Sony's Project Morpheus vs. Facebook's Oculus Rift: Tech Comparison

VRFocus - Up until last week the advent of virtual reality (VR) technology was a kind of one horse race. Oculus VR's Oculus Rift has undoubtedly spent the last few years in the spotlight as the de facto standard in VR videogaming. Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) had a thing or two to say about that when it lifted the lid on its own VR headset, Project Morpheus, at the Game Developers Conference last week.

[Eonjay]

The thing that people don't realize is that the Rift will probably be subsidized through ads but will end up being dirt cheap. Now, that being said, what type of revenue stream are developers expecting offering their games on Facebook. Facebook will not be subsidizing AAA game development. So, the game content on the Rift will be limited to independent development and small scale studios that can charge next to nothing for their content, or offer free content subbed by ads. This is the future of the Rift and we all know it.

Edit: Its easy to predict because all we have to do is look at Facebook's current business model.

[mewhy32]

Well I guess Carmack will be making farming sims now LOL.

[Ripsta7th]

I believe Carmack left because he wasn't allowed to play around with the Oculus rift. Pls correct me if iI'm wrong though

[PLASTICA-MAN]

Now that Oculus Rift is officially dead, all eyes are turned "IN" (not on lol) PS4 Morpheus.

[UltimateMaster]

Project Morpheus should use x9 motion sensors like on the PS Move rather than only 6 (accelerometers and gyroscopes) as seen on the Sixaxis and DS3 controller.

Audio is another important part it. I'm pretty sure the best way to experience it is with a headset. If the headset aren't included (like what both are now) then at least make it comfortable to put headsets on top of it.

The Weight can't be too heavy either, otherwise it'll make short gaming sessions.

[ArbitorChief]

Oculus have already said there will be no ads. There's no ads in Instantgram or WhatsApp and there Facebook products, stop assuming.

[xTHEFIZZx]

Oculus will say anything to subdue the massive amounts of disappointment right now. Facebook owns Oculus now. They are the ones to who get make the decisions now.

[r1sh12]

@ArbitorChief
there are ads in instagram, but only in the USA.
WHen FB added the ads, there was a massive backlash - read some tech news.
Ads are coming:

http://instagram.com/about-...

http://pando.com/2013/11/01...

Whatsapp has only just been purchased, but give it time, it wont be long before whatsapp is used to harvest all info for FB.

[N311V]

Facebook already said planned revenue from occulus will come from adds and microtransactions.

[frostypants]

WhatsApp has been a Facebook company for what? Weeks? Facebook didn't buy OR to not make money. If they can make money with ads, they will. That's what Facebook does. That's what Facebook always does.

[LexHazard79]

No its not easy to predict! We dont know yet what FB plans are for VR! Also I dont know what to believe. You got both compa ies saying everything will keep going as planned but its obvious changes are coming. We just have to wait and see what they will be!

[aliengmr]

And if you are wrong about applying their current business model, which until now has been software based and not hardware based.

What happens if EA, Valve, etc. decides to make a AAA game with Rift support?

Who said Facebook was going to lock down the the Rift when they can easily make money licensing the hardware for anyone who wants to use it?

Seriously limiting VR to FB games and users makes no sense AT ALL. Especially considering that in order for it to be mainstream they have to get it in to the hands of as many people as possible.

And what market is ready right now to accept and buy VR?

Gamers.

Not FB gamers either.

VR has to become accepted by the broader audience and right now there is only one group ready to buy.

It will get much easier to predict after a few days and rational debate.

[Hellsvacancy]

So Morpheus+ that'll come out 6-12 months after and will have OLED screens and cost £100 more, gotcha

It still really excites me, tech I will definitely be investing in, never owned a smartphone, in comparison my phones retarded

[LexHazard79]

What? I didnt see a release date or price! Where did you get that info?

[Hellsvacancy]

"Oculus VR has chosen an OLED display against Sony’s LCD panel. OLED technology is said to reduce latency for head-tracking for one thing, hence why Oculus VR replaced the LCD panel in its own DK1 set"

So in other words Sony will release a better version of Morpheus 6-12 later that'll probably have OLED screens

Am I not allowed to predict the future i'm appart of?

