How big are you expecting the PS4 VR to be?

[Matt_B]

I predict it'll be bigger and longer-lasting than the Cybermaxx and the Virtual Boy.

Seriously, with the history of VR gaming being the decades-long succession of false dawns that it is, you've surely got to be a little bit sceptical no matter how good an initial impression it makes. Sony have certainly delivered a refined product that'll be going into many a Christmas stocking, but whether it'll sustain itself in the long run still depends on gamers changing the habits of a lifetime and developers having the faith to stick with it through an transitioning period of uncertain returns.

[shinymcshine]

Back from PSVR trail in Bristol, and, wow, it was good.

Played the following demos, each around 5-10 mins:

Until Dawn Rush of Blood-
On the rails shooter, decent twin gun control using Move, visuals a bit blurry (resolution rather than focus) and a few jumpy moments. Best part was when people ran up to you, felt like ducking a few times. Rollercoaster motion was fine, but you are still conscious that you arent actually moving. Range of head movement and vision good, but, as someone who doesnt like fairground ghost trains it wasn't really that scary (albeit probably would have screamed if someone touched me during play!)

Battle zone
This was really good, much clearer (probably due to relative simplicity of graphics) and the mech cab was well detailed too.This used the dualshock control, which worked fine. I had a head spinning moment when looking up to target flying things whilst aiming, but overall really enjoyable.

Resident Evil 7
Wandered around a very brown old house as a child being chased by an old woman, no weapons, so just hiding and moving. Used dual shock, albeit this time the right stick jumped in 30° increments rather than moving smoothly (you can also change direction slowly throughhead movement). This took some getting use to. Visuals were detailed,albeit very brown, decent use of candle and lantern lighting. The family meal scene at the end of the demo was the best part of this one.

Weirdly I'm so use to playing games in fixed position (looking ahead) had to remember to look around now & again.

In terms of set up they had the camera mounted on a pole, about 5 ft high to the right of the screen,and you sat in a chair square on to the screen, about 2 ft away (obviously screen is there so the staff can see what's going on). No idea how sensitive the PSVR is to fluctuations in set up (assume what we had was ideal) in terms of how your house is set up, where chair is, effect of ambient light sources etc. A few time I found the VR cable irritating, leaning on it etc,and don't know how long its lead is to connect with PS4.

Asked a few questions about file/install sizes of VR games, no-one really had much of a clue, over them being about the same size as regular games. Asked guy if PSVR would be better with PS4 Pro, he said no .

Overall,much better than I expected, but not sure its worth £450 set up (headset+camera+move controllers+headphones? - Had it been £250 I'd have bought it today) but will be keen if price drops and there's a decent game catalogue too.

[Megamixer]

If it doesn't become more affordable then the install base just won't grow enough for a cheaper, updated v.2.0 to be noticed. It needs to gain serious traction before third party devs can't be arsed to utilise it or even develop exclusively for the VR.

I'm actually amazed that so many people on here (and other forums) have got one + a load of games! Employers must have been giving out a lot of bonuses recently lol.

[Antiriad2097]

It does have the distinct benefit of being an 'off screen' experience. Mrs Ant could be watching telly and I could pull out a headset and play. Even if games just project onto a 2D virtual TV screen within that space it could be useful.

Sadly i think the Vita is better equipped for this. The pixelation can be a bit much for some games. It's neat at first but i just couldn't play for hours using this view.

I have plenty of handheld/small screen options already though. This is a nice compact setup for 'big screen' gaming since it fills your field of vision.

[Negative Creep]

Seems like this decade's version of motion controls. Great for a certain sort of experience, but will only be a gimmick and most sets will end up gathering dust after the novelty wears off. Although let's face it, people are going to use it to watch porn so that market will help.

[outdated_gamer]

It's deff. not a gimmick for simulation and horror fans, how it will fare in other type of games remains to be seen. I will say many VR games are more "experiences" than "games" though, which means they're interesting but may not have a long-lasting value. It's also a question if it will become mainstream, so far it's mostly enthusiasts who excite over it, the average person may be turned off by the motion sickness, eye damage at prolonged usage, problems with coordination and such things. But it's deff. the closest we will come to merging fantasy with reality, unless AR picks up which will twist things even more. Pokemon GO was probably just a small taste of what's yet to come.

You're right. It's definitely not a gimmick, and there's no guarantee this version will be mainstream, because it's currently so expensive. With regards to your conjecture about motion sickness and other issues, that sounds like something the Daily Mail would proclaim. Although you're right in that some people will inevitably have issues in the same way that some people get car and sea sick.

It's completely misinformed though to suggest that the games are experiences with no lasting value, though.

Yes, the demo where you're lowered into a cage and can't do anything is an experience. Yes the Cheap MDF rubbish Demo is an experience, and so is Allumette (although that's a movie, not a game) and yes Batman VR is largely an experience (but the best you'll ever have in a Batman title) but after that your reasoning is massively off.

Until Dawn is a full blown on-rails shooter with 4 difficulty levels, multiple routes and things to collect. It's every bit as much a game as Virtua Cop or Dead Space Extraction.
Driveclub VR is a big racing game with multiplayer modes, single challenges, online challenges and a big campaign mode.
RIGS is a gigantic sprawling competitive shooter that has replaced Speedball 2 as my favourite futuristic sports game.
Eve Valkyrie has an underdeveloped single player game but I can't see myself becoming tired of its multiplayer mode (no sooner than any similar game).
Bound is a beautiful looking platformer that was most definitely a game before it was converted to work in VR, same with Super Stardust
Rez is most definitely a game and an amazing one at that.
Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes is a party game, but most definitely a game.
Battlezone is a huge sprawling shooter that will take an age to complete.

