25 Developers Reveal their Hopes on PlayStation VR’s Price; 66% Think VR Won’t Become Mainstream

The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu had two interesting surveys on VR, one among readers and the second among 25 game developers, including the likes of Tekken's Katsuhiro Harada, Senran Kagura's Kenichiro Takagi and Resident Evil: Revelations' Masachika Kawada.

[DarkOcelet]

"What kind of game do you want to play in VR?

Adventure
FPS/TPS
RPG
Action
Racing
Simulation
Shooting
Sports
Other
Fighting"

Really? Where is the damn Horror Genre? This is really disappointing its not there.

[Abriael]

"horror" isn't a game genre. It's a narrative genre. Horror can be Adventure or shooters normally. So it's right there on top.

[DarkOcelet]

No, Horror is a game genre and its labeled Survival Horror.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

Adventure nor shooters mean at all.

[dcbronco]

I do believe horror is lumped together with some other genre in this case. Considering that horror is huge in Japan I doubt if anyone is looking past it for VR.

[nitus10]

@DarkOcelet

No "Horror" and "Survival Horror" are actually sub "genres" or sub categories.

For instance you can have SciFi (eg Dead Space) that has as it's main genres Action/Adventure with a First Person Shooter sub genres and survival horror as an additional sub genres.

Of course I can't forget Resident Evil (at least the first three) and the Silent Hill series, however those games are Action and/or Adventure with survival horror.

You can even have RPG's like the Souls series and Bloodborne which have a strong survival horror aspect.

Other games that do have horror and survival horror aspects are the Tomb Raider and the Uncharted series.

Actually you can put horror into many games however survival horror or even just survival is much more evident when the resources that you are capable of getting or carrying is limited.

For more info try this site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

[Relientk77]

Specifically Survival Horror is the game genre.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

[DarkOcelet]

I was going to link that to Abriael just right now lol.

[Abriael]

Survival horror is pretty much a sub-genre. You can have horror in a ton of different genres, and not all of them are survival horror.

[TFJWM]

Umm what about this wiki page "Video game genres are used to organize video games based on their gameplay interaction rather than visual or narrative differences.A video game genre is defined by a set of gameplay challenges and are classified independent of their setting or game-world content, unlike other works of fiction such as films or books."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

I never knew horror had to do with gameplay...Resident evil is still a shooter as its base genre.

[jaketzu]

@TFJWM, Abriael

I would read the wiki page more carefully next time. Go to your own source and open the genres. It clearly lists survival horror as a genre among action, role-playing etc. So let's stop the nitpicking, at least I consider genres to be a pretty subjective thing.

On topic though, I would definitely want to see VR survival horror games.

[ps5fanboy]

Like your not expecting a certain horror appearance on v.r??

[DarkOcelet]

It should be here anyways lol.

[ps5fanboy]

*You're , excuse my terrible shitty grammar and English.

[DarkOcelet]

I seriously doubt anyone notices the grammar at N4G :)

Don't worry about it.

[ABizzel1]

So basically fans and developers are looking for $199 - $399 for the magic PSVR price.

There a large group who want $99 - $199, and they might as well give up all hope, because there's a 99.99999999999% that's not going to happen, and if it does then Sony just claimed VR dominance.

The price is more than likely in the $299 - $399 range, and Sony's probably leaning towards the higher end here.

We'll see. PSVR is good, but it definitely needs a big and stellar line-up of games for launch, Year 1 onwards, and post-patched. It also needs outside uses for VR such as movies, music, and more to be worth the asking price.

Based on the games I've played at PSX, VR is a great concept, but the games aren't there yet, so E3 needs to be big for them with AAA VR games, and full VR experiences not just VR on-rails and mini games.

They need a full VR horror game, VR RPG, VR competitive FPS, etc... that look good and play amazing.

