Oculus Creator: Project Morpheus is 'really pushing the limits' of PS4

VRFocus - Palmer Luckey, the creator of the Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD), has expressed his concerns with Sony Computer Entertainment’s (SCE) Project Moprheus VR HMD for PlayStation 4 in the past. Specifically, Luckey has spoken to SCE’s lack of investment in Project Morpheus right now. More recently, the famed creator has spoken out about the PlayStation 4′s hardware, and how Project Morpheus is ‘really pushing’ its limits despite being ‘not as good’ as the Oculus Rift’s second development kit (DK2).

[DonDon]

Hmmm...creator of oculus rift is dissing Sony's VR headset and i'm supposed to take his view as non-biased? Lol.

[FriedGoat]

What's the betting his glorious Facebook overlords put him up to it.

[bouzebbal]

nevermind palmer, still getting Morpheus if it's worth it.

[aerisbueller]

indeed.
Wasn't it all sunshine and lollipops a few months ago with both Sony and Oculus nonstop saying how awesome and inspirational the other teams were?

Now it's back to back attacks on Morpheus.

In any case, of course it won't be as good as Oculus on a high-end PC, but Morpheus is going to be important in getting VR into the hands and onto the faces of millions of people who don't have gaming PCs.

This is particularly stupid of them to say, when a few months ago they started using optical head tracking which was obviously inspired by the Morpheus PS4 camera tracking, which at the time trounced Oculus's accelerometer/gyro only tracking.

I hope they don't sour the relationship too much, because I'm sure there'll be plenty to learn off of eachother before either gets released.

[Tacklebait]

Dk2 is running at 75 hz @ 1080p. Consummer version is supposed to be 90+ and 1440p. Stereo rendering and the warping is a hog on performance as well.

Although I agree palmer wouldn't say anything else, my PC grinds hard on some of the demos with the DK2. He does speak the truth though. Morpheus will be good, but it won't hold a candle to the rift in 5 years. Oculus uses a video card that costs almost twice as much as the ps4 to run their demos.

Regardless, looking forward to using them both. The dk2 is amazing I'm its current state.

[Fishy Fingers]

Dont be so dramatic, what the dude is saying is accurate, of course his primary goal is going to be to try and peddle his product, but as what you could refer to as the pioneer of modern VR of course his take on 'competitor' systems is as valid as anyones.

Either way, I personally have yet to be sold on VR as a medium, I've yet to try it myself, as I'm sure is the case for the majority of people 'bigging up' either product and I still struggle with the concept of shutting the world out behind a headset to play a game. It'll potentially add up to a nice accessory but for me at least, I cant see it becoming my mainstream medium for gaming.

[XB1_PS4]

What he's saying is true, The PS4 can run games in 1080p @ 30-60fps. VR requires 2 screens running 1080p @ 90+ That's more than double the power required. Over time, that will increase even further. For proper VR, at this point you'll need at least a GTX 780ti. In the future, you may need dual 880s. Depending on the screens resolution, and assuming the 880 is a decent jump from the 780ti.

In a few years, the Oculus Rift will being blowing the Morpheus out of the water.

[Fishy Fingers]

Misinformed...

The 1080p (Oculus/Morpheus) headsets DO NOT have dual 1080p screens, but 960x1080 individually, meaning the 1080p resolution is both screens combined.

[XB1_PS4]

@Fishy Fingers The overall point still stands. The screen will become higher resolution over time. The Frame rate still needs to be higher than 60fps.

[Ju]

He thinks an awful lot about Morpheus despite having a 'supposedly' better product...you can't buy experience with money, kiddo. And well, 5 years down the road...lets just release a real product for a change, shall we? 5 years down the road might just release a next generation playstation...given the usual 7 years cycle...

