Undoubtedly, Sony’s Morpheus VR headset for PlayStation 4 is impressive. Using an OLED panel over 5 inches with a refresh rate of 120Hz (meaning a framerate as high as 120 frames per second), and resolutions of 1080p, it is also currently the only functioning VR hardware coming to consoles.
But for Sony Worldwide Studios’ Shuhei Yoshida, there was more that motivated Morpheus than just the hardware- according to him, Morpheus came about as a result of Sony’s development teams wanting to create unique experiences with their games- they wanted to push the kind of social and multiplayer gaming that Nintendo is with their Wii U console.
“Like you’re probably aware, we have a cross-functional, international team: the hardware guys in Japan, the R&D teams and game teams globally… That undistorted, regular image – the idea came from the game teams,” Yoshida said in an interview with Digital Foundry. “Our teams wanted to create social games not unlike something similar Nintendo is doing with Wii U. So one person might be wearing the headset, while another person might be participating, watching on the large-screen TV. So that idea came from the game teams and the hardware team implemented it.”
But Nintendo’s Wii U is not even the only hardware from the competition that Sony has got its eyes on. Asked about the theoretical perfect controller for VR, and especially Morpheus, Yoshida’s answer was candid, frank, and unexpected.
“If Kinect 2 can handle fingers and latency can be much reduced, that could maybe work, unless there’s a technical reason,” he said.
It is great to see Sony not being so insular and inward looking that it is unwilling to learn from the things its competition does right. Innovation is all well and good – and Sony is a very innovative company indeed – but learning from the competition, both their triumphs and their failures, is very important if you want to achieve success too.
Morpheus is currently scheduled to launch for PlayStation 4 some time next year. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more.