Gaming Hype: Project CARS To Support Sony’s Morpheus Virtual Reality Tech. Could Be First Next Gen Racing Game To Use VR

Whenever I play a racing game such as Forza, Gran Turismo, or any of the F1 games my preference is to switch the game into cockpit or first person perspective view.  Why?  Because it provides the most realistic feel while driving.  It might be easier to use a third person view (in which the camera floats above and behind putting the whole car in view) but when I am actually driving a car I can’t see the whole car just the road in front of me so that is how I choose play.  Many other driving and sim enthusiasts share this preference as well which is why there are many elaborate rigs out there that use three screens in an attempt to “surround” the player so they can look to the left or right and see their opponents next to them to provide an immersive feel.

Well the guys at Slightly Mad Studios are taking that immersive feel up more than a few notches.  They have recently announced that their upcoming racing game, Project CARS will support Sony’s new “Morpheus” Virtual Reality peripheral (pictured above).  Similar to the Oculus Rift, Sony’s Morpheus uses high def screens with specially designed pixels combined with accelerometer and head tracking to put users in a 360 degree environment while playing games that support such tech.

Now imagine sitting in your Playseat Racing rig, holding onto your wheel of choice, then putting on a VR headset and being able to completely look around the cockpit of the car you are driving.  Imagine being able to “look ahead” at the next apex as you would if you were really at the track.  Can you see why this could be a big deal?

OK, so here is the bad news.  Currently Sony’s Morpheus VR headset is just something of a functioning concept.  They obviously caught how much buzz the Oculus Rift was getting and decided to try their hand at VR.  When Sony debuted Morpheus at the Game Developer’s Conference they stressed that there is no set release date, price, or any other retail related information about Morpheus to share.  Its just them exploring the possibility.  Which means it could be a good long while before PS4 owners have a chance to use Morpheus to play Project CARS.

However, with recent news that Facebook bought Oculus Rift for 2 billion dollars, its possible that might just be the push Sony needs to accelerate the process of bringing Morpheus to the market.  I guess we will have to just wait and see.  Hopefully there will be some updates on this development at this year’s E3.  I will keep you posted! What do you think about this news?  Do you think VR racing games will be the future?  Are you excited to try this out?  Do you think Microsoft may follow suit and develop a VR headset that Forza players can use? Let me know in the comments. In the meantime check out the latest trailer for Project CARS below.

[Source: World Of Mass Development]