Sony's Project Morpheus has a new name
As we slowly inch forward to the Q1 2016 release Sony has set for its VR headset, the company has finally settled on the final name for its virtual reality headset that was formerly called Project Morpheus.
Project Morpheus is now called the Playstation VR.
Sony kicked off TGS 2015 with a flurry of announcements from their TGS conference. We've covered the other announcements in a different post since this one is dedicated to the headset that was formerly known as Project Morpheus. If you're grown attached to the name, it's finally time to bid it a fond farewell as Sony's finally unveiled the headset's commercial name at TGS. It'll be called the Playstation VR.
With the new name, Sony's also debuted a new trailer for the headset, which we've embedded below.
Sony will have multiple units of the headset on the TGS floor for attendees to try out the various demos on hand, though the company doesn't seem to be showing confirmed titles for the Playstation VR at TGS 2015 apart from Summer Lesson, a game that has you tutoring a virtual student. That hasn't stopped the company from showing off tech demos based off Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors and Sega's Hatsune Miku though.
In the meantime, here are the latest specs we have regarding the hardware in the headset.
The specs are by no means final, as Sony still has months to settle on them.
It's interesting to note that the consumer version of the Oculus Rift, also due out Q1 2016, has a higher resolution (2160 x 1200 pixels) display than Sony's headset at the moment. Of course, as mentioned earlier, the specs given aren't final so Sony might just decide to up the ante when the Playstation VR is closer to release.
Still, the most important thing to most consumers would be how much the headset will cost, something that Sony has thus far refused to comment on.
Rumors have the headset to be in the US$299 (~$418) to US$399 (~$560) range. Assuming that's accurate, combined with the cost of a PS4 ($639) and a Playstation 4 Camera ($88), that makes the minimum total investment needed to have a VR setup be $1145 currently. That price will undoubtedly drop (the PS4 has a $100 price cut starting October 1) and the Playstation VR's requirement for a Playstation 4 Camera might see Sony bundling the peripheral with the headset, which should further cut down the cost. In all likelihood, a sub-$1000 VR experience might actually be achievable.
While that number might make some balk, it's actually significantly cheaper than a gaming rig that's optimally configured to be used with the Oculus Rift. Estimates have those units to be from US$1,200 (~$1,680) to US$1500 (~$2,100), which is about twice the price of the Playstation VR experience. That price includes the hardware to run the Oculus Rift, as well as the Oculus Rift headset itself, which is also expected to cost about the same as the Playstation VR.
With the HTC Vive scheduled to come out before the year's out, it's an exciting time for gamers everywhere. While VR might ultimately fizzle in the end, there are sure to be some memorable experiences in the coming months and years that make great use of the tech. Here's hoping the Playstation VR has some of them.
Source: Sony
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