Sceptics might disagree but virtual reality headsets are still on track to be the biggest thing to gaming since the joystick became a joypad, and Sony has confirmed when it plans to bring its effort to market; in the first quarter of 2016.

The company has unveiled a new version of its prototype Project Morpheus VR headset during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco as it hopes to bat off competition from Valve and HTC's Vive and a possible consumer announcement from Oculus.

Sony's headset has been enhanced with a new 5.7-inch 1920 x 1080 OLED display replacing the 5-inch LCD screen in the previous model. The OLED panel reduces motion blur and flicker, thanks to low persistence, and the size expands the field of view from the model that was demonstrated at E3 last year.

The headset is now able to support 120 frames per second for video, which will also be added to the PlayStation 4 through a system software update at a later date. And there are three new LEDs on the headset for motion tracking through the external PlayStation Camera. This helps enforce greater accuracy for positional tracking.

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The new prototype also has a more comfortable design. It now has a single band design, with a quick release button to remove it from the head more easily. It is also lighter than the previous model.

Developers will be first to receive Project Morpheus v2.0 so they can start to work on PS4 experiences that are compatible.

"With the technical specs achieved on the new prototype, we are one step closer to realizing our vision for making amazing VR experiences on PS4, and ultimately to deliver a real sense of presence to players," said Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios.

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