Virtual reality on PS4 and Xbox One the real next-gen?
Mounting evidence suggests that Sony and Microsoft will each launch firstparty peripherals for PS4 and Xbox One with virtual reality capabilities.
Development sources have told us that PS4s own Oculus beater will launch much sooner than Microsofts own wearable tech, of which little is known. It is expected, however, to be an internet-connected headset more akin to Google Glass.
The PlayStation VR headset is indeed real and was close to being announced earlier this year, as widely rumoured. The announcement was held back, say our sources, as Sony didnt want to complicate its messaging before PS4s launchdate. Devkits have not been sent out to studios just yet, but one contact said that he expected to hear more about it soon most likely once were clear of the launch window. The project should not be confused with Sonys existing HMZ range of 3D headsets it is a PlayStation product, designed specifically for use with PlayStation 4, said one developer.
Our contacts knew nothing of Microsofts own forthcoming wearable tech but reports across the media, most recently from The Wall Street Journal, describe a broader featureset and a direct competitor to Google Glass. Currently, the reports suggest that it is not explicitly linked with the Xbox division, and none of our contacts have heard anything from Microsoft on the matter, though the platform holder is apparently aware of Sonys more fully developed VR proposition. The need for Microsofts Xbox One to compete with Sonys PS4 on every viable battlefront suggests that Xbox One-compatible wearable tech is a matter of when, not if.
Weve put USB 3.0 ports on Xbox One for a reason, which is that we want high bandwidth communication with other accessory or companion devices, Microsofts Phil Harrison told us recently. Im not going to speculate but we definitely designed the platform to extend over time.
From a business and console lifecycle perspective, both headsets might be considered next-gens own Kinect and Move additive technology intended to provide a sales fillip further into a consoles lifecycle. Where Wiis motion tech once dazzled new players and opened up new frontiers, prompting Microsoft and Sony to release their own interpretations of that concept, it appears that Oculus Rift and Google Glass have stepped into the role of pioneer this time around.
Unlike the current generation, however, Sonys VR headset is expected to arrive much sooner. Perhaps the platform holder, in keeping with the narrative it has been careful to set out for itself this year, really has been listening to the worlds game developers; its not next-gen consoles capturing the imagination among creators its Oculus Rift.
For $300 any studio can buy and dabble with an Oculus SDK, and the level of VC funding the company has attracted in the last year shows that investors are as convinced as many developers are. It is significant that Oculus isnt interested in partnering with the console manufacturers it is concentrating entirely on tying its fortunes to PC and mobile, more open and developer-friendly platforms.
In contrast, creating virtual reality games on PS4 and Xbox One appears to be a more troublesome prospect for developers. Proprietary tech for each console could be one stumbling block; the barriers and bureaucracy involved in releasing games on consoles another.
And already, developing high-end, next-gen console games that take full advantage of PS4 and Xbox Ones capabilities requires the kind of finance and scale relatively few studios can claim to have. Infamously, even Infinity Ward, proprietor of the worlds biggest, most lucrative shooter, has struggled to get the best from one next-gen console. And conceptually, latching VR capability onto a triple-A shooter might only be a compelling idea for those already worshipping at the altar of high-end console gaming.
Further down the scale, its already very difficult for more modest studios to make decent money from the PlayStation and Xbox storefronts, judging by anecdotal evidence. Many critically acclaimed releases havent made the money one might expect, and there are only a handful of studios that have made their fortunes on PSN and XBLA; kudos cant pay the bills. Though Sony and Microsoft are doing their utmost to attract as many developers to PS4 and Xbox One as possible, it would be quite a turnaround for their respective download stores to suddenly become as financially viable as Steam, for example.
There are further obstacles to overcome before we see that futuristic vision of virtual reality games in every living room. Motion sickness is an ongoing problem with no easy solution, and VR will need its own Wii Sports a neat, brilliant, broadly accessible encapsulation of what the tech can do if it is to become something more significant than a tech-fetishists fantasy. Whoever gets there first with that killer app, be it an indie with a bright idea for Oculus or one of Sony and Microsofts internal studios, will surely reap fantastic rewards.
The wildcard here is Valve. Conceptually, Sony and Microsofts relatively closed platforms feel increasingly dated, so Valves Steam Machines might be a better fit for the budding VR game developer. In its existing 65 million active Steam users Valve has a willing, knowledgeable gamesplaying audience, and one not afraid to experiment. And Valve clearly believes in the idea of virtual reality games when it added Oculus Rift support to Team Fortress 2, it became one of the first high profile developers to throw its weight behind the tech. Senior developers at Valve have given GDC talks on the subject of VR games and more recently, former Valve staffer Jeri Ellsworths castAR Kickstarter campaign emerged and with it, all of the knowledge gleaned from researching AR and VR tech at her former employer. One can imagine that if Valve itself doesnt release its own VR/AR hardware, itll do its best to ensure the success of similar tech, like Oculus and castAR, on its platform.
So in PlayStation and Xbox we see the established videogame brands with powerful marketing and distribution networks the ones truly able to bring VR games to the masses. And in Oculus Rift and Valve, we see agile, technology-first companies with open, developer-friendly platforms. One suspects that the best possible outcome for VR games would be a combination of those forces, rather than the competing, proprietary Sony and Microsoft hardware we expect.
It is early days for virtual reality games, but they are coming to PS4 and Xbox One. If Sony and Microsoft are to succeed in popularising the medium, they might need to beat Valve and Oculus to it.
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