VR vs. PlayStation VR – Sony’s New Name is Simply Perfect

VRFocus delivers the latest entry in its 'VR vs.' series, this week looking at the rebranding of Project Morpheus to PlayStation VR.

[NatureOfLogic_]

PSVR is a good name.

[VenomUK]

PlayStation VR is a name that is straight to the point so this is great rebrand.

Although I have become kinda attach to Morpheus and maybe it will be used in another way, such as the PSVR Morpheus Training Suite!

[uth11]

straight, to the point and "Playstation Motion Sickness Inducer" didn't go over well with the focus groups, so VR it was! /s

[donthate]

I think PS VR is the most uncreative name ever, but it could have been worse, it could have been name Playstation Vita!

So I guess it is safe to say no PC integration then, uh?

Think I will take an Oculus Rift instead as it stands unless the price gap is huge. However, I suspect PS VR will rival Oculus Rift in price, because of the "Sony" brand.

[kevco33]

VR is the buzzword of now, so it makes sense...

[sammarshall102]

Morpheus is 100 times better

[zeuanimals]

Sony's putting themselves at the forefront. They're directly associating themselves with the medium and they're making a product that's easily recognizable just by name. Nobody's going to wonder "what is that?" unless they don't know what VR is.

The fact that they are associating themselves directly with VR means that Playstation VR, PSVR, etc. will simply be "VR" in many households, similar to how "Playstation" simply means console in many European countries.

Sure, it's not as unique, but it's gonna get the job more than done whereas Morpheus would've confused a lot more people.

[morganfell]

Agreed. As I stated earlier, I think it drastically cuts down the confusion for the average non-savvy consumer. It's clean, direct, and keeps the PlayStation association with VR in the forefront.

[Why o why]

anyone who uses vr in their device will seem like a follower or copier. It's a smart move by sony.... Only apple would have the balls to come later and re-brand vr by putting an 'i' in front of it.....that seems to fool a whole heap of people into believing apple were the pioneers of whatever tech

[donthate]

Why:

"anyone who uses vr in their device will seem like a follower or copier."

Really?

Or anyone seeing it thinks, man how un-creative. If they can't figure out a name, how can I expect a product to even be good?

Even Playstation Virtual Reality would have been a better name, because at least to a normal consumer they can understand "virtual" and "reality" as just that. Most don't know what "VR" means or is short for.

It's like Nintendo named the Wii console "motion control" console, but instead abbreviated it to "mc" console. It's short and too the point too!

[zeuanimals]

@Donthate:

VR's been a part of public vernacular for quite a while, with its use in movies, TV shows, etc. for decades with the term VR attached to the devices in said movies, TV shows, etc. Meanwhile, I've never heard anybody use "MC" in that way. MC can also easily be mistaken for Emcee (as it uses both spellings) and MC is more commonly associated with the Emcee meaning. I'm not even sure if VR is used in any other way other than as an abbreviation of Virtual Reality.

[Why o why]

Ps-vr rolls a little better off the tongue. Just call it what it is. With that boring name some are saying, theres no ambiguity, no confusion. Trust me...the term vr hasn't been overused in recent times for it to be stale but is still a very recognisable term. Vr is simple...im sure Morpheus screams 'I bet you know what I am' to the average joe right

[stalepie]

It had to change. It's too closely associated with the Matrix movies.

Although if the Wachowskis want to produce a game for PSVR any time, Im all for it..

[wakeNbake]

Way to be original Sony, I kinda liked that Playstation RealEyes name in that fake leak a while back.

[Immorals]

I really don't like that name. Morpheus sounded futuristic and intriguing, whilst playstation vr just sounds like something from the virtual boy era!

[_-EDMIX-_]

The project name didn't convey what the device was. If you told someone you tried Morpheus....they may think your talking about drugs lol

But really now, to say VR, is to directly market to what it actually is. Its a good idea and Morpheus was never its final name, just like Dolphin wasn't Gamecube's, just like Orbs wasn't PS4's, just like NX likely isn't the next Nintendo console's name, just like Revolution was what the Wii was called.

They are simply working on what they should call it and giving it a place holder name.

Even the name Deep Down for Capcom's game is actually a working title, it may not be that when it actually releases.

[Immorals]

I know why they did it, but they could have been a lot more imaginative which is basically the next evolution in gaming.

It's such a boring name, it's almost like them renaming the Dualshock to just 'Playstation controller'

Edit; I meant when the Dualshock released.

And to be honest, most of the consumer Base they are aiming for know what morpheus is. It's not gonna be cheap enough for people to go 'it's got the playstation name, let's just buy it!'.

Guess I'll just have to deal with it, I'll still call it Morpheus

[LeCreuset]

That analogy doesn't fit. They aren't worried about brand recognition with the controllers. 1) Most people are able to just look at a controller and tell what it is. 2) Every system comes with a dual shock, so even the most casual consumer will quickly catch on to what controller they need for their system.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Because of just what they are trying to convey, they don't have room for what sounds "cool" they need to have room for what sound recognizable.

They need 100 people hearing VR and knowing what VR is vs 100 hearing "Morpheus" and asking Matrix questions lol

Though I'm merely joking, you have to realize that it comes down to what makes someone think of the medium in less then 2 seconds. VR is easily understood before you even put the Playstation next to it.

