Sony has revealed via the official GDC website that it will give a presentation on “innovation at PlayStation and the future of gaming” at the upcoming Game Developer’s Conference.
Though “future of gaming” is a pretty vague label, there’s reason to believe the presentation will be quite compelling — mainly, because of swirling rumors about an upcoming virtual reality headset from Sony. Though the company does already sell movie-watching headgear, the rumored Oculus Rift competitor would, as expected, be designed specifically for gaming. Whether it’s something that would work with the PS4 is unclear, and even if it is revealed, there’s no guarantee it’s not a separate product entirely.
Even so, PS4 lead architect Mark Cerny did toot virtual reality’s horn just recently, so hopefully that means the rumored product (if real) will come to Sony’s current-gen console. He said the following when asked about VR’s potential in the next decade:
The impact of virtual reality technologies could be pretty significant going forward in that time frame.
Certainly not a confirmation, but it’s not like he wants to blow the surprise. My biggest question is this: will VR really catch on with gaming first? Or will it end up as gaming’s version of 3D televisions, only to re-surge years later via more mainstream products? Both are possible, and the Sony presentation may just help answer that question.