Bandai Namco Entertainment is developing a virtual reality game called "Summer Lesson," in which the player teaches a female character how to speak Japanese.

Sony Computer Entertainment is taking its virtual reality technology to a new level, and game developers are eager to follow.

Project Morpheus, a headset compatible with SCE's PlayStation 4, has yet to hit store shelves, but its latest prototype offers clearer, crisper images than any virtual reality device that has come before.

SCE recently held a Project Morpheus demonstration event for journalists in Tokyo. Among the games on display, Bandai Namco Entertainment's "Summer Lesson" was a particularly big crowd-pleaser. In the game, the player teaches Japanese to a blond Western woman as the two sit on the veranda of a traditional Japanese house. The game is being developed by the same team that produced "Tekken," the popular series of street-fighting games.

Bandai Namco already boasts world-class computer graphics know-how, and analysts say the company is ahead of its rivals in developing virtual reality games.

"Summer Lesson" is already generating a lot of buzz in the gaming industry, and even a five-minute demonstration gave players a powerfully immersive experience. Many said they felt as if the character really was sitting next to them.

A key factor in creating that illusion is related to the concept of personal space, the distance at which people feel comfortable interacting. Experts say the amount of personal space varies depending on the nature of the relationship. For people on intimate terms, for instance, it is within touching distance, or about 45cm.

In "Summer Lesson," the character often moves into the player's personal space quite casually. She affectionately calls the player sensei (teacher), and her attitude is meant to be endearing. When the player and the character sit next to each other and read from a textbook, she brings her face close from time to time -- but if the player tries to get too close to her, she moves away.

This sense of personal space cannot be replicated with conventional video games. When "Summer Lesson" is officially released, it would not be surprising if some players forget that it is all computer programming and fall for their "student."

Moreover, Project Morpheus uses an organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, display panel, which reproduces more natural-looking colors than ordinary liquid crystal display panels. This makes the colors of the summer sky and the ocean in the background of the game look even more lifelike.

SCE unveiled the latest Project Morpheus model in March at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The previous version, which made its debut in 2014, had a 5-inch LCD panel and a 90-degree field of view. By contrast, the new model is equipped with a 5.7-inch OLED panel with a 100-degree field of view.

The new model is also capable of rendering graphics at 120 frames per second, as opposed to the 60 frames of the old model. Oculus Rift DK2, a virtual reality headset released by Oculus VR of the U.S., has a rate of 75 frames per second.

A higher frame rate means smoother, more natural motion. This not only makes for a more realistic experience, it also alleviates a problem known as virtual reality sickness, a type of motion sickness some users experience, especially at lower frame rates.

Endless possibilities

"Summer Lesson" is not the only virtual reality title currently under development. SCE London Studio is working on a game called "The London Heist," in which the player uses a set of two PlayStation Move motion controllers to engage in gun battles with enemy characters attacking from all directions. Though the game is still at the demonstration stage, it is already highly sophisticated.

Japan's Sega Games, meanwhile, has developed a title for Project Morpheus featuring virtual pop star Hatsune Miku. When the player puts on the headset, he or she is transported to a concert hall packed with more than 10,000 fans, all waving glow sticks in unison. The player can join in by waving a PlayStation Move controller. Once players experience a virtual reality concert, they may find it hard to enjoy the flat images of a conventional TV screen.
Japan's market for virtual reality games has yet to take off, but Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, seems unconcerned. At a Tokyo game event on July 17, he said U.S. and European venture capitalists already sense the opportunity in virtual reality games.

But there is another issue: While more than 20 million PS4 consoles have been sold in the U.S. and Europe, only 1.5 million have been sold in Japan. Because Project Morpheus cannot be used without a PS4, boosting console sales in Japan is a must.

Even so, Yoshida says he is not worried. "In Japan, major game companies are still the dominant players. But once the market is developed, a number of businesses, including startups, will join the fray. We are on the verge of dawn."

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