Sony enters virtual reality with headset

Sony is getting into the virtual reality business.

The Japanese electronics giant unveiled a prototype virtual reality headset to be used in conjunction with its PlayStation 4 game console during a talk at the Game Developers Conference.

Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, showed off the black-and-white headset at the annual gathering of game designers. He said Sony has been working on the technology for more than three years.

Codenamed Project Morpheus, it features a head-mounted display with 1080p resolution and a 90-degree field of view.

Sensors built into the slick headset can track a wearer’s head movement in concert with a PS4 camera.

“This prototype is by no means final,” said Yoshida. “We will continue to work on this to improve it, but we believe it’s a good representation of how PlayStation will deliver VR.”

Anton Mikhailov, a senior software engineer working on Project Morpheus, said the current version of the technology must be attached to a PS4 console with a cord that’s about 15ft long, and users’ virtual perspectives can be simultaneously broadcast on a television screen.

“The experience can be shared, and that’s only going to allow it to spread,” said Mikhailov. “I think that’s going to be the key. Once people see someone else interacting in VR, they’re going to want to put it on and try it next.”

Mikhailov said users will be able to interact with the virtual world displayed on the headset with the gesture-detecting PlayStation Move controller, as well as the standard DualShock 4. He declined to specify when the headset would be released or how much it would cost.

While Sony has released other head-mounted units, Project Morpheus marks the company’s first foray into VR with PlayStation.