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After the Oculus Facebookaton, does Sony have an opportunity to target...

DemonNite

Member
I think it would be a cool move (I don't know if they will or not)

exclusive "first party" VR software though will always stay on PS4 obviously, which I think could be a game changer
 
For me there's so many variables that could affect how the VR movement plays out.

One of which is the financial stability behind Oculus and Morpheus. Many future financial concerns have been eliminated by being bought for a sum like that. But at the end of the day the product still has to be bought by consumers and it's unclear how Facebook's involvement will affect the consumer base.

Sony are on shaky ground and have been for a while. Will the Morpheus only be compatible with Playstation hardware?

There are inherent factors involved in a piece of hardware that is only PC compatible or only Playstation compatible. Will inherent console limitations rule out complex games like Arma for instance?
 

Durante

Member
VR always had more long term mainstream applications than the traditional PlayStation use cases, and I'm sure Sony would have known that, but in terms of right now, Morpheus (and the Rift) are too power hungry to be used with web-based computing.

I think Morpheus 1 and CV1 will be no different than they would have been yesterday. Sony HQ will certainly be looking at long term uses, and FB will integrate Oculus into Facebook, regardless of what Palmer Luckey may claim, but they both need to wait, because until TVs and cell phones have the local compute performance for VR, both devices will remain video game accessories.

I think FB bought Oculus because they're a year away from seeding the core VR audience, and they'll be worth a lot more after that, not because they're useful to them right now.
Yeah, I agree. Well, maybe CV1 will have a FB logo on it.
 
For me there's so many variables that could affect how the VR movement plays out.

One of which is the financial stability behind Oculus and Morpheus. Many future financial concerns have been eliminated by being bought for a sum like that. But at the end of the day the product still has to be bought by consumers and it's unclear how Facebook's involvement will affect the consumer base.

Sony are on shaky ground and have been for a while. Will the Morpheus only be compatible with Playstation hardware?

There are inherent factors involved in a piece of hardware that is only PC compatible or only Playstation compatible. Will inherent console limitations rule out complex games like Arma for instance?

Facebook's involvement will most likely bring cost down so it will help mass adoption.

Sony has already done the research on VR and might just as well release high-end VR headsets not associated with playstation if they think they can profit from it. Sony isn't only about playstation after all.

They are known for top of the line, high-quality hardware and here's to hoping their electronics division targets PC enthusiasts if OR fails to deliver.
 

fresquito

Member
Yeah, hardcore PC gamers will ditch the OR because FB is a big corporate company and will embrace Sony because...

I'm thinking the OP doesn't get why people are so upset with the matter. Well, I will give you a tip: Open vs. Closed.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
Durante said:
As you say, that would require them to constantly iterate, while maintaining a separate product for PS4. I really don't see that happening.
It's a display-headset. Iterating it is analogous to doing it with audio-headsets,TVs etc. - and that's something Sony has a history of doing even with Playstation branded versions of those products.
The only component loosely tied to console-hw is pixel-count, and even that will still have opportunity for iteration unless the thing releases in 2017(which would make it irrelevant either way).
 
Sony's track record about "open standards" isn't that good, to be honest.

Betamax (better than VHS but sent to die because of Sony's greed), UMD, mini-disc, other OS on ps3, memory stick on vita and other devices, etc.

The good thing is that this is a single device that needs other devices in order to work, so they might just as well understand its importance.

Hopefully the Facebook deal will make Sony realize how important the VR space is going to be.

You had the Walkman, Sony. Time to get back on track xD
 

Durante

Member
It's a display-headset. Iterating it is analogous to doing it with audio-headsets,TVs etc. - and that's something Sony has a history of doing even with Playstation branded versions of those products.
The only component loosely tied to console-hw is pixel-count, and even that will still have opportunity for iteration unless the thing releases in 2017(which would make it irrelevant either way).
The difference being of course that iterating in the TV space doesn't make their TVs incompatible with their consoles.

Also, in addition to pixel count, I'd assume refresh rate (and thus persistence) is tightly coupled with console HW.
 

Honey Bunny

Member
They really, really should. The more support they can get for the thing, the more likely people are to spend the equivalent of another PS4 on it. They've got to think bigger than 'this is just a console peripheral' because it'll be too expensive for that, and they'll be throwing too much potential away.
 

RamzaIsCool

The Amiga Brotherhood
Dunno about that...

But at this point I reckon Sony is scratching its head and asking... Project Morpheos is worth what right now?

Maybe they come to the conclusion this is bigger then something that is meant to drive Playstation 4 sales. So they might open up to the PC platform.

A good example is SOE. They didn't chain them to Playstation platforms, heck they are even leading on PC.
 
Why do people act as if Facebook just killed Oculus?

Facebook didn't kill Oculus. I'd say they saved them financially.

But it did hamper Oculus as the enthusiast solution. I just can't imagine Facebook going for the enthusiast market when as others pointed out, VR headsets are more closely tied to performance of the PC than traditional displays.
 

