Sony Executive Wants PlayStation VR Support in Next Gran Turismo

Sony has been working on virtual reality technology for the PlayStation for a fair few years now, with the first version of “Project Morpheus” shown to the public in 2014. With a name change under its belt – to “PlayStation VR” – the tech is due to go on sale in the first half of 2016. Fully compatible with PS4 and PS Vita, the prototype supports 1080p and 120 fps.

Prototype_03-Low_Res_1425419545.0In an interview with Eurogamer during the Eurogamer Expo (EGX), Shuhei Yoshida, President of SCE Worldwide Studios, was asked about PlayStation VR’s most likely supported titles:

Eurogamer: You’ve got some great properties that would be a great fit for VR too. I’m thinking something like Gran Turismo. Would that make sense?

Shuhei Yoshida: Many trial tests we’ve been doing, some genres just work fine. One of those genres is racing games. So when Gran Turismo comes out on PS4, I’d like to see it support PlayStation VR, yeah.

It’s worth noting that the PS4’s big first-party exclusive racing game of the moment, Driveclub, was originally intended to have VR support, but it was pulled after Yoshida himself tried it out only to complain of motion sickness.

Of course, Gran Turismo would not be the first racing game to feature a VR interface. Assetto Corsa, Project CARS and Grid Autosport all feature Oculus Rift support, though all only do so on PC platforms at present.

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Comments (43)

  1. Myles Prower

    As Sony seem to be selling VR as a separate platform I can see there being “Gran Turismo 7” and “Gran Turismo VR” as 2 separate games, PCARS is also supposed to have VR support on PlayStation but I can see that going the same way as the WiiU version.

  2. Johnnypenso

    If Sony can get their frame interpolation software to work seamlessly and upgrade the native 60fps to 120fps, Morpheus should be a fantastic addition to the Sony lineup. If I was on PS4 I’d be a customer for sure. I might not use it in every game but I have a feeling it’ll be rather addictive once you get started.

  3. Magic Ayrton

    Sony have clearly been playing with VR too long.. They are turning into the insane character from lawnmower man!

  4. Psychopulse

    Isn’t Mr. Yoshida really close to the Kaz? I remember seeing them talking together very informally… I think it was from the documentary KAZ.

  5. biftizmo

    Just one more little wish Polly D….the abilaty to join lobby’s as a viewer..to keep up to date with how my mates are raceing….from my tablet or phone….you are the best….cheers.

  6. WheelmanSteve

    I just want “comfort” tires OUT. Hmmm. Track day comin’ up. What should I run? Dang! Those $49 all-season specials from (insert discount store name here) will be just the ticket!

    1. Johnnypenso

      Comfort Softs have as much grip as most of the really good street tires you’re likely to find. Anyway the tires are all optional, no point in removing an option some players really like, just to satisfy players who are never going to use them anyway.

    2. biftizmo

      No we don’t want to loose anything…no need .they are not just ordenery tyres…”Through the cooperation with Yokohama Rubber, a variety of tyres ranging from “Racing” to “Street” were analyzed. Detailed information and data not available to us until now have been integrated in the tyre model”
      Maybe he’s pointing towards the posabilati of other manufactures making an appearance …Pirelli…comes to mind as the Bugatti VGT professes to have them….

  7. biftizmo

    Their on it…shuhei-yoshida was a young man when he first had his legs blown off in VR….and he has a long history with poly D..this goes back well before GT5 I think they were aware of the the spacial requirements of VR back then…I think you can see this with the way GT is built..when we talk about phisics within the came we often relate it to how the cars handle that sort of thing…but there is allso phisics relavent in the track and surroundings..the solar system and daylight shows us that is a full 3D inviroment as u can plainly see in photomode…this is not a trick of the eyes as 3D tv is it’s not an overlay that can be masked over exsisting games…t’s a 3 dimensional world…this brings me to 3D sound this is something we know PD are working on..all these things have to be right to avoid the sickness..if the sound dosn’t tally with what your seeing..wollop…sickness…as for other VR head sets they remind me of the ones shuhei was wearing all those years ago….PSVR is super cool to market…..GT7VR is out there you bet.

  8. JayKayEm

    A) I feel the next Gran Tursimo should re-focus on core values, gameplay and career mode rather than new-tech.

    B) Wasn’t GT delayed by the inclusion of 3D; all so Sony could flog more TVs? We all know how that went…….

  9. SavageEvil

    I can’t wait for this, I’d love to use VR to drive it would help eliminate that annoying perspective confusion when looking to the sides as the viewpoint changes on the screen but your vision is static so you automatically attempt to steer the car toward the side you are looking for whatever reason. With an enclosed visual viewpoint you’ll be more apt to looking around without getting lost in two different fields of vision. Although I think that work on keeping the visual representation from causing motion sickness is going to be tough, if done right, this would be one step closer to driving immersion. I’d love to test this thing out all the way until it hits retail.

  10. ironman44321

    Two things,

    1. You’re a little behind the curve here GTP, this news came out days ago.

    2. GT7 is such an obvious fit for VR that I’ll be stunned if it isn’t included. Which also means I’ll very likely have to buy PSVR when it comes out. Between GT7, and very likely No Man’s Sky, and Dreams…Damn.