Its not about what sound cool or "imaginative" its about what can be convey very effectively and fast. VR fits that nicely and I'm not sure what the name will do to hurt consumers other then not knowing what it means.....you'll know what VR means before something like Morpheus lol. Believe it or not...I still have friends that ask exactly what Morpheus is or what Oculus Rift is....yes.

If it was just called "VR" their is not question about what my friends would have remembered using or seeing or hearing about etc.

Its called exactly what it is, straight to the point.

[stalepie]

it sucks in that it can't be used without "PS" or "playstation" in front to know what device is meant... though "vita" as a word is latin and found elsewhere, it's unusual enough in context you don't need to put "PS" in front every time you say it.

Maybe "Morpheus" can be used informally, just as some people still say "psx" to mean the first playstation?

it does kind of line up with acronyms all right, like PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3, PSV, PS4, PSVR

[crazyCoconuts]

I don't really like the unoriginal names, but I can't fault them for it since Apple TV and Apple Pencil didn't make me flinch.

[italiangamer]

First of all, Morpheus was only a prototype name (like Project Natal with Kinect) so it would have changed over time, and second and most important of all, you need to SELL this product to the normal people who dont give a flying fuck about videogames sites therefore they know nothing about the development process, and to do that you need a simple name and a powerful brand.

So, powerful brand known by anyone on the planet + simple and straight concept name = PlayStation VR.

[_LarZen_]

Morpheus is a cool name. But let's be honest now. It's something we nerds know what is. When people hear Morpheus they have no idea what it is.

Playstation VR is something people with ease understand what is. Especially in the time ahead where VR will be something many talk about.

[Why o why]

marketing 101

[Sir_Simba]

Morpheus sounded cool but was easy to forgot and wouldve been harder to remember for average consumers. Also notice most videos on VR they usually forget Project morpheus or just call "Playstations VR system".

Project morpheus was a just a code name anyway.

[TwoForce]

I really like this name. It's simple.

[chrisco84au]

I like it, it is simple enough to not confuse the consumer (example - WiiU) and relates back the current strong and market leading PlayStation brand. All things a good product name should do.

Is it a little bland? Sure, but does it in ANY way change the experience from when it was called 'Morpheus'? (Which was purely a prototype name by the way) Nope, not one bit, so from our (the 'hardcore' gaming population, the ones who visit sites like N4G etc) it makes no difference to the end product, also a good thing.

Sure, people will pick this apart and try to find any way to make a negative out of the situation, such is life. Said people will downplay anything that does not suit their personal opinion with negativity and pointless rants. Let them go for broke.

I'll be enjoying my PlayStation VR and my probably empty wallet, yes I am a realist :)

Plus, there is only one Morpheus, he trained Neo and could kick a$$.

Happy gaming

[StrayaKNT]

Morpheus sounds so much better imo

[chrisco84au]

Care to elaborate?

Or does it end there? Placing imo at the end of your comment only states it's your opinion, which is fine but some sort of explanation as to why would help the conversation in a meaningful way.

imo at the end of a comment does not exclude it from blatant trolling my friend. Your history is clear as are your motives.

Oh sorry..........

imo.

[Immorals]

Firstly, you need to look up what opinion means. After that, you should look up trolling.

The guy was just stating his option, last time I checked that was allowed?

[chrisco84au]

@Immorals

Firstly - As was I.

Secondly - thank you for your educational reply, allow me to retort in the easiest possible way.

I would suggest you have a look through his comment history, might help you understand a bit easier.

Plus, I clearly stated, him stating his opinion is fine, in those exact words. So yes it IS allowed but it does not in any way mean a comment is free from trolling. Otherwise, ANY comment on N4G could have imo placed at the end and instantly be excluded from trolling, does that sound reasonable.

My comment was asking for an elaboration on his comment, the rest was clearly because I, plus many many others, know his comment history and how he trolls nearly any and every PS article pointlessly.

[Immorals]

Didn't bother reading his previous comments, ignore my previous post.

[Justiceleague]

He can't he only has one bubble. Anyone that has one bubble is probably a troll. Just look at his history he's definitely a Sony troll

[Eonjay]

Everyone has heard of VR and everyone has heard of PlayStation. PlayStation VR is so simple it sounds immediately familiar.

[S2Killinit]

Yes. Right on.

[OB1Biker]

And PSVR is easier to type ;)
Seriously I can imagine a short ad where Playstation VR says it all while Playstation Morpheus needs quite some explanation.

[SaveFerris]

I like the Playstation VR name. Only now we probably won't see Laurence Fishburne on the advertisements for it.

[kenwonobi]

Perfect. It names the company giving them credit. Tells you it's VR. No confusion.

[S2Killinit]

as much as I liked the Morpheus because of what it invokes, and I like to know that they named their project after the god of dreams. But then, PSVR is a cool name, that is easy to remember, and its easy to invoke. It directly associates itself with the VR technology, and it demonstrates that Sony is linking the technology to itself which imbues confidence.

I think PSVR is a great name, and a smart move, and we can always remember its sudo-name as being Morpheus.