Just how hard will Sony push PlayStation VR this year? Well, speaking at Gamescom 2016, affable exec Jim Ryan has hinted that we can probably expect a launch on par with a new console. "It will be a proper PlayStation launch," he assured. "There will be proper marketing, products in stores, lots of games at launch; we've got 38 titles on the stand [at Gamescom]. It's going to be big."
Ryan later pointed out, however, that Sony sees this initiative as a long-term thing, suggesting that it won't be dropping the tech at the first hurdle. Moreover, he admitted that, while the launch lineup is strong, the paradigm changing nature of the technology means that it's going to evolve at a rapid rate, with the best content likely to come over the next couple of years.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 23
Does though sound like they're going to be relying heavily on word of mouth promotion.
Good, rather than having high expectation and drop it on the first sight of trouble.
I canceled my preorder and will wait for the reviews, since they can't get up to 90fps like other big VR manufacturers claim is minimal framerate to "not make you puke"
Talk is cheap - let's see them still support it so fully in 2 years if it doesn't do great in the first 6-12 months! Hope it's decent though. Do want one myself..
I can see why this could be marketed like a 'new' console as it has its own 'unique' software - unlike the 'PS4k/Neo' which is still just a PS4 albeit with a bit more power. The Headset itself will be required though to play a lot of these games and that's why it makes sense to market it similarly to a new console.
Word of Mouth, I don't think, will be the best form of promotion. We have already seen a number of people commenting about VR etc. I think the biggest form of promotion will be from actually getting 'hands-on' - either in stores or by visiting friends that have taken the plunge.
@KomrathDE The PS4 is a lot weaker than the minimum specs required for the other 'premium' devices. Its CPU (for example) can struggle with non-VR games and is often the cause of the performance problems with these. PSVR Headset though doesn't have the same resolution of the others which may help. The developers themselves though are basically sending games out in their Alpha or Beta state at the moment for people to try at places like Gamescom. No PSVR game has actually been released yet and developers still have time to optimise better for the PS4 hardware. If you played BF1 'Beta' for example, you would know that the frame rate falls short of the target 60fps - just like other Dice games have in the past but in the final few months before release, Dice often manage to improve that significantly.
I still have no intention of buying one unless I get to experience it first and so far only the USA has the VR booths.Why not in the UK too?Then again,unless they start making games for it that are more hard-core and less twenty minute casual type games I doubt I'd buy one anyway.
For right now, VR is too pricey to be the next big thing. It will sell of course, but it's not yet ready to be the next Wii or Kinect.
@Wazeddie22 In unrelated news, your avatar reminds me, I never completed Lunar 2.
@Xaessya A Remastered Lunar and Lunar 2 in its very own collectors edition designed by Vic Ireland for the Ps4 ahead of the upcoming Lunar 3? Then you would get your chance to finish it.Shame it's just a dream
I have the pre-order for the PSVR. I do not need to try it before buying it. I considered buying the Neo but that will be the same price or more than the PSVR offers a totally new gaming experience.
@KomrathDE
They will actually aim for 120fps instead of 90, so I wouldn't worry bout that. Sony's engineers knew from the get-go the PS4s hardware wasn't capable of giving a VR experience like OR can, so they came up with a solution as simple as it's brilliant: simply copy every frame that is put out, so that a 60fps game will be as smooth as a 120fps one.
Even then the PS4 is underpowered and PS VR is cutting corners on the visual side of things to maintain a steady 60 = 120fps, but what can you honestly expect for that kinda money? I'm going all in come October and I'm feeling a sort of excitement that the current gen could never bring me. I just hope they won't just focus on games - that will be proofs of concept anyway the next few years - but also double down on sweet extras like a cinema mode, watching sports and concerts live as if you are there and many more.
As a 3D fan, it's hard for me not to see VR as a step backwards. People thought light-weight Passive glasses were a pain, but now an entire helmet and dangling cords are OK? Sure the head tracking adds to the immersion, but this all seems far too expensive and cumbersome. I just watched Angry Birds 3D on BD and it was a stunning presentation. There have also been a number of games like Super Stardust where the 3D was marvelous. I wish Sony had continued to explore 3D on the PS4 due to the extra horsepower. At the very least, a large number of indie games and ports could have used 3D to great effect. The PS3 wasn't really strong enough to do 3D well in all games and I'm afraid that by jumping on the VR bandwagon Sony is going to have the same problem on the PS4. Oh well, at least we still have 3D movies.
Well they sure are charging for it as such.😒
@GamerDad66 "People thought light-weight Passive glasses were a pain, but now an entire helmet and dangling cords are OK?"
I speak for the people and we say its unacceptable. Bring back 3d with those red and blue glasses!
@themcnoisy
Move over PSVR, haven't you heard of the SEGA Master System and 3-D glasses?
Given that it's the same price as a new console, I suspect they rather need to treat the launch as such.
@kyleforrester87 If sony stand by their product like ps3 I think ps vr can succeed (by keep making exclusive games and lowering the price in about 2-3 year), if they just abandon it after a couple of try like ps vita, I don't think vr has a chance, and I mean all of vr not just ps vr. I mean look at the oculus and vive, after launch there's nearly zero news about them.
If you have patience, waiting for about 1-2 year after launch is the perfect time to see if ps vr still got support from the industry or not. I don't think I can wait that long though
Oh crap, it's Kinect all over again...
@GamerDad66 Have you experienced VR before?
Ill take the being "corded" sacrifice.
I am also a huge fan of 3D and this desnt only make it better buts its all around you but the immersion alone is worth it. With time it will go wireless. Lets enjoy tne future. We are in the year 2000 of the movies of yesterdays!
Pre-ordered - always been an early adopter; o2 XDA (remember that?), PSP, Vita, Apple Watch - now this.
I can't wait to play these VR titles; Driveclub, Getaway, Tekken 7 & Batman - and am seriously considering the Thrustmaster T300RS for the ultimate Driveclub VR experience - which looks damn exciting 😏
It's really now our interface with gaming which requires the next evolution - the hardware for powering HP Lovecraftian worlds exist, now our immersion through physical / visual controls must evolve from button presses to mimicking actual movement and 3D space......
...arguably VR gsming in 2-3 years, with a FULLY 3D virtual reality for 360-degree Tekken or GTA, will represent the next milestone in gaming.
Until then, how I would LOVE following in VR; Wipeout HD, Bioshock and GTA 5 😎
Every "new system launch" resets previous success. If Sony wants to make PSVR a "new launch", they are risking the entire PS4 ecosystem. Welcome to flopsland, Sony!
@Galvatron Lord Galvatron, so glad to see you on here again!
I'm honestly pretty excited about the PSVR, even though things like the Vive really didn't hit me. I'd have loved to see Silent Hills fully immersive with VR (but we all know that will never happen) so maybe Resident Evil 7 will fill that need for me!
@Azikira - Galvatron acknowledges your acknowledgement 😉
Indeed, it's quite exciting and actually very new, uncharted hardware for our eyes - I'm specifically interested in what a number of reviewers have said about the Driveclub VR experience, that by moving your head 'into' the turn you are about to undertake it improves driving ability and is much more realistic.
That bodes very well as it will improve gaming experiences overall, so there's reasons to be optimistic it won't be a fad. Deposing on Sony's first-party support which will need to be a hell of a lot more sustained than the Vita - which even now is a phenomenally advanced multimedia powerhouse, literally a portable PlayStation....
.....but keen to know if the Getaway gets a full VR release at some stage - on PS2 that game was 10 years ahead of its competitors.
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