There's plenty more but I've not got time to list them all.
Basically, suggesting there's not games, suggests you've not really spent any actual time playing one other than having a quick go around a friend's house or waiting in line at an Expo somewhere.

Yeah, I'm basing my view on what I've tried of the free VR titles out there, it's mostly just tech demos so to speak. It seems some "proper" VR titles have already started comming out, Serious Sam VR being one of them. On the other hand, VR exclusive titles could mean there will be less "traditional" games, I hope not all devs will jump aboard and force VR to players. One thing that falls in the eye is also the strange rivalry between the different VR platforms. It seems Oculus, Vive and PS VR all try to compete with each other for consumers with tactics like exclusive titles and such. And while I understand that Sony is keeping PS VR exclusive to PlayStation, I find the rivalry between Oculus and Vive a bit jarring. I think we don't need even more different platforms out there, especially not for such novel (if technically old) tech as VR is.

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

Well that makes sense why you said what you said.
It's interesting What you say about the three systems. They are rivals so it's no different to rival exclusives on console. I think as long as there is good word of mouth, good games and support it can be fine. Too many companies outside of just videogame ones seem to invested for this to suddenly go away. It's an exciting time to be a gamer for me.

[Analog]

I think it needs more exclusive games from well established franchises to really push it forward. resident evil is a step in the right direction and seems perfect for this sort of thing. has anyone made a dedicated fps vr game? i'm just thinking of the potential down the line if there was a call of duty made specifically for vr... cod fans are crying out for something original and with the numbers cod games sell it could help shift huge amounts of headsets.

[Shinobi]

Played a VR down my friends last night and Wow I was blown away!! Resident Evil the Cheap MDF rubbish is terrifying the
Man in the room with you at the start I thought was my friend messing around, and that ghost girl or whatever she is just put the censored up me, when she sticks her face into yours when your tied to the chair I was literally backing away from her in my seat.. After Ghost Girl drags of the dude who's trying to help you I tried to escape my restraints.. Next thing I see is long hair hanging over ny face and a pair of hands cover the VR as Ghost Girl is behind me..

The platform game is also really good nice touches like the ivy moves as you pass under it.. VR really adds to this game!

Battlefield and Valkyrie are both really good weird actually being in the cockpit

Rez looks lovely as expected

Hatsune Mika is also Fab and I'd say a must buy

Until Dawn gave me motion sickness thought the sofa was moving at first..

Thumpers is very relaxing almost hypnotic music

The game with the woman getting chased around a subway by a goat headed demon is a bit of a head f.. Reminds me of the British horror film creep, got to a bit where the subway dispears and your among the splendours of space not sure what to do next..

I want one

Edit every time I type Cheap MDF rubbish it appears on the forum as cheap rubish

[Antiriad2097]

Time for a RapeLay HD remake?

[Rayne]

Well I've sold mine now for a £100 profit at least.

VR is far and away one of the most incredible entertainment experiences I've had in years. You literally cannot describe the experience with words, you have to see it for yourself. For film, media & fun it may be the future...for gaming? I'm not convinced.

I very quickly grew bored with the games that were available and the upcoming titles didn't fill me with confidence. Add to that the general discomfort that comes from wearing the headset for more than an hour (and headaches/migraines) and you have a peripheral that stuns in short bursts but absolutely sucks for general gaming sessions.

I'd recommend everyone jump in and give it a go. I wouldn't recommend anyone drop the current asking price.

[JamesC]

I've had a go and didn't really like the feeling of being unaware of what was going on around me.
It's certainly impressive but I don't think it's for me.
I can see this causing social problems for people who really get into it. I can't imagine anything more anti-social than sticking that headset on and ignoring everyone else in the house! I foresee Xmas arguments as mums tear off headsets at dinner time!

[General Opulence]

Well I've sold mine now for a £100 profit at least.

VR is far and away one of the most incredible entertainment experiences I've had in years. You literally cannot describe the experience with words, you have to see it for yourself. For film, media & fun it may be the future...for gaming? I'm not convinced.

I very quickly grew bored with the games that were available and the upcoming titles didn't fill me with confidence. Add to that the general discomfort that comes from wearing the headset for more than an hour (and headaches/migraines) and you have a peripheral that stuns in short bursts but absolutely sucks for general gaming sessions.

I'd recommend everyone jump in and give it a go. I wouldn't recommend anyone drop the current asking price.

This exactly!

Whilst i waited 20 odd years to finally get a home VR headset, and yes its amazing, it does become tired after 6-12 months, it won't become the next big thing, but i foresee its future as a compliment to PS4, the odd AAA title will be compatible (more atm of course), the rest VR experiences will come from indie devs.

I hope Sony release one with double res screen of the current one next year to utilise the extra power of the PS4 Pro rather than make the gfx twice as pretty, the biggest downside of any VR headset is the resolution, anyone who has used one will know its about the experience and framerates rather than the gfx.

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

Hardly validation though.
He clearly can't play it for any length of time without it affecting him so he's getting rid of it. I'd probably do the same if I'd spent several hundred pounds on something and couldn't use it properly. As for games coming out? Resident evil 7, eagle flight and psychonauts are all worth waiting for for me. Everyone is different though. It is strange how you seem to be getting genuine enjoyment out of someone selling their headset though...

I'd imagine you'll be right about the better resolutions, although that might be beyond the current gen of consoles.

[General Opulence]

It is strange how you seem to be getting genuine enjoyment out of someone selling their headset though...
.

How on earth did you jump to that conclusion?! I was agreeing with what he said, it's no business of mine if he sold it or not, I was hardly laughing at him for getting a migraine, I don't understand how you reached that conclusion?