Pull out your Ron Paul animated images, because Sony could be gearing up for a megaton in just over a week’s time. The platform holder has announced a new GDC session, which aims to detail “the future of innovation” at the firm. Set to take place between 17:45PM and 18:45PM PST on 18th March, the panel will be hosted by Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida, EyeToy creator Dr. Richard Marks, and senior software engineer Anton Mikhailov.
While the first name should be instantly recognisable to almost all of you, more engaged readers may recall the latter two developers playing a pivotal part in the production and promotion of the PlayStation Move controller. Most recently, the incredibly talented twosome were spotted in a video for the Japanese giant’s new Magic Lab research and development department, which has been beavering away on eye-tracking technology for the PlayStation 4.
While the session description is very vague, strong rumours suggest that the manufacturer’s hypothetical Oculus Rift-esque headset will be announced at this month’s industry focused show. The presence of Yoshida during this particular presentation almost certainly indicates that we’ll be hearing something from one of the organisation’s first-party teams, with Marks and Mikhailov presumably on hand to outline the technology for developers.
Of course, there’s always a chance that the PlayStation maker may not reveal anything of importance during this panel at all – but the speculation appears to be aligning, doesn’t it? With an enormous amount of buzz surrounding virtual reality at the moment, there’s never been a better time for the firm to step into the space. All the same, the jury’s going to be out on the peripheral’s performance and price. Are you excited to see what the future holds? Strap yourself in courtesy of the comments section below.
[source gamasutra.com]
Comments 26
I hope not. The last thing we need for home consoles is another stupid gimmicky add on. I'm also going to be extremely pissed if future releases start requiring this thing.
I don't see this as a huge success, more like a new PS Move...
@ferrers405 To be fair, the Move had sold 15 million by the end of 2012, which isn't too shabby at all.
I love new ways to game. Absolutely loved the Wiimote and what it did for certain games, and I'll be keenly observing what Sony wants to bring to the table now. Times change, and there's more than one way to enjoy a game.
I am most definitely interested in new gaming experiences. I too absolutely loved what the wiimote brought to the table. Hoping whatever Sony has up their sleeves is great, however it's the support that they will give it that has me most concerned.
I think it'd be a nice addition to the PS4.
@get2sammyb to be fair i think it's not gonna be a huge success, maybe somehow it can sell a good number of units...
@ferrers405
If it has the right software it can do well. But this is why I hate add-ons, to get the right software might mean splintering the market between the haves and the have nots in regards to some big-name games. Of course the device also has to be priced right. We've seen Sony screw that part up, we've also seen it price things perfectly, so that part could go either way.
@Gamer83 I think Sony are smart enough to follow the successes of the Rift. A few exclusive tech demos and games, but beyond that, working with developers to include support for the VR headset, rather than make it a prerequisite.
@KALofKRYPTON
Guess we'll find out soon enough. Even if all the signs point towards it, this thing isn't a reality yet so I'll wait until it's unveiled before getting too concerned regarding Sony's strategy with it. I'll be most interested in the design. One reason I don't think I'll be interested is because I don't like having to use 3D glasses to watch 3D movies, I can't imagine a VR headset being comfortable but maybe Sony surprises me.
@Gamer83
3D glasses bug me too. I don't know about Sony's headset but the Oculus Rift has been extremely comfortable. I've watched movies and played games for hours and the headset doesn't bother me a bit. The real thing to look out for is motion sickness. Some movements in game cause motion sickness easily like strafing left to right or walking backwards.
This could change EVERYTHING if done the right way.
It has to be supported fully. And if it doesn't strain your eyes it could be used to watch movies too. Will it track your head in 3d space? How exceptional is the experience? Good enough to use it before your tv every time?
Price, implementation, support.. Especially since the Oculus Rift is right around the corner..
I hope I can afford it
@astroshamu
I'm prone to headaches, although I think most are work related, so one of my main concerns would be if I'd feel sick using something like this.
@RyoHazuki
If I ever get the money, I'll have to look into one of those tvs.
