For years, gamers have been waiting for virtual reality (VR) to take off. The technology, which some expect to shake up the gaming industry, allows players to see and interact with the game world from the viewpoint of the characters. For example, VR allows players to experience games like Outlast with the scares right up close or play Call of Duty and feel like the bullets are really whizzing past.
Although HTC and Valve have teamed up for the Vive virtual reality headset, and the Oculus Rift has huge financial backing from Facebook (who bought Oculus VR for $2 billlion), Sony's Project Morpheus is also a front runner. As the headset works with PlayStation consoles, Sony has a huge potential user base who may be interested in the new headset.
Many PlayStation gamers have already taken notice of the headset and its impressive specs (it has 120 frames per second) and are patiently awaiting its 2016 release date. It may seem unusual then, that just as people start preparing for Project Morpheus, Sony has suddenly changed the headset's name to 'PlayStation VR'.
At the SCEJA Press Conference 2015 in Tokyo, Masayasu Ito, EVP, Division president of PS Product Business and VP (Software Design Division) explained that that the name PlayStation VR "directly expresses an entirely new experience from PlayStation" and it also "reflects our hopes that we want our users to feel a sense of familiarity as they enjoy this amazing experience".
In many ways, this new name makes sense, as the name 'Project Morpheus' doesn't make it clear to people that the headset is a Sony PlayStation product, which may have led to consumer confusion. However, some people quite liked the name Project Morpheus and have complained that although PlayStation VR is to the point, it's also incredibly boring. These same people suggest that the new name has caused the headset to lose its 'wow factor'.
But others say that whether the headset is called Project Morpheus or PlayStation VR, its name doesn't matter. The headset will live (or die) by its software and that Sony should focus on that more than what the device is called. Some games have already been confirmed for PlayStation VR support, including: (PS4 exclusive horror game) Until Dawn, (dinosaur survival sim) Ark: Survival Evolved, Eve Valkyrie and Project Cars, but many agree that without a high profile exclusive title, few people will feel as though the PlayStation VR headset is a must-buy device.
What is positive is that Ito did address this, saying that Sony will keep working with first and third party developers in order to "deliver exciting experiences only made possible with VR." Sony still has time to impress people before now and the PlayStation VR's 2016 release date so some big announcements could be right around the corner.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Do you plan on getting the PlayStation VR headset? Which games would you like to see go VR compatible? Leave a comment and let us know.