty factor and so on), but it will eventually fuck VR up.
I really, really hope both Sony and Oculus take their time, i feel they have just one chance to do things right.

 

[mnannola]

Having a successful PS4 and PC VR install base just means more game companies will dump more resources into delivering a worthwhile VR experience in their games.

Sure Oculus will most likely be a better experience with a high end PC, but I am sure with toned down graphics the PS4 will still be able to do some amazing things with VR.

 

[Kysen]

After watching the latest Occulus presentation and seeing the deep discussions going on between the Occulus team and Samsung I'm starting to worry that Sony's go it alone approach is a disaster in the making. Sure they have the know how of making screens and HMDs but their software to date has never been exceptional.

VR is too big for one company to just get it right first time and run away with it. In my opinion it would be better for Sony to do what Samsung did and partner with Occulus. That way any advancements made raise the bar for everyone. Just look at the Sony smartwatch, 3 attempts and all utter failures.

As for the smartphone approach hearing Carmack talk about the improvements he suggested to Samsung, I think this is the best way for fast adoption. Relying on a monster pc for anything is a dead end, even getting current gen games to run at acceptable framerates requires insane hardware. I think the games that will show the most prospects aren't the super realistic Project Cars/Space sims but the lower end Indy stuff which will run well across all platforms especially phones. It is also why I think that the PS4 has more than enough hardware grunt to make an impact. All it takes is one dev with a similar creative spark as Nintendo to really make the hardware shine (just like the wii). Such as shame Nintendo isn't doing anything in the VR space.

 

[Bookoo]

It's pretty interesting how Move which was a huge "me too" moment from Sony last gen and didn't catch on will end up being big asset in the new gen with VR.

Well lack of VR is why motion controllers came off extremely gimmicky. There is only so much you can do when looking at a flat screen. However I wish that all FPS games implemented them because it was fantastic for KZ3


I also don't think that Morpheus is going to be coming out any time soon. They are probably both going to launch relatively close to each other and they target different audiences. I want them both to be successful because it's just better for VR as a whole. I'll probably buy both.

 

[Colonel Nasty]

Neither will be out till next fall. It's sounds like Occulus nailed the latest version it'll probably have the widest range of support also.

 

[orava]

It could change it to worse too. Morpheus + PS4 is a "low end" VR solution with limited applications and if it get's very popular, it might do more harm than good.

 

[Bookoo]

Neither will be out till next fall. It's sounds like Occulus nailed the latest version it'll probab have the widest range of support also.

Which is crazy because even that was using some older hardware and hearing the way people talk about it is insane.

 

[popeutlal]

Would people really put a helmet on their head to play videogames? The tech might be great but I don't think these two attempts are going anywhere.

 

[Handy Fake]

"... after prototype approach being upended by an unusually nimble and disruptive challenge from Sony."

That's a wonderfully lyrical bit of writing is that.

 

[BadWolf]

Would people really put a helmet on their head to play videogames? The tech might be great but I don't think these two attempts are going anywhere.

The applications for this tech can go beyond just games.

Like the Mars tour that Sony is partnering with NASA for.

 

[Handy Fake]

Would people really put a helmet on their head to play videogames? The tech might be great but I don't think these two attempts are going anywhere.

Immersion. I think there's a lot of people underestimating just how much of a gamechanger VR is going to be if they get it right.

 

[Seanspeed]

Nonsense article. Morpheus in the state that *we've* seen is not consumer-ready, either. I mean, it could be put out, but Oculus *could* have put out the DK2 as its consumer device as well.

I think both companies want to improve things quite a bit before release, which I'm guessing will both be summer/fall of 2015.

Lastly, they are NOT competing with each other.

 

[Liberty4all]

The benefit of Morpheus I imagine is the existing install base, as well as standardized hardware.

If any company can do it right I trust Sony to at least provide a polished experience. Their hardware is almost always solid too in terms of build quality.

 

[Audible]

I sincerely hope that Sony is genius enough to make a headset that meshes well with glasses.

 

[SparkTR]

There's so many damn assumptions and estimations in the article. Seems like a writer needed to fill their content quota before Friday was up.

 

[SerTapTap]

Change from LCD to OLED and you're done, Sony.

They're using smartphone screen panels for it aren't they? Are there available OLED ones? I also hope it's OLED, but they seem to have the right attitude about this so I think it'll turn out quite well. Helps that the PS camera was designed with VR in mind and their Gold headset is pretty sweet, so they seem to be on their A game with peripherals this gen. (never thought I'd say that, seldom met a peripheral I didn't hate)

I sincerely hope that Sony is genius enough to make a headset that meshes well with glasses.

They've already said it accommodates glasses

 

[Gipsy Danger]

I can't really see VR being that affected when it's stuck on one closed platform. We need a solution that's as open as possible.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

Sony getting the headset out first will only boost the Rifts awareness and presence, in my view. Sony can reach an audience with it that Occulus may never even try for, and that can only help them in the long run, with perhaps general public getting a taste of VR from Sony, and enthusiasts 'upgrading' to a more powerful set as the rift is upgraded over time.

The two approaches seem mutually beneficial, not troublesome, and I'd wager both parties see it that way also.

 

[Shai-Tan]

I don't think Sony is capable of doing anything that isn't half baked.

 

[Nexus Zero]

Sounds like they're making the mistake of presuming that Sony stopped developing the Morpheous after they showed it off. I don't see them launching it particularly early.

 

[staticneuron]

It's pretty interesting how Move which was a huge "me too" moment from Sony last gen and didn't catch on will end up being a big asset in the new gen with VR.

