Sony finally took the covers off of Project Morpheus, it’s VR headset that’s been rumoured for months on end, at a GDC 2014 session hosted by SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida, alongside R&D senior director Richard Marks and R&D senior software engineer Anton Mikhailov.

Yoshida stated that Project Morpheus was still a work in-progress so expect the final name to be something different. Sony has been working on the headset for quite some time and it will be available for GDC attendees to demo.

As for specifications, Project Morpheus will support PS Eye, PS Move and the PS4. It has a 5 inch LCD display panel with a resolution of 1920xRGBx1080, with a 960xRGBx1080 resolution per eye, and 90 degrees field of view. It includes an accelerometer and gyroscope, and its tracking is capable of full 360 degree rotation at 1000 Hz. It will support HDMI+USB along with 3D audio.

Excited for Morpheus? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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“I was never involved in any conversation where the camera was definitely bundled with the console. I’ve seen a suggestion that somebody might have thought that.

“We did think very carefully about it. We had the camera functionality. We had that tech in development and we had the basic box in development. A decision was taken – and I think it was absolutely the right decision – which is, to force bundle a camera is probably against consumer choice. It does not offer the game the choice, and therefore the most sensible thing to do as a gamer friendly brand is give them the choice. And I’m absolutely delighted we’ve done that.

“There is an an advanced, sophisticated camera-based technology there as an option for PS4, but it’s not a requirement. I’m really pleased with that decision.”

Interestingly, the Xbox One no longer requires its Kinect camera to work along with the console. Wonder what prompted that?

“At the moment we have more than 200 planes in the game, but new ones are added to the game with every major update. The complete list of aircraft is significantly bigger, taking into account all possible modifications, armament variations and visual tuning. Altogether, about 5,000 different planes fought in WWII – that’s the number we’re after!”

We also asked about the customization and whether it would be purely on a visual level or whether the engine and part changes would have an effect on the plane’s handling. Trifonov responded, “With one of the latest updates our players got a whole new range of customization options, including different offensive and defensive measures. You can alter any plane in your possession dramatically: you can trade firepower for speed and better armor for maneuverability.”

But how will War Thunder take advantage of the PS4’s features such Cloud computing or the DualShock 4’s Share button and LED bar?

“We’re using PlayStation Eye camera for the head-tracking, so the player can look around his aircraft without using the gamepad.And of course users will be ableto use Share functions such as screen capture or even live streaming,” he revealed.

War Thunder will be releasing for the PS4 on November 15th in North America and on November 29th in Europe.

There could be more functionality added later, through online updates and such, with Ito saying “but it could go deeper.” What that means is anyone’s guess but could controlling games using just the camera similar to Kinect be much of a stretch? As of now, there’s very little difference separating the Kinect and PS Eye so it’ll be interesting to see what Microsoft can offer as a counter.

The PlayStation 4 is slated to release on November 15th in North America and November 29th in Europe with the Xbox One launching on November 22nd worldwide. Unlike the latter, the PS4 doesn’t come bundled with the PS Eye.

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To assuage sufferers of the delay, Sony has announced that the first batch of PS4 consoles in Japan will be “Limited Packs” that come with a free download code for Knack and an extra year on the warranty for the console. You’ll also be able to choose a bundle with the PS Eye or without it in the Limited Packs.

Still, considering the console releases on November 15th for North America and November 29th for Europe, will these be worth the wait? Or will Sony have something else up its sleeve for Japan by the time 2014 rolls around?

Speaking to TechRadar, VP & Managing Director at SCE UK and Ireland Fergal Gara denied removing the camera for competition’s sake because “we couldn’t possibly have known what the Xbox was going to cost.”

Gara did explain what went into the decision however. “What I’ll say is, lots of ideas were considered you know, lots of different combinations and of course price was I think fairly clear from a very long time out but you know everything about PS4 is about giving gamers choice.

“So if you don’t want a camera you don’t have to have a camera. If you want to trade in games, you can trade in games. So there’s been nothing in the whole proposition that is overly restrictive and I think the reaction has proved that people value that.”

Each PS4 comes bundled with The PlayRoom for free though, with the PS Eye being a separate $60 purchase. Regardless of whether consumers go for it or not, the incentive is definitely there.

“I see our approach on PS4 as really taking Sony Computer Entertainment back to our original roots. When we first launched with the PS1 and certainly the PS2, the goal was to give the consumer more choice, and lots of flexibility at a time when the delivery mechanism of games, on cartridges, placed a lot of restrictions on the industry. And also, by shifting to disks, to give developers – and particularly smaller ones – the chance to take risks and build a business. I think you’re seeing exactly those kinds of principles applied to PS4.”