I think VR has huge potential for gaming going forward, but the price, content (both games and multimedia) have to nail it, and at this point Sony's the only one who can lead the pack since Oculus is outside of the price range for the majority of PC gamers, Valve's VR is more than likely going to be tech based for a while and even more the Oculus, and Galaxy VR and other mobile options aren't quite technologically adept enough to offer a full VR experience.

Sony simply needs to bite the bullet and sale PSVR for $299 for the PS4 version, and a $449 PC version later (to undercut Oculus and to counterbalance the loss on the PS4 version).

[DarkOcelet]

I hope its doesn't go higher than 300$. That is the ideal price in my opinion.

[kingdom18]

On the point of a PC release, the only reason I don't see them doing this is because they won't be making money from any software sales, which is the main source of profit for the device (I am assuming.) Unless of course Sony released their own Playstation store platform on PC. Though I don't see ever happening, but it would be pretty cool to imagine if it could.

[ABizzel1]

@Kingdom18

At this point, and from a business perspective, I don't think software sales are the most important thing for the VR headsets right now.

Software is always the main money maker, but if Sony sales the PSVR for $300, and it cost around $400 to make, manufacture, and ship then that's a $100 loss. Whereas they can make a PC version for $450 and cut that loss by $50 per PC unit sold, as well as have the lowest price among the PC VR headsets which would put them in place to not only sell well on PS4, but be the best seller on PC as well.

Not to mention if VR games have to be coded for PSVR, sony can still get a royalty check from 3rd party developers software sales.

Sony needs the PC version, so they can sell cheap to PS4 owners, and reduce the loss with the PC version.

[_LarZen_]

I wouldn't put to much in to that survey when 80% of them had not tried VR.

[Abriael]

That's just between readers. The most relevant part of the survey is among developers, and obviously, they did try it.

[kenwonobi]

In the end it doesn't matter as long as virtual reality gained its foot in the door by the end of this generation. It could always lean towards long term mainstream success much like the rate of bluray.

[ShadowKnight]

Probably not but it will still help Sony make extra profit and raise the install base which is far more important.

[Relientk77]

I think VR has a better chance than motion controls, or atleast more staying power and longevity

[AgentSmithPS4]

I'll be using VR and motion controls, shooting things, chopping things with swords, etc. I'll probably have sore arms etc at first but I'll adapt. The "Dreams" game/creator should be amazing with PSVR and move, and the user created content should make heads explode.

[dcbronco]

Cause now flailing around like a maniac is acceptable. Thanks Wii-more.

[nitus10]

@dcbronco

It is even more fun at parties unfortunately not everyone wears a wrist strap: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

There are plenty of videos of people having their wrist strap break as well with the same disastrous result.

[sweendog]

I can honestly see the move controls helping shift vr into non gaming homes just like the wii. But after a while it will die down and more games will feature traditional controls. I had a rift dk 2 for a while and the best games required me sitting down. Project cars and elite dangerous. I even played first person gta v with a rift and controller no problem. I don't want to be jumping around my living room knocking shit over

[UltraNova]

You played GTA V on VR? What kind of a rig did you use?

How was the general experience?

[sweendog]

Gtx 980 i5 4690k (not overclocked). Up until recently it's been a bit of a pain to get running properly but it's worth it their are plenty of guides online on how to get it running. You need to install vorpx it's a 3d emulator that converts old games into vr. It's really good you are actually in Los Santos!

[creeping judas]

VR will be big, it will be the entertainment and gaming periphial in the future, just not yet. It has to go through growing pains, before it can become a main stream device.

[AgentSmithPS4]

"Good things come to those who wait." I've waited long enough and the wait is almost over.

Evolution, gamers, evolution. Like the dinosaur, you had your time. The future is VR, PSVR, formerly Morpheus. The future is VR time.

[garrettbobbyferguson]

You're gonna be waiting a lot longer to have a proper VR experience than what we are getting this generation.

[WeAreLegion]

You haven't tried PSVR or Oculus, have you, garrett?

[Muadiib]

Says the place traditional gaming is dying. I'm sure those same developers probably think mobile gaming is the future.

