Sony’s Morpheus virtual reality helmet set for 2016 launch
Published on Mar 4, 2015
Sony has revealed an upgraded version of its virtual reality helmet, which it says it plans to put on sale in 2016.
The new edition of Project Morpheus now features an OLED display, rather than an LCD one, letting it show more vibrant colours. That brings it in line with Facebook’s rival Oculus Rift.
It is also capable of showing graphics at 120 frames per second (fps).
That beats the figure given by HTC for its recently unveiled Vive virtual reality (VR) headset.
The frame rate is important as the higher the number, the smoother moving objects appear. It also reduces the risk of nausea.
HTC said on Sunday that its helmet provided a refresh rate of 90fps.
Oculus has not confirmed its specifications, but recent demonstrations of the recent Crescent Bay version of its kit have also been reported to run at 90fps.
Sony’s announcement is a surprise, because until now, the PlayStation console – which Morpheus depends on to play games – had not been thought to be able to render games at this rate.
However, speaking at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida revealed that a software update would allow the machine to create an “in-between frame” to double its current maximum of 60fps.
“Higher frame rates are definitely important because they are going to translate into higher responsiveness of the gaming environment,” explained Brian Blau, an analyst at the Gartner tech consultancy who previously worked in the virtual reality industry.
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