2016 might be the time, years from now when people talked about how the tech and video game world shifted towards virtual reality. Sony, Oculus and HTC are hoping they can make some serious noise with their own VR devices. When it comes to Sony, the PlayStation VR device is something that will work alongside the PS4. In order to stand out from the crowd, a new report indicates that Google is diving into the realm but is working on a device that will work all on its own.

This is not the first time that Google has decided to get more involved in high end gaming, but it might be the best chance the company has had to stand among the big boys. According to Wall Street Journal, the company wants to make a VR device that won’t need to be tethered to a console or a computer. Because the other VR devices that are going to be coming to the market this year are going to be tethered to something in one way or another, Google might be able to make quite a statement.

While we don’t have a ton of details about what Google is planning with this VR device, reports indicate that it will be something like a Google Cardboard, with more sophisticated chips and sensors and a robust plastic shell. We’ll just have to wait and see what the Internet giant has up its sleeve when it comes to this VR solution.

Sony is planning on releasing the Morpheus virtual reality headset next year for the PlayStation 4; it’s a very cool accessory, but it is a product that comes with a baggage of questions- will it be well supported, especially given Sony’s history of introducing new peripherals that hop on the market bandwagon, only to be abandoned a little while later? Will it even function properly, given the PS4’s relative lack of power? And just how much will it be anyway?

That last question is not one that can be answered now, according to Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Yoshida said it was too early to discuss any pricing strategies for the upcoming headset.

“We are talking about launching next year so typically we don’t talk about pricing one year ahead of time,” he started off. “I think we announced the price of PS4 at E3 the year of the launch so that’s five months before the launch. So it’s too early.

“It’s not like we are waiting for Oculus to announce their price,” he added. “We still have work to do to know exactly the cost of goods and so on.”

I can agree with his reasoning here- with the product being as far from release as it is, knowing the price for it right now is probably not very realistic.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.

We already know of Microsoft’s deals with Oculus and Valve, which will allow the Xbox One to be compatible with the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive to some capacity; however, both of these are half baked, tacked on solutions, and may yet falter in the face of the full integration that Sony is promising the PlayStation 4 will have with Sony’s own Morpheus headset.

Which is why this rumor seems believable. According to developer VRWERX, the folks behind Paranormal Activity VR for Xbox One, the Xbox One will natively support Oculus Rift, a feature that Microsoft have not yet officially announced. This comes to us thanks to Hardcore Gamer emailing the developers and trying to gain some clarity on the situation, which has led to VRWERX confirming that Xbox One does support Oculus Rift natively, though they “cannot respond to Oculus and Microsoft relationship outside of the fact that Xbox One supports Oculus.”

It does make sense too- the Oculus Rift headset seems to be having a very close relationship with the Xbox One, to the extent that all Oculus headsets sold will come bundled with an Xbox One controller by default- full integration may be a feature that is in the works, that Microsoft is holding off on announcing for now.

Whatever it is, we will keep you posted.

Gaming slowly seems to be moving into a VR future, or that is what we have been led to believe, but personally, as someone who just went through the 3D gaming boom of a few years ago, I am not so sure that VR this time will amount to much outside of novelty either. Industry experts have expressed that opinion before, too. And now, Warren Spector, the mastermind of games such as System Shock, Deus Ex, and Thief, has chipped in too. And he, too, does not seem to be much impressed.

“I think it’ll generate some interest among the hardcore gamers. And I see amazing possibilities in VR for social media and virtual meetings and training and crazy stuff like dealing with phobias,” he said to GamesIndustry. “But for entertainment? I’m just not seeing it. I don’t think most humans want to look stupid (everyone looks stupid in a VR headset) and they don’t want to isolate themselves from the world. I mean, if someone’s sneaking up behind me with a baseball bat, I want to know about it, you know what I mean? And let’s not talk about nausea.”

That’s what the general consensus among VR cynics seems to be so far- VR may actually have some great applications outside of video games, but within video games? It probably does not stand much of a chance. That said, Spector’s stance comes as somewhat of a surprise, given how enthusiastic he was about stereoscopic 3D a few years ago.

The VR wave begins in earnest in a few months when Oculus Rift, Valve and HTC’s Vive, and Sony’s Morpheus all go on sale, so we will know for sure then.

PS4 gets all the best deals and bundles from all these retail stores and outlets. After we have already seen some killer bundles recently (the best one was GameStop’s PS4, The Last of Us Remastered, a year of PS+, $10 in PSN credit, and a PlayStation TV, all for just $450), this new one might seem a little disappointing, but it’s really not.

For just $400, you can now get a PS4, The Last of Us Remastered, and a PlayStation Camera from Best Buy. yes, a PlayStation Camera, and I know what you are thinking- why in the world would you ever want one?

It’s a good quest`ion. While it’s useful for Twitch streaming, games have failed to utilize it in any meaningful way, not even giving it the gimmick status that Kinect has earned over time. Instead, so far, it’s just been a waste.

That promises to change next year, though, when the Morpheus VR headset launches for the system- it will need the PS Camera to run.

So, if you are interested in VR, and are yet to pick up a PS4, but wanted to? This bundle may not be a half bad idea.

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.

So I’m one of those people who firmly believe that this new wave of virtual reality is a fad, and the gimmick will die down soon (hey guys, remember the 3D gaming wave from a few years ago?). Having said that, it exists right now, with Oculus Rift leading the way, and Sony getting in on the action with its Morpheus headset, planned for the PlayStation 4.

Obviously, Microsoft wants in on some of that action, but it’s going a totally different route entirely. You see, instead of doing another Virtual Reality headset, this project that Microsoft’s research team has floated is an augmented reality concept, that turns your entire living room into a video game. It’s called RoomAlive, and you can see it above.

There are a few things to keep in mind as you watch this video- that this is not a product developed for the end consumer (even though it seems to have been designed for ease of use and scaleability), that this is probably still very early in development, and that this isn’t even an Xbox product, it’s something Microsoft’s research team did on the side.

Still, though, it looks suitably cool. What do you think?