nDrive confirms PlayStation 4, Oculus Rift virtual reality projects in development

Developer nDrive confirms multiple projects are in the works for both PlayStation 4 and Oculus Rift.


Here's a letter on Polygon that was written by nDrive CEO Patrick O'Luanaigh on the upcoming releases.

"I'm delighted to be able to officially announce that we are working on a PlayStation 4 title, which will launch in 2014," reads the investor letter. "More details will follow next year, but it's the most ambitious game we have ever created, and we can't wait to reveal more about it — it's going to be something truly special.
"We're also working on a game for the awesome Oculus Rift. VR is an area of technology that we believe will finally come of age in 2014, and you'll see us investing a great deal of time and money into it."

It's exciting to see this, although it doesn't confirm that Oculus Rift virtual reality technology is headed to PS4. In fact, it sounds more like these two projects in the works are separate.

News came out back in November that the creator of the OR didn't believe their technology could run on either PS4 or Xbox One. However, Sony could be working on its own virtual reality headset.

nDrive is famous for their work on PlayStation Home and the game Skydieving.

Image credit: Flickr

Virtual reality on the horizon for PlayStation 4?

Sony, never wanting to let go of 3D and virtual reality, are planning to make their own version of the Oculus Rift VR headset for PlayStation 4.

From Wesley Yin-Poole of Eurogamer:

Amid the growing popularity of the Oculus Rift VR headset among the development community and a small number of gamers, Sony has been working on a rival device for its next-gen console, and it is on track to be revealed in 2014.
Multiple sources have indicated to Eurogamer that Sony's VR headset will work similarly to Oculus'. Internally, the device has been demonstrated with Evolution Studios' PS4 racer DriveClub, with players able to look around the cockpit of a car.

The potential is certainly there to create something that the PlayStation Move tried to do. Instead of adjusting a first-person view by moving to the sides of a television screen or using an analog stick, a VR unit would make it as simple as looking around your own area. It's something that can easily be done by just sitting on the couch instead of fiddling with a camera to find out where the player is at.

However, "potential" is a word that's thrown around too much in this industry. VR units usually never end up succeeding, although this is something that shouldn't fail as hard as Nintendo's Virtual Boy.

Sony Worldwide Studios honcho Shuhei Yoshida didn't comment about VR with Eurogamer at Gamescom, and the headset that was scheduled to be revealed at the event was pulled.

What will be tested, like any other peripheral on the PlayStation, is how many games will actually implement it. There's next to no third party support on so many Sony additions and peripherals -- the Move itself, Sixaxis, Vita's augmented reality. It's a product that will really have to wow like the Oculus Rift has done.

That, or just bring in support for the OR, which could be "a possibility."

"They're a little busy," [Oculus COO Laird] Malamed told Eurogamer. "We've chatted, but they're trying to bring their new consoles out. It's a possibility - it would work. It's the same thing as iOS - it could technically work, but the business side isn't there."

[Photo credit: Flickr]