[user5669510]

How they was inspired by morpheus with head tracking when they had head tracking on their dk2 reveal at gdc and that's when Sony revealed morpheus. I love how late people are but say their interest in Vr and don't even notice Sony is doing a me too

[aerisbueller]

@Consoleslateagain - Morpheus had optical head tracking first.
"A PlayStation Camera monitors the lights to determine where Project Morpheus is in space, while accelerometers and gyroscopes determine its orientation, to more precisely follow head movements"...

..."Optical tracking is not part of the Oculus Rift Development Kit, but it is being integrated into the Development Kit 2 in a different way, using a series of small reflectors instead of a few prominent lights to let a camera track movement."

http://www.pcmag.com/articl...

Don't get me wrong, I think it would be silly to call Oculus copycats when dealing with VR, but I think the respectful, talent-acknowledging Palmer was being more genuine than this new smug one. His tone reminds me of nvidia whenever they talk about AMD.

[iamnsuperman]

Well he could, potentially, be in a weaker position if VR does take off. There is always the possibility that Project Morpheus (seriously needs a new name) could eventually work on the PC. This puts the future of oculus rift in a bit of uncertainty. The PS4 is popular and it is a bit much for the consumer to buy two of these. They also mentioned their business model of being able to release updated version s of the oculus. Depending on how expensive it is I fell that might put people off (you put down 300 just for it to be outdated in a year)

[UltraNova]

It will all depend on content and their management for these devices in the end because as consoles, Sony's VR hardware will be static and exploited to the fullest.

The issue here will Sony have their top studios take the time to develop decent VR games? Will those games have both regular and VR game-play options? How long will they take to make? How much? Would they be willing to let us see the difference in resolution reduction in VR mode if a game is both TV and VR compatible(and subsequently bitch about it)? Will they gimp the regular version? Will they even bother making games both TV and VR compatible? If they wont will they hand development over to lesser studios?

Too many obstacles/questions for Sony to answer... I would hate to see resources been spread thin only to lead to sparse or average AAA exclusive games we've come to expect from Sony.

Edit: I may be in bit of hurry to even ask these questions as a consumer but I sure hope Sony has already answered them. I really want them to make the best of their VR system in order for me as a gamer to enjoy.

[AndrewLB]

Umm... Morpheus and Oculus are NOT competitors even though tech journalists and bloggers keep trying to claim they are. In fact, Sony and Oculus have been working together in developing these headsets, to get past the various hurdles each company encounters.

http://www.computerandvideo...

[iamnsuperman]

Your link doesn't claim that. In fact the "working together" is merely releasing similar products which the other could steal (good ideas) which is like every competitive business model . One does something good the other will inevitably copy. That is what your link says. They are in competition. They are competitive products.

[Ju]

True. Oculus will never make any money any way.

[UltraNova]

@Ju

Maybe not through games but Zucky will find a...social kinda-way trust me.

[D-riders]

doesnt even make sense because 5 years from now we will be on the verge of a new system and the verge of a new morpheus. so how relevant is it whathtey are saying. sounds like they know shit about consoles or life cycles.

[Death]

When is Morpheus launching? If we are still a couple years away from Morpheus hitting shelves, why buy one with Morpheus 2 launching a couple years after that? Why develop for it if it is soon to be obsolete?

The big differance between the two is the PC based Rift will be more flexible and able to evolve faster over time. Morpheus will always be restricted due to the PS4's fixed and already dated hardware.

[Ju]

It might never get released. It's a research project anyway. But it might just get to the point where it is the base for a end consumer version. Despite the tech I see major liability issues with this thing. Imagine the first customers getting a concussion falling and hitting their heads. What you gonna do? Force them to use it sitting down? How's you enforce that? Or next version will come as a helmet after all..LOL

[GamingTruth]

thats embarassing pc in graphics right now, sad since its 'outdated'

[Death]

There is nothing on consoles embarrasing PC's in regards to graphic fidelity. The only one that believes that are Playstation fans that believe what they are told. PC's are capable of 4k resolution which magnifies the silly PS4 vs. Xbox One debate and shows how insignificant the differance really is.