Either way, I won't be buying. 3D gives me a fairly instant migraine so I avoid it at all costs, even the little one's 3DS.
Is a panel like this at GDC really the place for a big announcement? This seems like a small panel but I would think this headset would be a big reveal. Maybe not E3 big, but larger than this panel discussion.
I don't know, really. I think the way we play games with a controller is just right. We don't need any more gimmicks.
Maybe if we got something like the Nerve Gear in SAO I would be interested, but as of now VR is but a gimmick, no different from motion control.
Even then I don't want to change the way I play games anytime soon.
I am a bit of a hardware whore and really like Move, they just stopped making good games for it. I don't think new ideas are gimmicks (even if they don't survive long) and we should just stick with the traditional controllers. Without new ideas the world would never progress. Without new ideas we would still be playing pong.
However, playing with the Oculus Rift left me feeling very "Meh", so this doesn't excite me that much. The idea of VR is brilliant, but I just don't believe the tech is there yet and the human brain doesn't like the idea of seeing motion without the inner ear physically sensing it. Can make you quite queezy. Not sure how any tech will get around that.
I actually applaud Sony's commitment to game innovation. Regardless of people's opinion of the PS Move it was nonetheless a very well produced piece of kit and the R&D on that couldn't have been cheap. In the end I found that the support for it was a little bit scarce though.
Personally, I've been having difficulty getting enthusiastic for VR goggles mainly due to the health drawbacks (namely nausea). Also, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with removing myself from the real world so completely just for the sake of total immersion in a game. I tend to find it bad enough when I've got headphones on and the doorbell rings. I will say though that if anyone can successfully bring VR to the masses then Sony stands a very good chance of being the ones to do it.
I hope Sony don't divert all their attention to this like MS did with Kinect back in 2010...
Isn't this the reason why Driveclub got delayed. I wonder what type of pricing they would have. The Rift is $300 which is pretty much the price of a new system.
Basically I just want a $300, comfortable version of this http://store.sony.com/wearable-hdtv-2d-3d-virtual-7.1-surround-sound-zid27-HMZT3W/cat-27-catid-3D-Personal-Viewer
If it tracks my head it'll entertain me as a gimmick for a certain amount of time, like the wiimote did, but it's not how I want to play. I want to strap the thing to my head and lay on the couch and feel immersed with a giant screen in front of my eyeballs while I play with my dualshock.
@Heiki My thoughts exactly, (SAO FTW, well until the 2nd arc with fairies anyways).
I'd only be interested in a VR headset if it gave me a true Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, or .hack// like experience, minus the whole "trapped inside a game and can die etc" stuff.
Driveclub cockpit view cant wait.
@holehouse85 The experience could be soo good that you wouldn't want to play it another way. Kinda like after using a good racing wheel you don't want to go back to ds3.
We have been waiting for some kind of major innovation since the advent of 3d came into gaming, changing our gaming experience overnight. Gone were the old 2d games (for the most part), the likes of Mario and Sonic had to evolve and to differing degrees of success.
Now with the dawn of VR gaming we might just see a new type of game evolve, we haven't had anything ground breaking since first person shooters took over the landscape so maybe with the fresh impetus of VR gaming we will see new types of gaming experience come with it.
Personally I have never been a fan of the in-cockpit view of driving games, always defaulting back to the third person out of the car view but if this gear makes Drive Club all the more realistic then I am all for it.
Just like in any medium you have to evolve to keep current and fresh and with tablet and mobile gaming in general beginning to eat up a lot of peoples time Sony, Microsoft and Ninty know they have to move or be in danger of being passed by, it was already being talked about in the last generation and there were fears that it was all over for this generation but the fans have shown they still have faith in the gaming giants and with this piece of gear Sony are showing that they aren't resting on their laurels after trouncing MS in the opening salvos of this new gen war.
I for one, having been a gamer since roughly 1980 and one who has seen it evolve over that time into something we could only ever dream of back then look forward to VR in a big way, it was something we could all look to back then and think now that is something we will see in the future, I just didn't think it would take more than a quarter of a century to get there.
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