PlayStation VR 2 Announced - PSVR - Launches Feb 22 - $549.99 £529.99 €599.99

[heyadol]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Heyadol, did you test out or buy an Apple Vision Pro? That's cool that you were able to watch 3D films on there already if so.

Can you play Steam games on there? If so, that is good to hear. I'm not buying one unless it was much cheaper, but sounds like a fun step into augmented reality.

Now if a gamer can walk around the house with the headset on in AR, and see their house turn into a dragon's cave, battling monsters and the dragon, that would be really cool.

I picked one up over the weekend, it is really comfortable and easy to use. So far the iTunes 3D movies look great, free upgrade for 50 or so movies I've purchased over the years so that is nice. I really hope Plex (or anyone) makes a spatial version of their media player that also supports 3D movie playback...not that I would think of "re-factoring" my 3D Blu-rays to a compatible format or anything

Disney+ also has some great looking 3D playback. I love how Disney+ includes IMAX versions of some of their catalog, but it's too bad the IMAX versions are flat and not 3D.

No Vudu app yet so those 3D movies are not accessible here.

Steam link is working great, it is the same reasonable latency as it is over a mobile device but obviously if you need precise timing it's best to be at your PC. No SteamVR support, but the company who is making PSVR2 drivers for SteamVR is working on something for AVP.

I hope Sony opts-in for their iPad app or makes a spatial compatible PS app.

I suspect that most of us in this thread are users of some form of head mounted display, this is more immersive than any previous model I've experienced. While the image quality is a lot better than PSVR2, the price is ridiculous. As much as I love gadgets, I feel like I need to turn this into a more productive device for it to be remotely worth it. Next Spring I'm sure a comparable model will come out for half the price and the ecosystem will be improved, so my advice is to wait.

Originally Posted by master gandhi

Fun idea, but I can just picture some innocent partner/family member getting hit IRL.

When the wife gets back from vacation, she better be careful when I'm playing What the Golf

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by master gandhi

Fun idea, but I can just picture some innocent partner/family member getting hit IRL.

Ha, especially if they are turned into one of the enemy creatures shooting a fireball at the player.

Originally Posted by heyadol

I picked one up over the weekend, it is really comfortable and easy to use. So far the iTunes 3D movies look great, free upgrade for 50 or so movies I've purchased over the years so that is nice. I really hope Plex (or anyone) makes a spatial version of their media player that also supports 3D movie playback...not that I would think of "re-factoring" my 3D Blu-rays to a compatible format or anything

Disney+ also has some great looking 3D playback. I love how Disney+ includes IMAX versions of some of their catalog, but it's too bad the IMAX versions are flat and not 3D.

No Vudu app yet so those 3D movies are not accessible here.

Steam link is working great, it is the same reasonable latency as it is over a mobile device but obviously if you need precise timing it's best to be at your PC. No SteamVR support, but the company who is making PSVR2 drivers for SteamVR is working on something for AVP.

I hope Sony opts-in for their iPad app or makes a spatial compatible PS app.

I suspect that most of us in this thread are users of some form of head mounted display, this is more immersive than any previous model I've experienced. While the image quality is a lot better than PSVR2, the price is ridiculous. As much as I love gadgets, I feel like I need to turn this into a more productive device for it to be remotely worth it. Next Spring I'm sure a comparable model will come out for half the price and the ecosystem will be improved, so my advice is to wait.



When the wife gets back from vacation, she better be careful when I'm playing What the Golf

Cool, thanks for the information on Vision Pro. If you're able to work on your Apple computer software, or type reports or whatever work you need to do and then be able to go from there, that could be useful and neat in the AR realm.

Does it always need to be connected online to function for just basic tasks? Can you download any of the 3D movies?
I wonder how storage is for downloading stuff, or if you can expand with an external hard drive?

Yes, the price is very expensive. I'd need full access to computer software to install on Vision Pro. That could be could if it could let users pick up a brush and start painting as if in real life if someone didn't have real life paints around or didn't want to make a mess, since digital is virtual.

What is the coolest application you've seen so far on Vision Pro aside from the 3D movies? Imax, that screen must look gigantic. Can you sit in a theater with the seats and pick your seat? That would be awesome. Make it like a movie theater experience.

[ckenisell]

Originally Posted by heyadol

Disney+ also has some great looking 3D playback. I love how Disney+ includes IMAX versions of some of their catalog, but it's too bad the IMAX versions are flat and not 3D.

