Today Sony has launched the PlayStation VR, a futuristic-looking device that – while it might not deliver the crystal-clear alternative world experiences of our dreams – could be the first virtual reality system to really take off with mainstream gamers.
Sony's VR solution is much more accessible — both in price and ease-of-use — than its PC-based competitors the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, while also being a much more capable and comfortable product than the mobile-based Samsung Galaxy Gear VR.
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Games reviewer Tim Biggs puts Sony's latest toy through its paces. Please note that the in-game footage has been cropped and reformated for a 2D screen. Images look much nicer when seen through the headset.
VR is a technology still very much in its infancy, but it represents a very exciting new way to play video games and interact with virtual content. A good VR system has to block out external light and show a stereoscopic 3D image to your eyes, but it also has to track your head so that when you look around the image moves accordingly and your brain believes you are inhabiting an actual space.
Add in controllers that let you intuitively control your on-screen hands, plus software that can react appropriately when you lean, crouch or reach out, and its astonishingly easy to get your mind to accept your digital surroundings as real.
Sony has done everything it can to avoid the discomfort and motion-sickness associated with early VR systems. Not only is the PSVR peerless in its physical comfort, strapping over the top of your head and hanging the visor over your eyes, but it delivers a very low latency and high frame-rate image, ensuring there is no lag between your head moving and the visuals panning. While it isn't the most intuitive system to set up and strap on for the first time, once you get a feel for how it works it's easy to get decent VR every time you use it.
The device is powered by a PlayStation 4, a setup which has many advantages (the headset is very light, doesn't heat up and makes use of the software and interface you're already familiar with), but which means you'll be tethered at all times to your entertainment centre via a thick cable.
Tracking is handled via a camera you mount on your TV, which senses lights from the headset and controllers. It's a great solution when you're in clear view of the camera, but is a little limited compared to the more complex PC setups. For example the system can get momentarily confused if you wave the controller in front of your face, making for some jarring glitches in the movement.
A specific example of how the one-camera system can be a bit of a letdown is in the hilarious game Job Simulator. On other platforms, players who drop an object can bend over and pick it up. Since the PSVR doesn't map the floor, dropped items just appear back where they started in this version. The camera also loses its ability to track your controller if you turn your back to it. But these are both issues users are unlikely to notice unless they've already spent a long time with the HTC Vive.
One advantage the PSVR does have in a technical sense is something called social screen. The system comes with a little processor box that sits between your TV and PlayStation 4 in order to manage which visual information goes where. In most cases, while a person is playing a VR game, the headset's visuals are replicated in 2D on the big screen for everybody in the room to see. It's also possible for games to let a VR player and players with standard controllers play together using social screen. Either way its much more inclusive than the isolating PC VR experience, and adds a decidedly console-style touch.
The PSVR's screen resolution is the only obvious indicator that this is a first generation device, with objects close to the player appearing nice and clear but far away objects often seeming to blur. The clarity of gameplay will differ from eye to eye, so if you've had trouble in the past focusing on close-up or 3D images, we'd advise seeking out a PSVR to try before putting your money down.
While PSVR is doubtless the cheapest VR experience you can get that isn't simply strapping a smartphone to your face, it will cost most consumers a little more than the $549.95 RRP. Of course the machine requires a PlayStation 4, which starts at $439, but the $89.95 PlayStation 4 Camera is also sold separately. Plus, while all PSVR games will work with a standard controller, many of the games are greatly enhanced with the use of Move controllers, which will be sold in a two-pack for $119.95 (or you can hit up eBay and get them much cheaper).
Sony says many PlayStation fans will already have a camera and Move controllers lying around, though I'm not so sure. Very few PS4 games have made use of the motion-sensing wands, which were introduced in 2010, and PS4 cameras have been somewhat difficult to come by since the machine's launch. If you don't have a PS4 at all, the bare minimum you'll pay at retail for PSVR is $1079, which is still less than the cost of a PC you'd need to run Oculus or Vive, not to mention the headset itself.
Apart from the ease of use and comfort, the biggest advantage PSVR has is games. Sony's already embedded deep in the games business and is perfectly placed to deal with developers and ship games from the studios it owns itself. Time will tell if there are ultimately lots of good games for PSVR, but the selection at launch is varied and good quality, with 50 games apparently planned for release by Christmas.
We'll have full reviews of many of the games over the next week or so, but in our pre-launch time with the system some highlights currently available are:
Batman: Arkham VR: Hands down the best-looking game for the system so far, Arkham VR lets you suit up as the Dark Knight and flex your detective skills on the streets of Gotham.
Job Simulator: As a robot in the far future, you visit a theme park that lets you see what it was like to live as a human with a job. The main joke is that the robots don't really understand any of the tasks they're giving you, presenting a humorously abstracted take on otherwise dull things like paper work or washing dishes.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood: Standard arcade shooting a rollercoaster-like mine cart, players are tormented variously with horrific visuals, waterfalls of blood and crazed enemies you have to dispatch with your pair of pistols.
PlayStation VR Worlds: A collection of mini-games you'll probably only play through once, making its $55 price tag a little tough to justify. Still, the underwater shark encounter, cockney gangster simulator and other experiences are a good introduction to VR and are great showpieces to let your friends try out.
PlayStation VR is out now at an RRP of $549.95. It requires a PlayStation 4 console and PlayStation 4 camera to operate.
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