Rumor: Sony’s WipEout HD Fails Epilepsy Test; Delayed
By Shawn on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 1:47 PM PST In Game Companies, Game Consoles, Game Platforms, Games, Sony, Sony
Sony fans hoping to catch WipEout HD for the PSN at E3 were doomed to disappointment. The company cited technical difficulties as the reason for its absence, but according to CVG, the futuristic racer failed the failed epilepsy tests. In fact, it failed so badly it will have to be re-engineered before release.
I’m listing this as a rumor because CVG doesn’t reference its sources, although I can easily see how the game might trigger seizures. The news is disappointing, but it’s better to find out about the inherent problem with WipEout HD before anyone gets hurt. Gaming Today will be watching for an official announcement from Sony.
via CVG
“you can just as easily be distracted and have a seizure by looking at those stupid emergency lights on the school buses these days!”
This statement is certainly true. In fact, any light source that blinks in any sort of rhythm can trigger epileptic symptoms, depending on the severity of the case. Unfortunately, 60fps, or rather 60Hz is a frequency which can commonly trigger seizures. What they’d need to do is set the game to have dynamic frames per second, allowing for a mix of 45-75 frames per second–which would drastically cut back on the epilepsy risk due to shifting frequencies at non-rhythmic intervals.