He also revealed that the PS Eye was originally to be bundled with the PS4, but the idea was dropped to keep the price down at $399. While it provides “great consumer experiences” according to House, Sony isn’t “forcing that purchase on the consumer.”

Speaking more about the developer-friendly approach Sony has adopted, House stated that, “We have a new development environment, that developers are telling us is significantly easier to make great games for, and we’ve undertaken a significant amount of outreach to smaller developers. And the net result is that we’re seeing a lot of developers coming out of the mobile space, and I think that’s a tremendously positive trend for console gaming. Essentially, we have access to a whole new set of talent in gaming that we didn’t have before.”

The PlayStation 4 is set to release this Holiday season.

However, there have been talks of other possibilities – and it is rather conspicuous that Sony would be revealing its next console both before E3 and after stating that they wouldn’t release their console before Microsoft (key emphasis on the word “release”, not “announce” in this case). The jury is still out but here’s our top 10 for announcements that could happen over the Playstation 4.

10. New Franchises

This is pretty much a given. Hopefully, we won’t have any instances of “Giant Enemy Crab” this time around. The question is: Will we see it on February 20th – maybe a few hints and build to the main showing – or not?

9. Returning Sequels for Next Gen

Of the two options, this feels less likely. Sony could showcase tech demos that form the template for games later on. We may see something like, say, Agni’s Philosophy running on the next generation hardware. It’s highly possible we may see the next Gran Turismo and something –cars make for pretty tech demos after all – but a franchise like Killzone?

It’s not a stretch, but again, why not at E3 where more people will be watching? Then again, Sony could give hints about these franchises leading up to the reveals at E3, but it just seems more like something you’d premier at the biggest show in the gaming industry.

8. New Motion Sensing Technology

We know about the motion camera, and how it could be improved to allow for depth and individual finger tracking. The question is will it be a significant enough development to allow for Sony to introduce it as the main attraction on February 20th? Furthermore, the combo of the Playstation Eye and Playstation Move hasn’t exactly moved the needle in favour of Sony like Kinect did for Microsoft or the Wii did for Nintendo. Does it make sense to continue trudging along with it? Nonetheless, Sony has always positioned itself as the solution for the hardcore gamer interested in motion controller games. If this new development provides even a hint of what we’ll see in the coming months – like the discussion behind the technology Sony will be used it – it could be intriguing.

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH announced today that they will be releasing a new game in their long running DanceDanceRevolution series, titled DanceDanceRevolution New Moves, and it will releasing exclusively for the PS3, with the series making its debut on Sony’s current gen home console, in March across Europe.

The game will utilize the PlayStation Move controller and Sony’s other accessory, PS Eye. New Moves will feature over fifty tracks, ranging from “popular hits to classic dance anthems for players of all ages with enhanced multiplayer capabilities.”

Here’s more information on the game:

“DanceDanceRevolution New Moves offers a new mode has been implemented where users will be able to dance using both the DDR Dance Mat controller and the Playstation Move together. Users move both their upper and lower body as they dance to match the indicators displayed on screen. As they use the Dance Mat controller to mimic the on-screen arrows, the player also holds the PlayStation Move Motion controller, which is represented by a ball of light on screen and must be guided towards the relevant moving arrows.

The PlayStation Move Motion controller is also used to vary on-screen visuals with combinations of button presses and movement used to add visual effects to the on-screen action. This creates a striking aesthetic interpretation of the player’s dances, and players can also see themselves in action using the PlayStation Eye and upload their greatest hits to social networking sites via the console’s XMB (XrossMediaBar) menu to share their DanceDanceRevolution skills with friends.

DanceDanceRevolution New Moves adds new game modes to the series. In ‘Dance Off’ Mode, two to four players take turns running through the same dance. The player that is able to keep in step more accurately will earn more points and be crowned the winner. In ‘Club’ Mode – which has been specifically created for die-hard DanceDanceRevolution fans – gamers can play over and over again in a marathon session. The difficulty level of the tracks will change along with the dances the players are challenged to match, as they get further and further into the session.  As an added obstacle, various tricks will also come into play. Gamers will be able to play from four to 20 tracks in succession depending on their skill level.

DanceDanceRevolution New Moves will be available in March at retailers, bundled with a dance mat controller.”