The New PlayStation VR - Virtual Reality for Everybody?
Everybody has heard of Virtual Reality, some have tested it - but almost no one actually has a device at home which they can use regularly.
Well Sony, is trying to change that now.
The new Virtual Reality Glasses for the PlayStation (PSVR) come at the affordable price of €399 and offer a fun virtual reality experience for PlayStation users that want to spice up their games with a new dimension of gameplay.
The new VR Glasses launched on October 13, and had many gamers around the world excited for the release.
While other Virtual Reality Gadgets like the Oculus Rift, HTC's Vive and the Microsoft Hololens were all released this year, Sony decided to do something different and offer their product for only about half of the price.
This makes it a lot more attractive for hobby-gamers and virtual reality newcomers - but of course, the "low" price also has a reason: the graphics are not as high end as you might expect.
The screen of the glasses measures 5.7" diagonally (a similar size to a galaxy note 7) and offers a screen resolution of 1920x1080. In comparison, both the oculus rift and HTC vive offer 1200x1080.
Once you start the game and put on the glasses, you will realize quickly that the graphics are not as sharp and smooth as you'd expect them to be from a 2016 tech-gadget.
Maybe it would've been a smarter decision to raise the price a few hundred dollars, but improve the quality instead?
That depends on your personal opinion - for Virtual Reality newcomers, this might already be exciting enough.
While the low resolution is for sure the biggest disadvantage of the glasses, they have a lot of positive aspects as well.
The 3D effects are amazingly realistic, the reaction time has little to no delay (only 18 milliseconds), and the field of vision is exceptionally large with its 100 degrees.
The glasses are also very comfortable to wear, and are much lighter than the rivals Oculus Rift or Vive since the processor has been separated from the glasses itself and are connected with a cable.
To use the glasses, you actually need to buy a PlayStation camera for around €60 as well.
The camera tracks the blue light that emits from the VR glasses, as well as the light from the controller, and supplies this information to the game.
This technology works very well - even in low light.
While you can use your regular Dualshock controller for most games, the PlayStation Move controllers with the rubber spheres on top can also be used for certain games and offer more options for movements and controlling.
So which games can you actually play with the new VR glasses?
That's probably the most important question!
Over 40 games have already integrated the VR into their gameplay, and some of the most popular games include:
- Final Fantasy 15
- Eve Valkyrie
- Gran Tourismo Sport
- Batman - Arkham VR
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Instagram -
© Sirwinchester
Great post. I actually made my father and brother go to a store demo to try them out with me. I got to play Eve Valkyrie and it was fantastic, even with the low res (though, admittedly, I haven't tried Oculus or Vive yet). I think the low price point is going to be a real turning point for VR. When people actually get their hands on this stuff it's going to begin spreading quickly.
yes I think so too - they made a good decision with dropping the price. ALthough maybe they could've increased resolution at least a little bit, because this way the glasses will be outdated in a very short time
Mm. True story. Given the price, you'd want it to last for a while.
Some aspects of your post surprise me, as a VR enthusiast and owner of the HTC Vive. Although the specs are quite different, as far as I know the PSVR still matches the graphics of the Vive in practice (though frequently sacrificing frame rate, which is crucial). New users of both will be surprised at the apparent low resolution when they first put it on. But as soon as you start moving you stop noticing that, because it just feels real.
The real difference between the Vive and PSVR aside from affordability, is the fidelity and range/scope of movement. The Move controllers are old tech and it shows. The Vive controllers are perfect 1:1 between reality and VR, the move controllers are anything but. The headset has better movement fidelity, but it's shortcomings are a larger issue. Failures for head tracking are much more likely to induce motion sickness. It rarely happens with the Vive as long as your stations are well mounted. It happens often enough to be an issue with PSVR. With the Vive you can walk around the whole room (you have to try it to know how cool it is) PSVR has a narrow range you need to stay within.
I will say that I wish my Vive attached to the head in the same way, that was a big innovation.
that's interesting to hear about your point of view!
I'm sure the HTC vive is amazing as well.
I think the "low resolution" is just something that we need to deal with - and it's fine if that doesn't take away from the experience.
thanks for your input!
Yo I'm hyped for VR! Just got this bad boy for my S7 Edge on Amazon. Lookin to get a feel for VR before I jump to a bigger more expensive setup. Not bad for $20. $5 more than Google cardboard lol.
haha, yes that can be a fun alternative!
I think the resolution is actually okay for the price. I mean, it’s till VR, and it’s playstation games!
virtual reality looks so awesome, I'd love to try it one day! can't imagine what it's like!
They have demos in some places now. If you look online you can see if there's one near you.
you are right, I think I dont know ANYONE that actually has VR glasses at home ^^
the number of people who Actually own an oculus rift or something like that is really small!
I have the Samsung vr goggles. They use the S7 edge as the screen. Samsung even has a video camera available. Bit pricey for my taste at $500 but does the job well.
finally an „affordable“ VR option for normal people. I’m really thinking about getting it!
these look so fun, I wanna try it!!
tomb raider in VR? that must be AWESOME !!
yes I think so too!
A friend of mine has the oculus rift, and although these are nice I think the quality is still nothing compared to them (but of course double the price too)
Yes I can imagine that..