The PS4, Xbox One and WiiU all offer some really beautiful games, but they are far from cutting edge tech.

[kingduqc]

Great vs is 1440p (and over, really more is better)and over 85hz for low persistance mod. So yes ps4 won't provide a great experience compare to pcs and pcs in a few years.

[pyrocloud7]

Ultimately five years from now VR in gaming will be just as irrelevant as 3D has become in movies, it's just a fad.

[Bennibop]

Problem was with 3D was the technology at the time, PS3 ran 3d at less than 720p and 30fps. Also tv 3d quality was average. PS4 can do 3d at 1080p at 60fps in most cases (Trine and Sniper Elite.) Plus if you have ever seen 3d on an UHDTV it is amazing! VR technology I think is slightly different I think that it has been messed around with so many times over the years but I think finally Oculus and Morpheus if priced correctly could get mainstream success now the technology has caught up.

[iamnsuperman]

The problem with 3D wasn't merely a technical thing. Other more important factors came into play. 3D TV sets were expensive and didn't get meaningful use in and outside of gaming. Combine this with it having to be wearable and you got yourself a hard sell (something VR headsets will somehow have to overcome to succeed).

Where VR will have to stand out is tailored games. It's the only way it will take off

[mochachino]

I certainly hope not. VR is the only technology I've seen in years that may actually change and more importantly improve the way we experience games. The level of potential immersion and new freedom of control due to freeing up the camera with headtracking is unprecedented.

The only problem is that the consoles aren't currently powerful enough to do it properly but it should be great on PS5 and Xonetwo (err whatava)...

[Sir_Simba]

why doesnt he just talk about his product always telling people Project Morpheus is this and that.

[DonDon]

Because that's what jealous people do: more concerned with what the competition is doing, instead of focusing on the good their own product brings. Haters hate, man.

[yarbie1000]

Or MAYBE it's because in the original Kotaku Interview they specifically asked him to comment on Morpheus...

[mochachino]

I love my PS4 but he's actually right.

PS4 doesn't have the power for high fidelity VR. Visuals will have to be downgraded significantly similar to 3D on PS3.

Project Morpheus should still be really cool though, I think just being able to play regular games with the headset while some else watches TV is great, especially for people that have kids that shouldn't be seeing all the violence. Also, the image may seem bigger than most people TVs provide..

[GamingTruth]

you are a pc fan and you know it i hate when people say, "i love my ------" yeah but really at heart your a pc fan

[mochachino]

I don't even have a gaming PC...the only computer I have is a Macbook Pro laptop from 2009....

wow, talk about wrong assumptions.

[WeAreLegion]

Palmer's becoming a real prick these days. I'm getting tired of it. I'm glad I funded these guys and I love where VR is headed, but Palmer needs to stay informed. In five years, we'll be seeing hints of the PlayStation 5 with Morpheus 2. It is limited by the PS4. I agree. But it's not like a great number of gamers will be purchasing the latest Oculus every time one is released. Not everyone will be able to run the more demanding games with Oculus. It requires a lot of power. PC gaming is huge, but slow your roll, Palmer. You're looking at this from a narrow point of view.

[user5669510]

the fanboys get mad when the interviewer asks him about ps vr and get mad that he tells the truth.

[c31647]

I don't think Sony is lacking investment in Morpheus. Sony has the Ps4, Ps3, and Vita to support. So Sony not putting a large investment in VR when they have no idea how well the product will do seems like a smart move.

[QuickdrawMcgraw]

I could be wrong...but it is my understanding...That Oculus is pc compatible only...Is Morpheus PS4 only...Or will it also be pc compatible...I am find conflicting info...

[GamingTruth]

what i find funny every gen is how people bulk sony consoles tech and hardware against regular gaming tech, its super condescending to sony to say the least

[Keith22]

I thought they were working together, this dosent make sense