Shuhei Yoshida unveils an updated Morpheus
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida shows off the updated Morpheus virtual reality headset at the GDC in San Francisco on Tuesday.
"This looks like last year's model, but under the hood we've put a lot of improvements," said Yoshida, president of the company's Worldwide Studios for Sony Computer Entertainment. This version of Morpheus "is close to the final consumer product," he said.
Sony's Morpheus
Enhancements include a new 5.7-inch display and a faster refresh rate -- to serve up virtual worlds that seem close to real.
The virtual and the real
People wearing the Morpheus VR headset will have a hard time telling the difference between virtual reality and the real world, Yoshida told the audience of gaming developers.
Inside the game
CNET's Nick Statt gets a first look at Sony's Morpheus VR virtuality reality headset. His verdict: "Morpheus feels the closest to being able to sustain a longer-term gaming experience."
Morpheus at
CNET's Eric Franklin gets a first look at Sony's Morpheus virtuality reality headset during the 2015 Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco.
A lighter headset
Donning the Morpheus eye-piece, headband and separate earphones delivers a completely immersive experience.
Sony said the headset has been made lighter so that players do not find the unit cumbersome or uncomfortable to use.
1920 x 1080 OLED display
The headset has a 1920 x 1080 OLED display with a 120hz refresh rate. The 5.7-inch display gives wearers a 100 degree field of view.
The update "improves the visual experience and tracking accuracy, both of which are critical to achieving sense of presence," according to Sony. In other words, the virtual can feel more real.
A single band design
Sony made the Morpheus headset easier to put on and remove. A single band design supports the weight of the unit on the top of the head, taking weight and pressure off the face.
A more lifelike experience
This updated version also delivers a more practical feature -- a slideable display that lets you re-enter the real world without having to remove the head gear.
The Heist
CNET's Nick Statt on Tuesday checks out The Heist, a short game demo produced by Sony's London studio, that had Statt at the mercy of a thug preparing to torture information out of him.
Motion-control remotes
Unlike virtual reality competitor Oculus, Sony has its own motion-control remotes that delivered what CNET's Nick Statt called "sharp and reliable hand motions to the VR gameplay."
Available 2016
The virtual reality headset for PlayStation 4 will reach consumers the first half of 2016, according to Sony, which declined to say how much it will cost.