Some new imagery for Gran Turismo 7 has surfaced from a special tech demo by Sony relating to an 8K OLED VR headset it’s currently developing.
The images were snapped by the Japanese arm of technology news site Engadget, which got to test out a prototype unit of the headset. Sony also presented the headset during its “technology day” on December 7, demonstrating the capabilities of the tech.
Although we don’t get to see GT7 in motion, the images show the “Gran Turismo Cafe” section of the game in full 4K resolution. It’s the first exterior shot we’ve seen of the building, though it perfectly matches with what we’ve seen from the interior shots in previous videos and images.
Interestingly, the image looks like a Scapes shot, which could suggest it’s actually a real location (though not the real GT Cafe at Twin Ring Motegi) though likely has a different purpose in the real world. We can also see four of the game’s cars lined up outside: Aston Martin DB5, Ferrari 250GT Lusso, Jaguar E-Type, and Mercedes 300SL. In GT Sport, Scapes are limited to just three cars.
Each of the two display panels on the VR prototype comes in at a full 4K by 4K resolution, at an aspect ratio of 1:1, rather than the usual 4K by 2K standard. That means that rather than showing a mere 8.1 megapixels (3840×2160), the displays have 14.7 megapixels (3840×3840) each.
These combine to show an effective 8K resolution, and Sony Technology had to turn to OLED in order to achieve the appropriate image quality.
The choice of Gran Turismo 7 for the display demonstration then is even more interesting, as it means that, despite being limited to 4K on PS5 at the moment, it should be 8K capable when PlayStation unlocks that on-box functionality in the future.
As for the headset itself, it’s a long way from any market applications and shouldn’t be considered a prototype for the upcoming PlayStation VR2. Indeed it seems Sony is intending the device for communications and medical training, according to Engadget.
Sony Technology also released this informational video on the product, which includes a museum walkaround we don’t believe is linked to GT7.
Images via Engadget Japan.
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