Wait. Did I just read this correctly? Disney+ supports 3D on the Apple Vision Pro? Is this the only platform that Disney+ has support for 3D playback? Why not Apple TV?

[bradnoyes]

It would be interesting if you could watch the "IMAX" versions of films in the legit IMAX ratio and not just the 16:9 "fill your screen like a TV commercial" version that is typically available.

[heyadol]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Ha, especially if they are turned into one of the enemy creatures shooting a fireball at the player.



Cool, thanks for the information on Vision Pro. If you're able to work on your Apple computer software, or type reports or whatever work you need to do and then be able to go from there, that could be useful and neat in the AR realm.

Does it always need to be connected online to function for just basic tasks? Can you download any of the 3D movies?
I wonder how storage is for downloading stuff, or if you can expand with an external hard drive?

Yes, the price is very expensive. I'd need full access to computer software to install on Vision Pro. That could be could if it could let users pick up a brush and start painting as if in real life if someone didn't have real life paints around or didn't want to make a mess, since digital is virtual.

What is the coolest application you've seen so far on Vision Pro aside from the 3D movies? Imax, that screen must look gigantic. Can you sit in a theater with the seats and pick your seat? That would be awesome. Make it like a movie theater experience.

Honestly I've spent most of my time enjoying 3D movies, it has been a long time since I watched that way. With the Apple TV app, you can choose front/middle/back rows along with floor/balcony height, this mode also spills light along the floor and ceiling of the virtual theater which looks kind of nice. I started The Dark Knight to see if it had the IMAX scenes incorporated (nope), but if you are not in theater mode there is a glow behind the frame that matches the lighting on screen, similar to Philips Hue HDMI sync; it works in Apple TV and Movies Anywhere but I don't know if every movie supports that feature. Some movies I own with 3D versions do not show up in my library, I have to search for them. Hopefully that is something that gets corrected. Final observation, I haven't seen any "frame breaks" like they have in a real theater and some 3D Blu-rays, would be cool if that gets added as well.

Originally Posted by ckenisell

Wait. Did I just read this correctly? Disney+ supports 3D on the Apple Vision Pro? Is this the only platform that Disney+ has support for 3D playback? Why not Apple TV?

Looks like Disney partnered with Apple on this as they have done over the years, you. may remember Disney movies were among the first available for purchase in iTunes. I'm sure this will expand to Meta, maybe some the Android app will support it so other AR glasses can use it as well. As far as Apple TV, I think the only apps that support 3D playback are Vudu (hSBS) and Plex (hSBS & hOU). Side note, Disney+ has a Tatooine environment. When a movie is playing it shifts to night time and you appear to be in an Episode IV style land speeder watching at a virtual drive-in, nice touch.

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

It would be interesting if you could watch the "IMAX" versions of films in the legit IMAX ratio and not just the 16:9 "fill your screen like a TV commercial" version that is typically available.

This is a wasted opportunity here, it's not like we are constrained by anything in the physical world. They have so much space that they could have easily "projected" in the IMAX ratio and letterbox to the cinema aspect ratio in the other scenes. So far everything is the same as you described: fullscreen/16:9 for IMAX and 2.35:1 for the rest of it.

[Zivouhr]

Thanks Heyadol for those details.
PSVR2 has cameras so it could be an augmented reality type headset too in that sense, by presenting the real room you're in, and then projecting the video game graphics overlays aligned with the room, switching your room into a movie theater, and then start playing blu rays or blu ray 3D movies (if PSVR2 PS5 would ever consider such a thing by some miracle, but Sony doesn't care about their own 3D Worlds achievements if it's not raking in loads of money), and more.


Sony, PSVR1 and PSVR2 are all about stereo 3D games. Why would a headset that offers a stereo 3D experience, not have stereo 3D blu ray playback? PSVR1, great job with adding blu ray 3D to PS4. That's the reason I never migrated PSVR1 to PS5. I thought they would've added 3D movies playback by now but nothing.

[heyadol]

I forgot to mention that you can download movies, including 3D, so it could be useful offline. Also found out the 3D movies that don't show in my library are movies redeemed via Movies Anywhere, which apparently do not transfer the 3D entitlement and that is pretty lame.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by heyadol

I forgot to mention that you can download movies, including 3D, so it could be useful offline. Also found out the 3D movies that don't show in my library are movies redeemed via Movies Anywhere, which apparently do not transfer the 3D entitlement and that is pretty lame.