[nitus10]

I hope not but there are an awful lot of "Pay to Win" games out there.

[UltraNova]

Probably more than all AAA, AA, A and indies ever made combined...

[Muadiib]

I will always be thankful to Japan for the 8bit and 16bit generations, they pretty much owned them. They also gave me my fave game ever Dark Souls. So it makes me sad they are moving away from the kinds of games that interest me. I really think they could innovate in VR better than most, so here's hoping it takes off there, it just wouldn't be the same without them.

[kenwonobi]

What is mainstream to them? Do they mean this generation or next? I believe mainstream is a chance this generation. Mostly I believe they will gain a solid footing this generation. Then going mainstream next generation after gaining a foothold. So again what difference does it make? As long as it gains a solid footing. There is plenty of time to go mainstream after its initial success of gaining its foot in the door.

[garrettbobbyferguson]

Mainstream will only happen when wearing VR is not cumbersome. Whether that is Oculus, PS VR or Vive, they will never be at that point until they are as light as glasses.

[kenwonobi]

You see. I just described a path that has many ways to success. Including many that don't include being completely mainstream this generation. Still a good solid footing can mean great success for the future of virtual reality. :)

[BossBattle]

I trust those 66% of devs because I think the same. It's just a gimmick. Once parents catch on to the fact that VR could be potentially dangerous neurologically for kids that'll really hurt it's reputation. Kids won't realize that they've been on it for over the recommended usage time. I've seen devs admit that it makes you dizzy and disorientated depending on person and time usage. Not to forget that it can be harmful to your eyes and neck plus be expensive. Some of you up here will buy it anyway and realize that it doesn't agree with your body and makes you feel bad. Even if you tried it somewhere it wasn't for a prolonged amount of time. Also if devs don't believe in it they won't support it.

[kenwonobi]

That's just fear mongering. It's no worse than technology ever introduced for the human body. It's a video game. You put it on the head and play. Simple really. Not complex at all.

[sweendog]

Bull! I played project cars for hours using the rift without any problems. I remember hearing motion sickness stories when games went from 2d to 3d

[BossBattle]

Everyone has different tolerance levels. I've seen people that have tried both the Oculus Rift and PSVR say that the PSVR made them feel more symptoms. And we're talking about long term usage. What's it gonna be like after months or years using these things? Other than health issues it looks like it could be fun and interesting if done right.

[sweendog]

@BossBattle. Im not sure what health issues you are talking about, I can say right now that VR isn't going to give you cancer! But joking aside the motion sickness is due to the brain experiencing movement but the body staying still. And actually with more usage you adapt to it just like sailors adapt to sea sickness. As for eye sight you aren't focusing on a screen 2 inches from your eyes like trying to read a book at the same distance. With a single screen your eyes would have the same focul point and that would cause strain. But you have two separate focal points. You can focus on things far away or look at things up close just like looking in real life.
As for neck strain? Im not sure i can help you with that, maybe man up a bit

[BABY-JEDI]

Well it's good to see that Japanese developers like their pie charts. 😂

[TeamLeaptrade]

Part of me thinks VR wont be super mainstream. I really think it's going to be popular, but I have a fear it wont be as big as everyone is saying.

[kaizokuspy]

This article and survey is BS, same one I saw on flipboard. Of those surveyed 80% haven't even tried VR, yet they are qualified to give an opinion on something in the industry they haven't even used. Jesus.

[theXtReMe1]

Dumbest poll Ive ever seen. Poll developers that never tried it and aren't planning on developing games for it and ask them if they think it will be a viable part of the industry. Thats like asking a blind guy to try out your new 3D glasses and ask him to give you his honest opinion on the future of them.

[magiciandude]

PS VR will only last a year and a half tops IMO. This thing has no chance of becoming mainstream.

[The 10th Rider]

VR will only serve a very niche audience. All one has to do is look at how 3D went to imagine how VR will do. It will have its place, but it's simply not a device that will capture mainstream usage.