PlayStation VR - 5 million and counting

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

That's what I was wondering. Because otherwise I see no point for this thing. I wouldn't mind using this for first person shooters or racing games.

Imagine VR + survival horror



Or Everquest Next in first person view?



Now this being said, and refering specifically to the Survival horror type, I wonder if we will start seeing some articles popping up with headlines like "Heart attack caused by Immersive reality game: Lawsuit to follow?"...

[Mavrick]

Looks like this could be getting a reveal at GDC, insider also claims that Driveclub will be a supporting title, which could go some way toward explaining the long delay. There is also a vr version of resogun in the works for it.

[Steelmaker]

This would be fantastic for racing games and games that are played in a first person perspective. Other than that though, I see no point to it. Still, I could only imagine this bad boy with Destiny or Elder Scrolls! Geez I could practically live in a virtual world!

[jgoldwood]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

This would be fantastic for racing games and games that are played in a first person perspective. Other than that though, I see no point to it. Still, I could only imagine this bad boy with Destiny or Elder Scrolls! Geez I could practically live in a virtual world!

It could serve as a big screen attached to your head that you could use in bed. The wife would like it if my playing did not occupy the TV when her stupid shows are on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

[Mavrick]

As long as they can keep the price down I would buy it. No way would I spend more than £150 on it when all it will be used for is games.

I wasn't blown away by Oculus Rift when I tried it so it kind of killed my hype. So I hope it's true that they really have nailed it and it works perfectly.

[Elandyll]

If Sony can bring this as a $199 or under product, they should hav a big winner on their hands. $299 would probably be the higher up limit, but I wouldn't see myself getting one for that price until way later and when the software would justify it, whereas I could see a $199 purchase to check it out even if only 2-3 apps/ games at first.

[PA_Kid]

I'll need to wait and see what it really means in practice. If it's just an extra screen (which cuts me off from the wife and kids even more), I already have my Vita doing that. I also have a TV that can do 3D.

Now if you can look around the inside of your car in drive club and the scene moves appropriately, that might be something. Or if the 3D is much more immersive. It will also depend on how many use the tech. I might bite, but I'm not expecting it to get utilized much more than my 3D TV or Move controllers. VR sounds fun, but I don't see myself wanting to go through the hassle of setting it up for every game and play session. There is a reason a couch and TV are so appealing.

I wonder - if the Sony VR headset ends up with a little neon light on the outside front, we could come to discover that in conjunction with a PS3 or PS4 eye, it has much more precise detection of head movement (like the move). That seems like the kind of rabbit that Sony's R&D guys would pull out of their hat and shock everyone...

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by PA_Kid

I'll need to wait and see what it really means in practice. If it's just an extra screen (which cuts me off from the wife and kids even more), I already have my Vita doing that. I also have a TV that can do 3D.

Now if you can look around the inside of your car in drive club and the scene moves appropriately, that might be something. Or if the 3D is much more immersive. It will also depend on how many use the tech. I might bite, but I'm not expecting it to get utilized much more than my 3D TV or Move controllers. VR sounds fun, but I don't see myself wanting to go through the hassle of setting it up for every game and play session. There is a reason a couch and TV are so appealing.

I wonder - if the Sony VR headset ends up with a little neon light on the outside front, we could come to discover that in conjunction with a PS3 or PS4 eye, it has much more precise detection of head movement (like the move). That seems like the kind of rabbit that Sony's R&D guys would pull out of their hat and shock everyone...

Well, that's exactly what it will do. I can see it being a clone of OR and that tracks your head movement pretty well. I wouldn't say it was 1:1 tracking but it worked well enough looking up down side to side and everywhere in between. Sony should have this working even better than OR has got there's. They just need to keep the price low.

They've had a fair few months to optimise this thing after it was pulled from last years GDC at the last minute.

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by PA_Kid

I'll need to wait and see what it really means in practice. If it's just an extra screen (which cuts me off from the wife and kids even more), I already have my Vita doing that. I also have a TV that can do 3D.