Thanks. That's good you can download them and watch them offline.

Apple unfortunately is not very good gaining video developers for their computers over the decades (few Apple ported games compared to PC's huge gaming library), but if they allow Steam to run, that would be good. There are lots of VR games through Steam. Once the game is downloaded, it's most times playable offline unless it's an online only game.

[heyadol]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Thanks. That's good you can download them and watch them offline.

Apple unfortunately is not very good gaining video developers for their computers over the decades (few Apple ported games compared to PC's huge gaming library), but if they allow Steam to run, that would be good. There are lots of VR games through Steam. Once the game is downloaded, it's most times playable offline unless it's an online only game.

So far it is only Steam Link, so Steam has to be running on a PC or Mac. All the apps seem to be iPadOS versions with spatial awareness, no MacOS or apps from outside the App Store like Steam.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by heyadol

So far it is only Steam Link, so Steam has to be running on a PC or Mac. All the apps seem to be iPadOS versions with spatial awareness, no MacOS or apps from outside the App Store like Steam.

I see now, thanks. That is disappointing unless you are able to connect to the Mac or PC. Steam App or Steampowered .com offers a ton of games all in one spot with some good discounts now and then along with lots of VR games. I wonder if PC VR games would be compatible with the stereo 3D of Vision Quest. I'm guessing probably not, since it's a whole new set up, resolution, etc.

Do you use the Vision Pro each day so far? How far can you walk with it in a room?

[heyadol]

I've watched two full movies and aside from that maybe 30 minutes to an hour daily just playing around with it. The first time I tried walking with it the cord snagged on a door handle, after tucking that away I've been able to move around freely (I was a bit nervous going down the stairs though).

[NARMAK]

Originally Posted by heyadol

I've watched two full movies and aside from that maybe 30 minutes to an hour daily just playing around with it. The first time I tried walking with it the cord snagged on a door handle, after tucking that away I've been able to move around freely (I was a bit nervous going down the stairs though).

We just need the Ready Player One omni directional stuff and we're gold lol. Funny thing is, i think people would get more exercise moving about a virtual world if it was tied to being able to run further and faster based on their real world speeds too lol.

[heyadol]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

We just need the Ready Player One omni directional stuff and we're gold lol. Funny thing is, i think people would get more exercise moving about a virtual world if it was tied to being able to run further and faster based on their real world speeds too lol.

https://omni.virtuix.com/

This might do the trick.

[ckenisell]

Here are the results of over pricing the PSVR2 Sony. You could have revolutionized the VR industry...

https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-is-d...-grows-enough/

[bradnoyes]

The PSVR2 is overpriced, but even if they released it at $250 and sold 25 millions units it wouldn't have changed the outcome of Ubisoft pulling out of VR after AssCreed's poor sales. The game was never coming to PSVR2.

For me, the main barrier to VR is that an already niche market is being further segmented by exclusivity. Right now the good games are few and far between and you have to own too many different pieces of hardware to play them all. It makes it really hard for folks who are casually interested in VR to care. I might pay MSRP for a PSVR2 if I had access to my favorite PSVR1 games, Nexus, Alyx, and Asgard's Wrath. As it is, I don't think I'd bother picking one up even if it was $200.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by ckenisell

Here are the results of over pricing the PSVR2 Sony. You could have revolutionized the VR industry...

https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-is-d...-grows-enough/

Following disappointing sales of Assassin's Creed Nexus, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says the publisher isn't going to increase its investment into VR game development until demand for it "grows enough."

Assassin's Creed Nexus looked "genuinely cool" in the estimation of news writer Joshua Wolens, "if you can keep yourself from throwing up," which in the context of VR games I think is a mostly-complimentary statement. It also holds a high user rating on the Meta Store, and an overall rating of 78/100 on Metacritic. Those are solid numbers, but they apparently didn't translate into significant sales.

"We've been a bit disappointed by what we were able to achieve on VR with Assassin's Creed," Guillemot said during an investors call. "It did okay and it continues to sell, but we thought it would sell more, so we are not increasing our investment on VR at the moment because it needs to take off.

