New PlayStation VR - 10 Important Facts Before You Buy
Want a new PlayStation VR but unsure about what games to buy? Sony's included a demo disk of the greatest PSVR games
The new PlayStation VR launches in exactly one month and, to help whet people's appetite for the future of Sony hardware, the Japanese company has announced that it'll be bundling a demo disc in with every PlayStation VR.
At the moment, all launch-day new PlayStation VR bundles will come with a copy of PSVR Worlds, but going forward every new PlayStation VR will come with a meaty demo disc containing trial versions of 18 virtual-reality games. If you like the games enough, you can even buy them directly from the PlayStation Store and get playing the full game within minutes – if your internet connection is fast enough, that is.
Every new PlayStation VR owner will be able to play:
- Allumette
- Battlezone
- DriveClub VR
- EVE: Valkyrie
- Gnog
- Harmonix Music VR
- Headmaster
- Here They Lie
- Job Simulator
- PlayStation VR Worlds
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – Kitchen teaser
- REZ Infinite
- RIGS Mechanised Combat League
- Thumper
- Tumble VR
- Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
- Wayward Sky
- Within
Now it's time to start wondering if Sony will do the same with a slew of 4K HDR game demos for PS4 Pro.
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PlayStation VR: 10 key facts to know
The new PlayStation VR is Sony’s first real foray into the world of virtual reality after testing the technology through various high-end, and ludicrously expensive, 3D “personal viewers”.
It’s this experience in the sector that’s led Sony to bring VR gaming to its PS4 and PS4 Pro consoles – a feat thought unimaginable by this generation’s hardware. The added power of the PS4 Pro also helps make PlayStation VR a viable gaming experience, boosting texture quality and helping games run at that silky-smooth 120Hz refresh rate Sony expects games to hit.
But why should you really care about PlayStation VR and Sony’s plan for the future of virtual-reality gaming experiences? Here’s everything you need to know about PlayStation VR and why it’s as exciting as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.
1. PlayStation VR costs $399
Sony announced that the new PlayStation VR will cost $399 on launch, placing it squarely within its earlier claims that it would price the unit as “a new gaming platform”.
Pricing the PlayStation VR at $399 puts it at exactly the same price the PlayStation 4 was on launch in 2013. With the PS4 Pro launching almost exatly a month later at the same price, you could pick up a PlayStation VR and PS4 Pro for the same price as buying a HTC Vive without a computer to run it on.
2. PlayStation VR releases 13 October 2016
During the San Francisco Game Developers Conference, Sony revealed that PlayStation VR would have a worldwide release date of October. During Sony's E3 presser, the release date was finally announced as 13 October 2016, to many whoops and hollers from the audience.
3. PlayStation VR will launch with 50 titles
When PlayStation VR releases in October, it will also have 50 titles available for purchase within its launch window. Sony has stated that it’s working with more than 230 developers around the world to bring titles to PlayStation VR. It’s hard to believe these will all be big blockbuster releases, but having 50 titles to choose from on launch is always nice.(html comment removed: nextpage)
4. PlayStation VR games will be full-priced titles
If you thought that PlayStation VR games would be cheaper than your average release due to the need for expensive PSVR hardware, you'd be mistaken.
Prices for some PlayStation VR titles have gone live on the Sony PlayStation Network Store and they're not as cheap as you may have hoped. Tumble VR is, by far, the cheapest at £7.99 and a couple of other download-only titles are a reasonable £15.99 too. However, both PlayStation VR Worlds and RIGS come in at £34.99 and £54.99 respectively – indicating that titles also slated for a retail release will still be treated as standard full-price releases.
5. PlayStation VR could come to PC
While PlayStation VR will come to PS4 and PS4 Pro on launch, Sony’s vice president Masayasu Ito hasn’t ruled out bringing it to the PC at a later date.
Japanese newspaper Nikkei (translated by Eurogamer) was told by Ito that: “The possibility exists [to bring PlayStation VR to PC] since the PlayStation 4 shares many of its parts with the PC. At the moment we’re concentrating on games, so I have nothing to announce at this point, but we’re looking to expand in a variety of areas.”
6. PlayStation VR is the slickest-looking headset around
Sporting a black, curved visor, LED-illuminated positional trackers, and a unique headband to improve user comfort, PlayStation VR genuinely looks like what you’d expect a VR headset to look like. It puts both Oculus Rift’s sleek black exterior and HTC Vive’s pock-marked unit to shame.
7. PlayStation VR no longer features bone-conduction headphones
Early rumours indicated that, instead of headphones, the PlayStation VR would have bone-conduction headphones built into its headband. This has been removed in favour of standard earbuds or headphones. You can even opt to play sound from your TV if you’d rather not feel fully immersed.8. PlayStation VR is the least high-spec of the three main VR headsets
Part of the reason why Sony’s device is so much cheaper than other VR headsets on the market is because of its lower-specification hardware. Unlike the Vive and Rift’s 1,080 x 1,200 resolution per eye, PlayStation VR features twin Full HD 1080p OLED displays (960 x 1,080 per eye) and a field of view of 90 degrees – opposed to the 100 degrees in HTC and Oculus’ devices. It does, however, have the highest refresh rate of 120Hz, although it’s believed most games don’t run at such speeds natively.(html comment removed: nextpage)
9. PlayStation VR’s breakout box doesn’t give the PS4 a power boost...
Rumours suggested that Sony’s mysterious breakout box contained some form of black magic to make it work on a PS4, but this has now been revealed as untrue. In fact, all PlayStation VR’s little box does is help untangle the VR image so that it can display on your TV as normal and modify audio to work with virtual-reality environments.
10. But using a PS4 Pro will
Revealed during Sony's PlayStation Meeting, the upcoming PS4 Pro hardware will actually provide a boost to PlayStation VR's functionality. Obviously it won't change the capability of the hardware itself, but games will run smoother in VR when used on a PS4 Pro.
In fact, the added power of the PS4 Pro means that VR environments will appear richer, making use of higher texture quality and environmental effects. If anything, it'll mean that Driveclub VR on PS4 Pro won't be as barren as it is on a standard PS4.
11. PlayStation Move is being revived for the new PlayStation VR
Deemed by many as a complete failure, Sony’s PlayStation Move is coming back with PlayStation VR. If you’ve still got some of those wands tucked away in the back of your controller drawer, now’s the time to break them out and put them on charge again.
While the DualShock 4 will be the primary input method for most games, PlayStation Move should work with a lot of titles, especially those where physicality is important to the VR experience.