Zok310

Banned
Doubt Sony will support PC, all the effort that went into PS4.
VR is now the best chance to get PC gamers to convert to PS. You want VR? "Only on PlayStation".
So no, I don't expect them to even bat an eye at PC after this FBOR deal.....

Valve and MS is the only chance for the PC loyalist now.
 

Bold One

Member
Why do people act as if Facebook just killed Oculus?

I think its just fear, fear of the unknown.

We all knew what the OR would be and its potential vis-a-vis core gaming.

this acquisition just shot those ambitions into the sun for the sole reason that FB wouldn't drop 2 billion for Carmack and friends to 'keep calm and carry on'. Anyone who thinks things will stay the same is naive.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
Durante said:
The difference being of course that iterating in the TV space doesn't make their TVs incompatible with their consoles.
And it wouldn't here either - unless they specifically wanted to break compatibility.

Also, in addition to pixel count, I'd assume refresh rate (and thus persistence) is tightly coupled with console HW.
Why? I mean increasing pixel count isn't really "tied" either - it's just the gains for console itself would become marginal/meaningless past certain resolution, but refresh rates should be pretty much completely agnostic.
 
It would be smart of Sony to push for PC compatibility. After all, their playstation now service is.

I think it would be a cool move (I don't know if they will or not)

exclusive "first party" VR software though will always stay on PS4 obviously, which I think could be a game changer

Exactomundo.

Many want to act like this means nothing for Morpheus, but it has effectively put a bigger spotlight on it. In theory it will be much easier for Sony to justify investment. Many don't seem to understand that in the same way people believe this has legitimized OR, it has also legitimized Morpheus.

In the same way that Facebook can be the driver of the V.R platform, Sony can also. Facebook missed mobile? Shit sony missed MP3 AND mobile. Sony is also looking for a new breakthrough, very much like Facebook is. And if Facebook can now cater to the hardcore PC crowd, Sony can cater to the console crowd. In essence it's possible that Sony will have a quicker pace out of the gate.

Let's not be delusional and understand something very important also; the sort of experiences Facebook wants to offer through V.R can't require high end specs.
 

supersaw

Member
Valve and MS is the only chance for the PC loyalist now.

Even if it the Rift becomes a closed system contrary to what the founder has said after this acquisition it will be hacked wide open within a week.

If Morpheus uses USB there's a possibility that someone will hack it to work on PC.

I think VR's biggest challenge will be compelling software and control mechanisms.
 

Isurus

Member
I don't think Sony has any more opportunity in the PC arena with VR today than they did two days ago before the Facebook OR acquisition was announced. The knee jerk reactions and hyperbole being spewed due to that acquisition are over the top.

While I'm no Facebook fan, I am a huge fan of things I'm interested in getting infused with loads of capital and Facebook just effectively invested TWO BILLION DOLLARS in OR VR. That is awesome news, as it means they now have the capital to do things they couldn't otherwise do and I'm looking forward to seeing exactly what they do with it. If anything, this means Sony has LESS opportunity than they did before, because now their biggest competitor has a lot of capital and is backed by a very large company. I expect they will distance themselves further from the PC arena.
 
I don't think Sony has any more opportunity in the PC arena with VR today than they did two days ago before the Facebook OR acquisition was announced. The knee jerk reactions and hyperbole being spewed due to that acquisition are over the top.

While I'm no Facebook fan, I am a huge fan of things I'm interested in getting infused with loads of capital and Facebook just effectively invested TWO BILLION DOLLARS in OR VR. That is awesome news, as it means they now have the capital to do things they couldn't otherwise do and I'm looking forward to seeing exactly what they do with it. If anything, this means Sony has LESS opportunity than they did before, because now their biggest competitor has a lot of capital and is backed by a very large company. I expect they will distance themselves further from the PC arena.

Of course! Everybody at Sony must now be thinking "Yeah let's actively avoid being the main driver of what is potentially the next big platform". Why not? Makes total sense.

Hell I bet that now no other company will even try approaching the PC VR scene. At least not now that the big bad boogeyman Facebook decided to step in!
 

Triple U

Banned
The difference being of course that iterating in the TV space doesn't make their TVs incompatible with their consoles.
Also, in addition to pixel count, I'd assume refresh rate (and thus persistence) is tightly coupled with console HW.

Nor would iterating the vr set....

Of course! Everybody at Sony must now be thinking "Yeah let's actively avoid being the main driver of what is potentially the next big platform". Why not? Makes total sense.

Hell I bet that now no other company will even try approaching the PC VR scene. At least not now that the big bad boogeyman Facebook decided to step in!

This is the strangest sentiments that's manifested in the Oculus defense. Like seriously, Facebook is now someone to fear in the hardware arena? I could see Samsung. I could see Apple. But facebook....
 

kartu

Banned
Doubt Sony will support PC, all the effort that went into PS4.
VR is now the best chance to get PC gamers to convert to PS. You want VR? "Only on PlayStation".
Things might change later on, if the choice would be "allow Morpheus on PC, or let other competitors to take market without a fight".
 

