Daft Posted March 18, 2014 Posted March 18, 2014 Will Sony Computer Entertainment announce a virtual reality headset all of its own tonight? This will be a very interesting watch. This will live or die by whether it is proprietary or not. I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be.
Debug Mode Posted March 18, 2014 Posted March 18, 2014 There have been a lot of rumours about Sony possibly bringing virtual reality to the table, but I think I'll still be surprised if they announce it. For a console, the PS4 is pretty powerful, but the resolution of the two screens inside the head piece is going to be very important and I'm not exactly sure if the PS4 is capable of rendering two 720p images at the same time. I know the PS3 could do it, but I've been under the impression this was made possible by the dynamic frame buffer technology that would change resolutions on the fly (though if I'm wrong on this, please correct me). Although many are calling for 120 frames per second for a convincing experience, I'm curious as to whether they'll try and go for at least 60 on the headset. Performance is going to be paramount for screens that close to your face.
bryanee Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) The conference is going on right now and its pretty much confirmed. They have been working on it since 2010 and they showed footage of God of War in first person. I cannot fucking wait. Here it is. Edited March 19, 2014 by bryanee Automerged Doublepost
Serebii Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Exciting stuff. if it works as they hope, it could be good, but it could easily fall into the pit of other peripherals.
Dcubed Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) The issue behind these things is of control and Sony's solution doesn't fix that problem. If you want total immersion like in Star Trek or that sort of thing, you need something like Kinect to go along with it (but have it actually work ) Otherwise you're just playing a normal traditional game with a wide encompassing field of view The headtracking is the only real transformative part of the experience (in terms of pure gameplay mechanics) currently - the rest is just a typical 3D display that happens to be close to your face... Plus the concept itself is just so dorkish. Good luck trying to convince Joe Average to stick this on him and walk around bumping into things like a fool :p It's an inherently anti-social device... Edited March 19, 2014 by Dcubed
Serebii Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 (edited) The issue behind these things is of control and Sony's solution doesn't fix that problem. If you want total immersion like in Star Trek or that sort of thing, you need something like Kinect to go along with it (but have it actually work ) Otherwise you're just playing a normal traditional game with a wide encompassing field of view The headtracking is the only real transformative part of the experience (in terms of pure gameplay mechanics) currently - the rest is just a typical 3D display that happens to be close to your face... Plus the concept itself is just so dorkish. Good luck trying to convince Joe Average to stick this on him and walk around bumping into things like a fool :p Plus the price point. £350 PS4 + ~£200 headset. It's not going to be cheap. That's a great big barrier of entry. Though, by launch, the PS4 should be cheaper. Edited March 19, 2014 by Serebii
Shorty Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Unless you already have a PS4 you didn't buy for VR... like 6 million people do. @Dcubed has nailed it though. Having a gun stuck to the corner of your vision in an FPS really breaks the immersion, it's all about the accessory/control method when it comes to real gaming.
Ashley Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Screw VR, I want to buy a crystal ball like Serebii's.
Serebii Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Unless you already have a PS4 you didn't buy for VR... like 6 million people do. @Dcubed has nailed it though. Having a gun stuck to the corner of your vision in an FPS really breaks the immersion, it's all about the accessory/control method when it comes to real gaming. This is true, but to entice new consumers with it, the huge cost for everything required before you even get to software would be off putting.
Ashley Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 But you're making a guess at the price of the VR machine and the cost of the PS4 when it does come out. It's a completely asinine prediction at this stage without any grounding.
Serebii Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 But you're making a guess at the price of the VR machine and the cost of the PS4 when it does come out. It's a completely asinine prediction at this stage without any grounding. Based on statements Yoshida said at GDC and the general consensus around the net. Come on Ashley, this isn't exactly going to be a £50 peripheral.
Daft Posted March 19, 2014 Author Posted March 19, 2014 They're looking at it as more than a peripheral. "Our philosophy with VR is that it's a medium, not a peripheral... presence will be the killer app for VR." There's no reason why this won't work on devices beyond the PS4.