Credit to Ubisoft for even trying with a VR new game, as they did with Eagle Flight for PSVR1, which was not a very good game IMO. Weak 3D effect and you really couldn't land and walk around. Constantly flying. The "open world" was very tiny IMO too. I think I played it for 2 hours and then never again since.
The new Ubisoft AC Side scroller game would be great on PSVR2, as the Trine 1 to 3 games were in stereo 3D on PSVR1. But no such option. It seems most PSVR2 games are solely shooter based first person games. Or first person adventure or puzzle games, with 3rd person games being rare.
Yet Moss and Astrobot Missions VR were my two favorite PSVR1 games.

$249, that price would get me to consider a PSVR2. But the other day on PSN, I'm looking at the game prices, and they're way higher than they were for PSVR1's games. So instead of 4.99 to 39.99 max, now they're up to 39.99 through 59.99 maximum. Buying just 3 games could cost $120+ dollars. Nevermind the $549.99 price of the PSVR2. When games drop down to 1.99 to 9.99, that's much easier to test VR games and build one's library.

PSVR2, poor timing after recovery from the pandemic, after the newer Quest competition with way more games to choose from on PC, huge cost investment for gamers during a slumped economy (no matter what analysts might say how great it is), major increase in cost of living for all bills, food spurred by the overpriced fuel at the pump. And then too many first person shooter games in VR.
Plus no blu ray 3D support.
And this is from someone who owns a PSVR1 and has 50+ PSVR games since 2017.

What I think happened is Sony started developing and making big strides on PSVR2 while PSVR1 was still popular back in 2017, 2018, 2019 till things almost completely stalled by 2021. Then Sony saw Quest 3 release, so they figured release this investment now despite the lack of a larger library at launch. Just to unload the cost and try to make something back.

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

The PSVR2 is overpriced, but even if they released it at $250 and sold 25 millions units it wouldn't have changed the outcome of Ubisoft pulling out of VR after AssCreed's poor sales. The game was never coming to PSVR2.

For me, the main barrier to VR is that an already niche market is being further segmented by exclusivity. Right now the good games are few and far between and you have to own too many different pieces of hardware to play them all. It makes it really hard for folks who are casually interested in VR to care. I might pay MSRP for a PSVR2 if I had access to my favorite PSVR1 games, Mirage, Alyx, and Asgard's Wrath. As it is, I don't think I'd bother picking one up even if it was $200.

PC definitely has most of the games for Quest. Good points.

There are only about 3 games I might be really interested in playing on PSVR2 at the moment, but with the concern that they're first person view, so I might get dizzy while playing them.

I hope things can turn around and PSVR2 lasts for another few years of great games at least despite the bleak situation with the price and limited library. PSVR1 lasted from 2016 through 2021 before almost all new games turned into a trickle of a few new games per year to I think none now. A good library though for PSVR1.

[dyne]

Something I'd hoped for since they launched it. Wait, is this entitlement or brand devaluing?

https://blog.playstation.com/2024/02...hood-and-more/

Also, we’re pleased to share that we are currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PS VR2 titles available through PS5. We hope to make this support available in 2024, so stay tuned for more updates.

[heyadol]

PlayStation going full third-party!!

I was hoping Sony and Valve would come to an arrangement to get Half-Life Alyx on PSVR2, but having PSVR2 officially work on PC is the next best thing.

[NARMAK]

Originally Posted by dyne

Something I'd hoped for since they launched it. Wait, is this entitlement or brand devaluing?

https://blog.playstation.com/2024/02...hood-and-more/

My curiosity is that if they're happy to open up the PSVR2 peripheral to be used on PC with VR games already there, then why the hell don't they attempt to have those VR games ported over to PS5 and further the available VR games?

I have no problems with Sony letting more people use the PSVR2 to recoup costs. Afterall, PC games can already be played using the DualSense and so on, but it is not a good look imo that the primary audience you released to gets left behind on the content side when they were there supporting your sales.

[bradnoyes]

I probably would have bought a PSVR2 at launch if Sony had planned this from the start and given devs the opportunity to develop PC VR games knowing that the PSVR2 would be an option. Feels like too little too late now. Sony's already shown that they've all but given up on providing 1st party support and PC devs are likely focusing more on the Quest and Valve's next headset. And no matter how you shake it, it's not just a good look in terms of how Sony is treating their brand loyalists. Not that that's ever been a problem for them, of course.

Still, this is good news. Anything that makes the VR market less fractured is a good thing. I'm still determined to pick up a PC headset someday so I can play Alyx. Meta is a non-starter for me and I was planning on waiting for Steam's headset. But if the PSVR2 drops to the right price and the initial impressions of the headset's PC compatibility are good, I might end up getting one of these after all.