[LexHazard79]

Hey your allowed to predict whatever you like! And you can be part of whatever future you want. Lets hope you get to see it! Problem is your comment was full of certainty and not a prediction! Thats why I disagreed!

[mark3214uk]

There will be a Sims Vr game in the future

[scott182]

It makes me wonder if Sony will use project Morpheus for Home.

[mark3214uk]

im sure they mentioned home when they were talking about the vr the other day

i could be wrong tho it might of been a 3rd party speculating

[LordDhampire]

Well Oculus Rift was gonna blow morpheua out of the water, now Sony has no conpetetion...good for them I guess they made the right choice

[Orange Juice]

Here is the minecraft dudes opinion of the aquisition. If you are confused as to why gamers and devs arent happy about this then plz read.
http://notch.net/2014/03/vi...

[Cryptcuzz]

Let's tell Notch that Sony and Project Morpheous is for gaming and game developers alike!

[_FantasmA_]

#ThisIs4TheGamers

[incendy35]

Whoever makes OASIS wins! Are you Ready Player One :D

[Funantic1]

I think both are just gimmicks. Sony will try to take it more seriously on gaming, but it still won't sell that great. It won't get universal support from developers. There won't be many great games available. Morpheus will cost too much for the average consumer. Why buy one when you can buy a whole console. Then you can't play co-op. Your friends gotta stand around and watch you play....not gonna happen. I'd rather play on a 55 inch 4k smart tv. My 1000+ friends on Facebook couldn't care less about the oculus. You think people are gonna buy one to play FarmVille and candy crush? Plus my female FB friends won't wanna smear their makeup or get acne on their face. Last of all virtual headsets cause motion sickness for some people. Fail

[Orange Juice]

Well its a good thing you arent the one making decisions at sony. Without risk there is no reward, and vr, as risky as it is, seems to have a lot of people and companies excited for it. It might not take off, but i sure hope it does. Im optimistic though.

[LexHazard79]

You made some key points Funantic1! This tech is definitely not for everyone!

[GentlemenRUs]

Facerift.

[LexHazard79]

Just dont watch a facial compilation with it..lol

[gameon1985]

I maybe jumping to conclusion but I think Facebook buying the Rift pretty much gives Sony the VR market. Then again I could be wrong.

[bligmerk]

Right. Content for VR goggles has to be developed specifically for stereoscopic viewing. Facebook has no experience with this, especially for video games. So, Sony will have that market to themselves for awhile now.

[starchild]

Lol that's so absurd it's almost funny. As if Oculus doesn't know how to do stereoscopic 3D. Why do you think Facebook acquired Oculus? It's because they are the leading experts in the field of VR.

I'm sorry, but you guys are in for a rude awakening.

[Mr Tretton]

"Facebook has no experience with this"

Of course not, the OCCULUS RIFT Team does however! Do people think FB bought OR and just fired everyone and are poking at it and grunting with a stick? Haven't seen this much blinding stupidity and fanboyism in awhile. And that's saying a lot.

[starchild]

Yeah, you pretty much are wrong. We've been debating it all day on Neogaf in a thread with over 5,000 comments and fortunately the level of conversation there is way above anything here, but I'm tired of laying out all the reasons and I'm not going to bother right now.

All I'm going to say is, let's come back in a couple years and see who was right.

[Stapleface]

Seeing "Facebook's Oculus Rift" in the headline just kinda turns the stomach a bit.

[Edsword]

Too early to tell if VR will pan out, but if the naysayers had their way no one would even try. There are really only two ways I can think of to do VR, one is a headset, the second involves a Holodeck. Since we are pretty far away from having the technology to create a Holodeck, I guess VR will have to stick to headsets for now. There is a limited market for this technology right now, but the applications could extend far past gaming, even inTo the medical field. Stop the naysaying, it's not your money being spent.

[Yaay4me]

Im extremely excited for VR, and hopeful. Whether these companies will be able ro succeed or not is one thing, VR's place in the future however is guarenteed.

Ps: im not fimiliar with holodeck, can u explain?