Now if you can look around the inside of your car in drive club and the scene moves appropriately, that might be something. Or if the 3D is much more immersive. It will also depend on how many use the tech. I might bite, but I'm not expecting it to get utilized much more than my 3D TV or Move controllers. VR sounds fun, but I don't see myself wanting to go through the hassle of setting it up for every game and play session. There is a reason a couch and TV are so appealing.

I wonder - if the Sony VR headset ends up with a little neon light on the outside front, we could come to discover that in conjunction with a PS3 or PS4 eye, it has much more precise detection of head movement (like the move). That seems like the kind of rabbit that Sony's R&D guys would pull out of their hat and shock everyone...

Like Mav says, it's not just like putting a mini screen right in front of your eyes.
True VR tech is composed of immersive display (that completely covers your field of vision), but also head tracking (Gyro + visual detection - I imagine that the PS4 camera will be a must have for this).

Imagine having a first person view in your favorite game (say, Resident Evil) and be able to look around like if you "were" in the manor. When you push a button, your POV moves as your character goes forward, and if you look down, you can see your virtual feet/ hands, and pushing buttons make actions happen, like opening a door.
With a 5.1 headset you can hear a sound behind you, you turn your head and push the direction button to turn around (one limitation is that overall your body still has to face the main motion detection element, here probably the camera) just to see something jump at your face.

One thing many people who have never tried VR do not often realize is that the immersion is pretty daunting at first, and that -you will not see your hands or your controller anymore-. So the controls have to remain fairly simple and intuitive, which is why imo consoles are such a good fit for VR.

I remember breathing pretty heavily the very first time I tried (years ago, on an arcade machine mock up of Space hulk I think that had terrible IQ that was giving headaches and teary eyes with low res mini LCD screens) just to remind myself I was still "here".

I have high hopes for this new gen of VR

[shamus]

Originally Posted by jgoldwood

It could serve as a big screen attached to your head that you could use in bed. The wife would like it if my playing did not occupy the TV when her stupid shows are on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

maybe it can stream the games to it like the vita?

[shamus]

surprised more people aren't excited about this. This could be a game changer.... literally!!!

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by shamus

surprised more people aren't excited about this. This could be a game changer.... literally!!!

I'm waiting to here the price. I don't want to get exited over something that's going to cost £50 less than the actual console.

[wooble89]

I'm game to try this, but my worry is that if it is indeed successful then we'll see a decline in third person games which are my favourite. Other than that I could see this being fun.

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by shamus

surprised more people aren't excited about this. This could be a game changer.... literally!!!

If they pull it off, the right price, it works, doesn't make people violently ill, it'll be massive.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by wooble89

I'm game to try this, but my worry is that if it is indeed successful then we'll see a decline in third person games which are my favourite. Other than that I could see this being fun.

Additionally games designed for this will likely use silent protagonists which are usually a big detriment to the story.

[Mavrick]

On another note, does anyone remember Until Dawn? Announced way back in 2012 as a first person horror game for the PS3 and Move.

Until Dawn Announce Trailer - YouTube

Rumour was it was canned, but Managing director Pete Samuels wrote in an email late last year:

“Until Dawn is most definitely not cancelled and we are still developing it. Not only that, but we’re really excited about what we’re creating and can’t wait to tell more and show more sometime soon. I understand that the silence has been frustrating for those people who have been looking out for more details.

“It’s clearly not planned to be a 2013 release any longer and I’m hoping and expecting to be able to say more in the new year, but that’s really all I’m able to say right now.”

Sounds like a similar situation to what happened with drive club to me.

Also an interesting fact about Driveclub,

Not only has the release's first-person viewpoint formed a fundamental part of the racer's marketing, but the studio also plays host to Mick Hocking’s research and development team, which previously spearheaded the firm’s 3D push a few years ago. In fact, back in 2011, the aforesaid executive actually admitted that his employer was experimenting with virtual reality, telling Develop that we’ll see some “very, very immersive experiences on head-mounted displays in gaming in the not too distant future”. Is that day finally upon us?

[Mavrick]

And here's the Develop article:

Note: The date of this article is right around the time the very first target PS4 dev kit's were arriving at Sony first party studios, so it seems this could have been in the pipeline for quite some time.

