The mainstream media are slowly warning up to the advent of virtual reality, or at the very least that demonstrating new and exciting ways to play games pulls viewers of the demographics they’re interested in. Now Sony’s Project Morpheus, a new VR Headset developed for the Playstation 4 and revealed officially at GDC this year, has made an appearance to riotous laughter and applause.
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has in recent years had regular slots on the show designed to showcase new technology and they’ve not shied away from gaming, traditionally an area prime time broadcasters like to steer clear from. In fact, Fallon has played host to the Oculus Rift on more than one occasion, the first time with a pre DK1 prototype back in January 2013.
However, it must be said that Sony’s outing on the Tonight Show was a slickly presented success. If you can gauge success by audiences laughing like drains while their host and a bemused looking Channing Tatum don Sony’s headsets, grab a couple of Playstation Move controllers and flail around like idiots. The pair were playing the now familar ‘Castle’ demo, first seen on the show floor at GDC this year.
After the experience was over, both parties seemed genuinely impressed by what they’d seen. Quite whether the audience had taken on board that what they were watching could be theirs to own within 12 months is another matter. But I think Sony can be pleased with this first foray into the general public’s path. It’ll be interesting to see if it pays off once Sony’s VR solution starts popping up in stores in the future.