  11. Benny44

    I’m certainly not planning on getting VR on release day. GT7 yes, but not VR. I am not sold on it. I think this thing will not work. But in all honesty, I also hope I’m wrong. It’s going to be very interesting to watch the release of this and see how Sony uses it after release. I’m going to be watching from the sidelines for the first year. Who knows, maybe it’ll be the next wii-mote in terms of popularity.

  12. AudiMan2011

    If it does happen, it’ll just be another expensive gimmick that about 2% of players will actually use before it quietly gets dropped to the back burner.

    1. SZRT Ice

      I feel you couldn’t be more wrong.

      It may not be for everyone, I agree. But I don’t see it getting dropped any time soon. Being able to look to the apex, glance out your windows at the competition, glance at your mirrors, observe the attention to details placed in the recreation of multi-million dollar luxury, sports, and super cars in a 3D environment, the sense of speed obtained from placing yourself visually into a 3d environment that your head and eye movement interact with rather than simply looking at a flat representation…

      There are numerous and major advantages to getting accustomed to VR. I see this tech only getting stronger and improving as console cycles and technology move forward and become more advance. It can change the face of gaming, and may inevitably replace the television in popularity in genres outside of 2d fighting games, side scrollers, and action platformer RPG’s*.

      I only see this improving in time, and we’ll likely see an improved PSVR2 in a few years time.

    2. Kovu

      There’s one big problem with VR though: the haptic feedback doesn’t go together with what we see in the virtual environment.

      I’d agree with you if todays VR-hardware could trace our hands and interactions with controllers… but I don’t see myself using a VR-Headset while shifting manually or pressing any buttons on the steering wheel. Of course, most of the time we manipulate our controllers blindly, but there will always be situations where we need a visual confirmation of what we do.

      To be honest, I think that multi-monitor setups feel by far more realistic than VR, simply because we can manipulate objects that are in the same visible space.

    3. Johnnypenso

      I don’t look at my shifter, pedals, wheel or any buttons when I race. What I will miss though is the companion app I have running giving me real time information I need or want when racing. I can see using the VR for fun hotlapping, but in a real sim loaded with important information like PCars or Assetto Corsa, it’s going to be tough to do any serious racing without having that companion app information available on screen in some way.

    4. biftizmo

      @ Johnny ..the Bugatti VGT has a track display in the dash that will be needed…maybe there are other cars with in console track data display? Here’s hopeing you can interact with your passenger co pilot online PSN mates..that will be just ….ultimate…

  13. Sploshington

    Man, I really thought VR could be good this time around…I’ve watched a tonne of Expo talks and talks for months now, by John Carmack and others over at Oculus and the SONY one too and a load of playtests by a whole group of tech and gaming sites and the conclusion for me, is that VR – no matter how hard they try and push it – is going the way of the Move and Kinect. The price points, for most, are too high and the “experiences” that are most talked about are either a slew of sub-amateur corridor jump scares or, even worse, party games. The same old party games that Move and Kinect had. Oculus sounded incredible, but the more i hear about it, the more expensive it’s getting. Because there is so much more to buy than just the headset itself. The PC needed to make it work well is expensive, the headset, likely to be around the £350 mark. Who can justify paying that for a bunch of jump scares and lame-ass party games. Yeuck. SONY too, are shoe-horning VR into everything they can and i think that’s going to ruin it in a big way. Their Modus Operandi is to force devs into making VR part of each gaming “experience”, so what will obviously happen ( it always does ) is a rushed, thought out at the last minute addition to each release that is broken and intrusive and maybe even is LESS immersive, because of the faffing around to switch between conventional and VR gaming. At first i WAS convinced VR gaming was the future at last, but as time has gone on, i’m more convinced this is yet another tried hard but failed hard gaming gimmick, not much better than the Nintendo Gaming Glove thing from the 1990s. Just my opinion of course, but most of us saw through the Bullshot “live” E3 demos of Kinect and Move in the past, so i can’t see why this wouldn’t follow suit….

    1. SZRT Ice

      The problem with the move is that it never truly got the software support it needed to survive. We really needed some Nintendo quality experiences to make it sell ::cough:: Zelda ::cough::.

      But VR is more a visual interactive medium. It can be applied to just about any genre that offers a first person perspective. FPS, horror, racing, flight, sandbox, you name it. It’s just up to the devs ability to make it work efficiently with their software to make the desired experience possible.

    2. SZRT Ice

      GT already allows for a multi-monitor setup. So VR is definitely the next step up. I bet people with those amazing dynamic racing rigs can’t wait to give it a try.

    1. SZRT Ice

      Backwards thinking. Kaz said “we won’t have to wait that long” in response to questioning of a 2017 release date. Which would imply a 2016 release date. Marketing double talk teaches you to out rightly deny nothing and imply everything when something is uncertain. So he could’ve easily have attempted to direct our attentions elsewhere, but did not. VR needs a heavyweight title to push the hardware, and he made no attempt to speak on other genres. So I’m guessing a simultaneous PSVR/GT7 release or for GT7 to follow around this time next year at the latest.

    2. SZRT Ice

      Chances are, PD has been working along side PSVR since it’s inception. It’s not like the decision to put it in us undecided. It’s most likely going to be one of the “big surprises” when it’s revealed.

    3. SZRT Ice

      Yeah… There’s no denying that. But I still believe it was created for PS4 hardware first, then they attempted to “dumb it down” for PS3. I just think they overestimated their “scalable and portable” engine they came up with for GT6/GT7. But that’s just my opinion.

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