Sony unveiled a prototype for a new virtual reality headset accessory for its PlayStation 4 games console at the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week, as it bids to further acceptance of the concept.
The headset, still in development under the name Project Morpheus, is designed to provide an immersive experience for gamers by projecting a virtual reality image in front of their eyes that shifts as it tracks the movement of their head.
Sony has been eager to popularise virtual reality goggles, releasing its first “personal 3D viewer” for watching movies in August 2011, but the concept has been slow to catch on among users that rejected it as clunky and gimmicky.
However, Project Morpheus marks the first specialist gaming headset from Sony Computer Entertainment, which has been experimenting with the format since 2010. The president of the division, Shuhei Yoshida, says the company is “encouraged by the enthusiastic response” to similar products from start-upssuch as Oculus VR and Valve in recent months.
“This is the culmination of our work for three-plus years and realises our vision of VR for games,” says Mr Yoshida as he showed off a prototype.
The prototype is a black and white headset with a thin strip of blue light on the rim.
The headset will be integrated with the PlayStation 4’s camera, controller and Move motion sensors, and has stereoscopic sound to immerse users in the games they are playing.
Sony said it would make the headset available to game developers soon. It has not set a date for its release.
Sony had sold 6 million units of its PlayStation 4 as of March 2, speeding ahead of its target of 5 million for the fiscal year to the end of this month.
The console went on sale on November 29 in the United States, western Europe and Latin America, about the same time that rival Microsoft’s Xbox One was released. That console topped 3 million units at the end of last year.
Separately, Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to cut 216 jobs in California and has filed with the state Employment Development Department, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It was revealed last week that Sony Pictures is expected to announce layoffs throughout its studio operations in the United States and abroad.
Among the units that will be hit is the Sony interactive team that supports digital marketing.
Sony Pictures has about 6,500 employees worldwide.
Under pressure from the hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb to improve profitability at its studio, in November Sony hired consultancy Bain & Co to identify more than US$100 million in cost cuts through layoffs and other means.
Sony Pictures Entertainment earlier replaced its film marketing chief and said it intended to reduce its film marketing costs.
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