Flayer

Member
I think people are generally wary of Facebook acquiring Oculus due to the fact that Facebook are not a hardware company and have no obvious experience in that field. It is a big step into the unknown for them. It's an interesting development but I can't say it's one that fills me with confidence.
 

injurai

Banned
I certainly hope they extend it to the PC. Would be foolish to lock it up behind the PS4 exclusively.

If it supported both PS4 and PC I would certainly choose this over Oculus.

I think making it PS4/PC compatible wouldn't really do much of anything in terms of turning away potential PS4 owners. What draws people to the PS4 are exclusives, and the platform. I would say people have to be interested in more than VR to take the dive. Kinect is an awesome piece of tech but the platform around it is extremely dull.
 

Sorc3r3r

Member
They have a chance to take by storm the pc hc gaming market.
Will they?
I think there is no chance.

But the question is: what is the goal of Sony?
They want the cake or just a slice of it?
They really believe that VR is going to be a whole new media that will drive the rise of a new industry behind it?

Supporting only the ps4, with an add on even, seems to indicate a Sony that doesn't believe in the power of this new tech or at least that they have no intention to go all in.

But time will tell and things may change very fast these days.
 

Oppo

Member
Could be looking at a potential Zenith vs Trinitron type situation :)

Much as many might hate to admit it... Personally I can't think of another company that's better positioned to take advantage of VR than Sony. They have all the pieces of the puzzle. And have been good at those pieces for a long time.

Facebook has all the money in the universe but needs to build so much core competency in this area, that takes a lot of time. I very much look forward to seeing what they do but the idea of Facerift running away with the market is really uncertain.

Anyways - my understanding is that the current Sony VR kits work like Move.me did on PC, using a Ps4 as a bridge... Anyone know?

RamzalsCool said:
But at this point I reckon Sony is scratching its head and asking... Project Morpheos is worth what right now?
Yeah no kidding, right?
 

Azulsky

Member
I think people put too much stock in Notch's knee jerk reaction. Put stock into the fact that Carmack still works at OR and juat wait and see how things develop.

Typical Consumers were not going to buy a $300-$400 HMD to play Minecraft. People will buy it if their central computing experience is designed for it.

Facebook is a company that pushed a fledgling product space into a global one. They are now trying to secure hardware needed to go further.

They need the same tech that we need. Its a win win as long as the OR is not harware locked to FB.

At some point they were going to get bought out guys. The tech exists and the market exists for VR to happen. While FB was not on my list of suspect companies I am happier they were not picked up my MSFT or AAPL or Google.

Also everyone pretending that Kickstarter gives you any kind of stake in a company cant read.
 
If anything Sony is aiming for the same place Oculus + Facebook sees VR going.

This right here. Sony was all nice words when they was the big boys in OR's playground. I expect the Sony execs thought that OR wasn't competition for the casual market they were targeting with their talk of virtual tourism and edutainment. That all changed now Facebook is on the scene.
 

Nzyme32

Member
Not a chance if Morpheus stays locked to Sony platforms alone or has content exclusive to certain consoles/phones etc.

If they were to treat Morpheus as it's own unique platform with compatibility with all manner of devices and any exclusive content is only relating to using their HMD. Then there is a real chance. It encourages other markets to take part and would be a good stage to develop an ecosystem of content.

The current ties to PS4 immediately reduce the scale to which Morpheus could challenge Oculus by limiting what can be used on the HMD in the first place along with other markets
 
Supporting only the ps4, with an add on even, seems to indicate a Sony that doesn't believe in the power of this new tech or at least that they have no intention to go all in.

But time will tell and things may change very fast these days.

The ipod only supported Macs and firewire originally.
 

Triple U

Banned
Without knowing any specifics, I would suggest Facebook have much more money to throw at VR than Sony currently has.

Yeah and I forgot the decades of hardware design experience, which would include handhelds, displays, gaming, peripherals etc. Lets not even mention manufacturing. FB really has Sony licked , you're right.
 

Gestault

Member
What exactly will the Oculus Rift now be unable to do which it could do before? What feature or technology is being removed?
 

jts

...hate me...
Yeah and I forgot the decades of hardware design experience, which would include handhelds, displays, gaming, peripherals etc. Lets not even mention manufacturing. FB really has Sony licked , you're right.
Money buys all of that and then some.
 

HT UK

Member
It wouldn't surprise me. I know they're not similar at all, but the Pulse headsets they make work on PC & PS3/PS4.

It'd sure give them a competitive edge if the Morpheus worked with both PS4 and PC.
 
So yesterday you thought Rift would have failed, right?

I did actually. Perhaps not an outright failure, a very small niche at best.

Yeah and I forgot the decades of hardware design experience, which would include handhelds, displays, gaming, peripherals etc. Lets not even mention manufacturing. FB really has Sony licked , you're right.

See below.

Money buys all of that and then some.

And just for clarification, I'm not picking a side here as some of you might want me to do.
 
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