Sony: We're testing 3D virtual reality games

Prototype headset tracks player movements; Virtual Reality revival 'certainly possible'

By Rob Crossley
July 18th 2011 at 2:05PM

The forgotten fad of virtual reality gaming may be set for a surprise revival, with Sony confirming to Develop that it is experimenting on the technology within its studios.

Mick Hocking, senior director at Sony Worldwide Studios, said that a prototype device used to test virtual reality also displays high-end 3D.

“We've got a new head mounted display [in development] that we showed at Consumer Electronics Show,” Hocking said in a newly published interview with Develop.

He said the prototype device (pictured below) has twin-OLED screens – one for each eye – to eliminate information crossover issues.

Now further developments have led Sony to incorporate head-tracking into the device, paving the way for a virtual reality experience.

The tech is being experimented on with a number of games including first-person shooters, but there appears to be no solid product launch plans for now.

“At the moment it’s just a head-mounted display; the head isn’t being tracked – but that’s something we’re doing R&D on,” Hocking said.

“I have to say, what we’ve done in the R&D projects has just been fantastic. We’re working with a couple of games at Sony that are experimenting with virtual reality type experiences.”

DEVELOP KEYNOTE

Hocking’s comments come ahead of his Develop Conference keynote on Sony’s 3D strategy.

PlayStation 3 already has more than 30 games available in 3D, Hocking said.

The prototype head-mounted display is just one of Sony’s options in incorporating 3D tech across its hardware catalogue.

“One of the cool things we’ve just announced is our new PlayStation monitor,” Hocking added.

“This is not only a great HD, 2D and 3D monitor, but it also supports a unique feature that lets two players play head-to-head gaming, full-screen on the same screen without each other seeing the other’s screen.

“This is going to be great feature that many developers are really excited about.”

Virtual Reality games rose and fell in popularity during the early nineties.

The concept is to cover a player’s eyes with a head-set-display that could also track and represent player movements in realtime.

The most popular example in the west was the Virtuality line of arcade machines, produced by Virtuality Group.

Nintendo attempted to bring virtual reality-like experiences in the home with the Virtual Boy system, which ultimately failed to make an impact.

Few developments in virtual reality game technology have occurred since.

But asked whether he thought virtual reality gaming is due a revival, Hocking said: “yeah it could be, it certainly seems possible, and these head-mounted displays incorporate 3D tech. It’s very, very cool. And obviously it’s a fantastic way to experience 3D because both images are being directly fed into each eye.”

Source

[MikeCL]

LOL I remember the Virtual Boy very well.. (man that was sooo long ago) it did flop hard.

Hopefully Sony can find a way to match the headset up with the PS4 but not price it so high it will flop out the door.

[shamus]

Maverick, I thought I read recently that Sony tried to buy out occulus? If thats so, then they might be really late to the game... but your articles suggest differently.

[Elandyll]

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming...c-2014-1226620



Full article about the "insider leak" for a possible gdc (march) reveal.

Rumours of Sony's PS4 virtual reality headset have been running rife since last year, but now an inside source has told TechRadar that they've spent some time with the helmet behind closed doors - and it's almost ready to be revealed.
Our confidential tipster said that they were impressed with the quality of Sony's Oculus Rift competitor. "The quality and resolution are really, really good," they said. "People will definitely be impressed with what Sony's built".
They also told us that they understand Sony plans to announce the headset at GDC 2014, which kicks off in San Francisco on March 17.

With rumours that Sony might show off some VR games at E3, it makes sense for it to unveil the headset beforehand and keep Las Vegas focused on the software.
Talk of Sony's headset surfaced last year with word that we'd see it unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show, something that never materialised.
Our source told us that "Sony has deliberately taken its time to tweak and polish the headset before revealing it", rather than taking Oculus's approach of releasing the Rift to developers in stages.
Oculus Rift recently told TechRadar that it saw the PS4 and Xbox One as too limited for its headset, so it's good timing for Sony to swoop in and give console gamers a dose of virtual reality.
We approached Sony regarding this story, but it refused to comment.