I am not sure how the move can ever be seen as a "me too" when Marks was working on it since the PS2 era and demonstrated the capabilities at the PS3 announcement.

As far as the article is concerned if the morpheus does become a success I only see this as a positive thing for the oculus not a negative thing. That would just make Sony's product an entry level machine and the rift a higher end device.

 

[Into]

We could just continue talking about VR, like the past few years and watch Patrick Klepek use it to play his quirky indie horror games.

But its time someone released something commercially. Tech geeks will continue to argue about FPS and resolution and what not, but these companies have to find out for sure if people are ready to put a thing on their head/eyes to enjoy any kind of entertainment.

 

[Blanquito]

Sure they have the know how of making screens and HMDs but their software to date has never been exceptional.

I'm curious what you mean by this.

Do you mean software as in games? If that's the case, more than just Sony are developing games for Morpheus, so I'm not sure why that would worry you.

Do you mean software as in development environment? If that's the case, hasn't Sony been pretty well praised for the PS4's APIs and SDK so far? What would worry you about that?

If it's neither of those two, then what software has you worried?

Edit:

I don't think Sony is capable of doing anything that isn't half baked.

Yeah, you know, the PS4 has been a complete wash and demonstrates how incapable Sony is...

 

[orioto]

I think there is something really delusional about the way medias talk about VR based on people having tested things in gaming shows etc..

I'm not the only one having seen with my own eyes that half the people you let try the Oculus DK2 will tell you they couldn't use it for more than 5 minutes.

Released as it is, VR will be a massive disappointment for mainstream market, in term of reception. Oculus is absolutely right to wait.

 

[Seanspeed]

I can't really see VR being that affected when it's stuck on one closed platform. We need a solution that's as open as possible.

We need both. Console VR is great and open-platform VR is great. They both hit different markets and expose people to VR in different ways. VR is going to be all the better for having as many platforms as possible served. Oculus will benefit from console VR and console VR will benefit from PC VR. And add in mobile VR and its another 'win-win' situation for VR and everybody involved.

 

[Handy Fake]

We need both. Console VR is great and open-platform VR is great. They both hit different markets and expose people to VR in different ways. VR is going to be all the better for having as many platforms as possible served. Oculus will benefit from console VR and console VR will benefit from PC VR. And add in mobile VR and its another 'win-win' situation for VR and everybody involved.

I came here to say this.

 

[StevieP]

If they release Morpheus for PS4, it's doomed to be niche. Not just because of the weak hardware in the PS4, but the status as a hardcore-oriented accessory rather than something that comes in the box for all developers to use.

 

[King_Moc]

Having used dk2, I don't see a 1080p headset taking off. Anything that's more than 15-20m away is a pixelly mess. The sense of presence is still there, but I'd rather have the clarity, thanks.

 

[Denton]

Did I miss something? Did Sony announce that Morpheus will be released next month or something? Or is the entire premise of the article complete nonsense ?

 

[JordanN]

If they release Morpheus for PS4, it's doomed to be niche. Not just because of the weak hardware in the PS4, but the status as a hardcore-oriented accessory rather than something that comes in the box for all developers to use.

Just like the Wii right?

Also, anyone else notice the irony of hardware power?

 

[Gipsy Danger]

We need both. Console VR is great and open-platform VR is great. They both hit different markets and expose people to VR in different ways. VR is going to be all the better for having as many platforms as possible served. Oculus will benefit from console VR and console VR will benefit from PC VR. And add in mobile VR and its another 'win-win' situation for VR and everybody involved.

Good point. I never even thought about mobile VR. That would be pretty wicked and would make me invest in a Surface Pro for sure.

 

[YoodlePro]

I don't think Sony is capable of doing anything that isn't half baked.

? Please elaborate.

 

[krypt0nian]

Sony getting the headset out first will only boost the Rifts awareness and presence, in my view. Sony can reach an audience with it that Occulus may never even try for, and that can only help them in the long run, with perhaps general public getting a taste of VR from Sony, and enthusiasts 'upgrading' to a more powerful set as the rift is upgraded over time.

The two approaches seem mutually beneficial, not troublesome, and I'd wager both parties see it that way also.

Totally agree. This is less a competition than a mutually beneficial move to promote the VR platform.

In this case, it's surely a case of the rising tide lifting ALL ships, and I cannot wait!

 

[QuantumZebra]

If only sony had the hardware(PS4 wont cut it, lets be honest) to make present the morpheous in its best possible form. the marriage of morpheous and move would be incredible.

Um, dude? A PS4 has the power to run VR. Easily.

Top notch-cutting edge Oculus Rift style VR? Maybe not, but we don't need that.

 

[Devilgunman]

I still have a doubt toward VR future, from both Morpheus and Oculus. I don't know how it can become commercially successful unless it is very affordable. As it is now, VR seems like a very niche product for a gadget nerd. Morpheus for example needs a PS4, PS eyes camera, and PS move for it to work. That is already $400+ investment excluding the price of the headset itself, which probably isn't going to be anywhere lower than $200. A sucker like me will buy those in a heartbeat but at that price it won't crack the mass market.

 

[gamechanger87]

Reasonably priced VR headset.

I thought Sony was getting out of the business of losing money on hardware.

 

[BadWolf]

I still have a doubt toward VR future, from both Morpheus and Oculus. I don't know how it can become commercially successful unless it is very affordable. As it is now, VR seems like a very niche product for a gadget nerd. Morpheus for example needs a PS4, PS eyes camera, and PS move for it to work. That is already $400+ investment excluding the price of the headset itself, which probably isn't going to be anywhere lower than $200. A sucker like me will buy those in a heartbeat but at that price it won't crack the mass market.

If only there were millions of PS4 owners out there already...