Zechs Merquise Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 But you're making a guess at the price of the VR machine and the cost of the PS4 when it does come out. It's a completely asinine prediction at this stage without any grounding. Come on, it's not going to be cheap is it? If the Wii U gamepad costs around £100 this thing is going to be more expensive than that. I think around £200 would be a safe bet, unless heavily subsidised. I think it is an exciting development though. At the recent Play Expo the Oculus Rift was the real stand out product at the show. I was really impressed and felt it added much more to the game I played than I ever imagined it would. I played a racing game and I genuinely felt the feeling of speed and nervous about crashing. It felt real. If this is something that becomes mainstream it would present an exciting future for gaming and present new opportunities that bring the player closer to the game world rather than simply upping the graphical fidelity.
Cube Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 I got the opportunity of trying the Oculus Rift at Play Expo. While I was very impressed, I can't see it as my main way of playing games, which is why I'm unlikely to get one. I'm also sceptical of how the device will feel outside of vehicle based games (which were the only ones on show). It works in a vehicle because both you and the character is sitting still. That said, I would probably give both my kidneys for a new (well-made) Rogue Squadron game that supports VR.
Serebii Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Coming this year for PC with Oculus Rift. Has been confirmed to be coming for PS4 with this, too. Not Rogue Squadron, but close.
Ashley Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Based on statements Yoshida said at GDC and the general consensus around the net. Come on Ashley, this isn't exactly going to be a £50 peripheral. Come on, it's not going to be cheap is it? If the Wii U gamepad costs around £100 this thing is going to be more expensive than that. I think around £200 would be a safe bet, unless heavily subsidised. Well yes obviously, please don't assume me to be an idiot. What I was saying is we don't know the price, nor do we know the price of the PS4 when it launches so to say the "high cost is a barrier to entry" is pointless right now because the main component (i.e. the cost) is currently unknown. It won't be cheap, obviously, but cost is about perceived value. There's no point saying "this device we've seen today is going to cost £550 and thus will be a barrier to entry" because its full of unknowns. It's just an attempt to undermine something we currently know very little about.
Shorty Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Agreed ^ If it was released at £300 and people said "there's still a lot of bugs, the interface options are poor, support is weak", it would be "expensive". If it was released at £300 and the feedback was as good as it could be, I'd probably pre-order without even caring about the cost.
Agent Gibbs Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 oh my god.....I want that in my life! this is far better for antisocial/social offscreen gaming than a WiiU/Gamepad or PS4/Vita (thats a good thing for me) the really sad thing about this though.... my first thought was this would be awesome with a space sim, like Xwing Vs Tie, Xwing Aliance, Rogue Squadren! for cock pit views etc....then i remembered not only were none of them on sony consoles...but lucas arts is gone
Shorty Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 There are several flight sims/space flight sims in development for the OR. And some people might even port an OR version of those you mentioned.
Sheikah Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Screw VR, I want to buy a crystal ball like Serebii's. Ooh, dibs on his seismometer!
Grazza Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 I like it. Regarding price, I think the point is that people already perceive the PS4 to be acceptable value. If Sony had made the PS4 barely more powerful than the PS3 and they were forcing everyone to pay for the VR tech (which they might not want), it would be a flop, but they're not. It's now Sony's job to make this VR tech exciting enough in its own right for people to pay the asking amount. Whether they can achieve that or not, we'll see, but they've got the principle right.
bob Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Right now I'm leaning towards getting a Rift since I'd rather not have to buy a ps4 just to use it on. But I'm incredibly excited about there not only being possible VR on the horizon, but there being a choice of two or three.
Agent Gibbs Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 There are several flight sims/space flight sims in development for the OR. And some people might even port an OR version of those you mentioned. nuhohmygawd randymarsh.gif
Debug Mode Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 I will definitely be keeping my eye on this. There's no way it's going to be proprietary, I'm just curious how it'll stack up against the OR.
Hero-of-Time Posted March 19, 2014 Posted March 19, 2014 Gaf has nicely placed a lot of the hands on impressions in a thread. They all seem to be very positive and it's one sexy looking piece of kit. HERE
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