It appears as though Sony is taking a page out of Oculus Rift’s book and is going to be including virtual reality features in the upcoming PS4. The PS4 virtual reality system is reported to work similarly to the Rift and utilizes two HD displays which are mounted inside of a head display.
This report comes from EuroGamer , citing unnamed sources close to Sony. There was no doubt that competition in the virtual reality field would present itself against the Oculus Rift, but for a PS4 virtual reality device to be developed by Sony is actually quite surprising.
It is interesting that this news comes after reports a few months ago, which suggested the two companies– Sony and Oculus Rift–would be working together. Those reports definitely made sense since the Rift’s developers are trying to expand onto new platforms, but that may not be happening if EuroGamer is correct.
Sony was reportedly going to announce the PS4 virtual reality device at Gamescom but decided against it just a few days before the event. Now, the video game giant is expected to announce the device at the Tokyo Game Show later this month.
Since Microsoft was able to make the Xbox One stand out from the crowd with its hands-free controls, Sony does need something to do the same with the PS4. Offering up a device–even though it will likely be expensive–that integrates virtual reality with the PS4 will definitely allow Sony to push the market forward and attract “cutting edge” customers.
Whether or not Sony is working with Oculus Rift for the virtual reality device, any PS4 virtual reality product should be indebted to the Rift. For all we know, Sony has been working on this technology for years, but at the same time, Oculus primed the market for Sony to announce their own virtual reality device and should be grateful for that.