Dateline: March 18, 2014 —

This just in! Sony announces new product, set to revolutionize the industry! ‘Project Morpheus’ the first step for PlayStation into the world of Virtual Reality! Oculus beware, there’s a new player on the block, and its name is Morpheus!

Dramatic newsreel introduction aside, the second day of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco was marked by the official announcement of the long-rumored PlayStation 4 VR headset, currently known as ‘Project Morpheus.’ The “Driving the Future of Innovation at Sony Computer Entertainment” panel, like last year’s PlayStation 4 reveal, took little time in unveiling what everyone had assumed was the case: PlayStation was moving into the world of virtual reality headsets.

Headlined by Sony president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida, Senior Director of Research and Development Dr. Richards Marks, and Anton Mikhailov of PlayStation R&D, ‘Project Morpheus’ is the current prototype – read: not ready for public consumption – developed exclusively for the PlayStation 4, and utilizing the various existing peripherals for the device, specifically the PlayStation Camera, DualShock 4, and PlayStation Move controllers. Yoshida explained that VR “may well shape the future of games,” before showing off earlier prototypes of the device, including versions of Sony’s currently available Head Mounted Display with Move controllers duct-taped to the sides.

Dr. Marks noted that there were six areas that Sony needed to focus on for anything like Project Morpheus to be a success: sight, sound, tracking, control, ease of use, and content. The Morpheus prototype dev kits currently feature 1080p, 90-degree field of view, and 3D surround sound, those Marks and Yoshida both noted these were not the final retail specs. The prototype has blue LED lights around the top for tracking using the PlayStation Camera, while use of DualShock 4 or PlayStation Move would take care of the control element. As for the content, Sony has already drummed up support from Epic Games and Crytek, with engine developers Unity, Havok, and others all listed as partners in PlayStation’s VR endeavor. Demos shown on stage included a Sony London production tentatively called “The Deep,” Square Enix’s recently-released Thief, and EVE Valkyrie, from CCP Games, which has been featured – and was believed exclusive to – the Oculus Rift. Beyond games, Dr. Marks also noted that other ventures were being explored, including a partnership with NASA for a program that allows users to ‘walk around’ the surface of Mars.

Rumors of the virtual reality headset’s existence have been swirling late last year, with some news suggesting an unveiling at the Consumer Electronic Show earlier this year in Las Vegas. Yoshida explained during the panel that they chose GDC specifically so that developers could get their hands on the device. No details on the final retail product or pricing were available, though I expect we’ll hear more closer to or at Sony’s E3 press conference.  Project Morpheus will be on the show floor of GDC starting today, and we’ll continue to update SonyRumors on everything surrounding PlayStation’s push into VR as things develop.

Editor’s Note: SonyRumors was not in attendance for this GDC event, and direct quotes and information has been gathered via IGN and Engadget‘s live blogs, and various other reports. We will update this story with video of the event, directly from Sony Computer Entertainment, when those are made available.

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Is virtual reality the future of video games?