PlayStation VR: Is Sony’s Virtual Reality Headset Set to Replicate PS4 Dominance?

Sony's PlayStation 4 console is currently the leading games console on the Market. Now the Japanese company is set to join the consumer Virtual Reality Space with its VR headset, PlayStation VR. PlayStation VR's price point is significantly lower than that of its nearest rivals, does this mean Sony's PS VR will become the dominant VR platform?

[CoNn3r_B]

I got a chance to play around with the VR set back when it was called project morpheus and it's an experience that everyone has to try at least once, it doesn't matter if it's Sony's VR or the Oculus Rift you have to try it.

[skydragoonityx]

Obviously

[Ricegum]

That was unnecessarily rude.

[skydragoonityx]

Guys u seem to misunderstand me. Obviously @ the title not to CoNn3r_B apologies

[G20WLY]

You'd have done better not to have replied to him then - I know, hindsight, and all that..

I don't expect it to sell as well as PS4 - that would be damn near impossible - but I do expect it to sell very well and very possibly better than it's PC counterparts.

Looks great, I'm definitely in!

[CoNn3r_B]

It's all good, if I got annoyed at everyone who was rude to me the French would be extinct.

[cleft5]

Right, VR is definitely the next trend in the market. VR has a lot of applications and gaming is just one of them. Will Sony be dominate in the VR space? I don't know. The reality is that if you want the optimum VR experience from Sony and you just own the PS4, like the majority of their customers do, then its a $500 entry point. However, that isnt a bad price all things considered.

I think price point isn't going to be the main selling factor for VR. After all, there are VR headsets on the market for less than $100 dollars.

The crucial selling point is going to be the experiences VR developers deliver. If Sony has enough quality experience paired with its price point it will do very well. Either way, VR is not a fad. It's here to stay.

[PSN_ZeroOnyx]

I believe PSVR will do quite well and PlayStation will sell 100% more VR headsets than any other console, but that's a given lol.

[Eonjay]

Funny thing about dividing by 0... but thats a completely different topic for another time.

On topic, yes, of course it will sell more than the Xbox One's headset which doesn't exist but we can't write off Nintendo just yet because we have no clue what they are doing.

[PSN_ZeroOnyx]

Calling it now. Nintendo will release a console/handheld hybrid without VR support.

[Eonjay]

Probably, but lets not forget that the rift launches next week as well. So, we should be getting some reviews shortly. Exciting times :)

[pinkcrocodile75]

In short.. No!

[G20WLY]

Could you also share the long version, please?

[Blaze929]

At the end of the day it's just an "accessory" - and sony has showed countless times what kinda support their "accessories" get.

I'm optimistic to try it but for right now, just seems like the next "3D" "ooh/ahhh" phase.

[G20WLY]

^People who think like you, Blaze929, need to consider how different the circumstances are for VR when compared to 3D, Kinect or motion controls.

First of all, look at the companies who have HEAVILY invested in VR, all within such a short space of time. Sony, Facebook, Google, HTC, Valve, Samsung, etc. - everyone who's anyone in the world of consumer electronics is pushing their product to market with impressive software support existing AND in the pipeline.

PSVR, since that's what we're talking about here, has over 230 developers working on more than 150 announced games, 50 of which will be released within the 3 months after it's October launch and 25+ of which are confirmed exclusives.

Content on the PC VR platforms and PSVR will be portable to each other, assuming there are no exclusivity deals in place.

Then there's movie content, TV content, panoramic photography, 'adult entertainment', travel and tourism experiences, museum tours, among many other (some, no doubt, yet to be devised) formats.

I get that people will want to be cautious with their money, but to write it off as "the next 3D" is a poorly realised outlook.

You said you'll try it, so you're more open minded than some. I've yet to hear of anyone being unimpressed by this generation of 'proper' VR, so you may well emerge from the HMD excited like the rest of us! :^)

[pinkcrocodile75]

Really, the long version?

OK, let me see.

The first issue is that is needs to be tethered to the PS4, just like Oculus and the PC.

So you are buying an extension to the PS4 and not withstanding the remote monitor for ps4, it's very much a single player environment which might put off casual gamers.

If the camera and move controllers only managed to get a small adoption rate in comparrison to the ps3/4 install base then it's lunacy to assume that there would be 100% uptake for VR or even 50%.

So just with those two point, my belief is that NO, VR wil NOT gain the same level of adoption regardless or how you feel about it .

As for me, I will not be buying the VR or Vive or Oculus. The very important reason is that I have unequal eyesight and the poroximity to the creen makes me feel very ill very quickly.

Frame rate increases DO NOT solve my problem either before you ask.

Now if I have this problem, ask yourself this, how many people have unequal eyesight globally? and how many people will NOT buy it because of it.

Even if you said 10% then you will not get 100% adoption or anywhere near it now will you.

It's great to aim for the sky when you are excited about something as you are with PSVR. However I but suggest you excercise causion before "Telling" people that they are wrong especially when your arguement is on shaky ground.

[G20WLY]

^Hello Pinky, thanks for your rant! :^)

Where, pray tell, did I suggest that it will get the same uptake, i.e. 100% strike rate of the existing PS4 user base? I didn't - that would be utterly ridiculous, so please don't put words into my mouth. You just 'won' an argument with yourself. Congratulations!

My post was centred around people suggesting it's going to fail like Kinect and 3D. I suggested they look at the information we have available and form a rounded expectation based on that.

I suggest you do the same. ;^)

[GribbleGrunger]

Maybe in market share, but I very much doubt it will equal the same monthly sales figures.

[miyamoto]

PS VR is the perfect casual and hardcore gamer magnet.
So there you go.

[rainslacker]

Maybe replication means selling 2:1 over it's competition...in this case OR or Vive. That could be very possible, since I don't think either the OR or Vive are aimed at the mainstream market as of yet.

I think OR and PSVR are likely to be a pretty big on the competitive market, however, they do appeal to different segments as well, so it's mostly just a matter of where a person plays. The success of one will likely translate to the success of the other, since gamers in general do get excited about the same things despite having different preferences in platform.

Not really sure why one has to outdo the other, and why people are comparing them to such a degree since they aren't direct competitors in any way. PSVR is aimed at the console market, and OR is aimed at the PC market. Despite Sony thinking of PSVR as it's own platform, the fact remains that platform will exist within different segments of the market.

[DashArrivals]

In my opinion, I think people just underestimate the potential this thing has.

I mean we've been playing games on a TV for decades. Motion control gaming came along and the Wii had tremendous and unparalleled success. Then fell off the face of the map. Motion gaming was on a flat TV. We were watching movies on a TV. Playing games on a TV. Watching TV on a TV. For peoples entire lives. We're watching trailers for VR games on a flat screen. Watching 3d on a flatscreen. But when you put that headset on and look around... shit gets real and you start to realise the long term potential of such a thing. They will learn from motion controll gaming's mistakes. There is so much further VR can go than otion control gaming.

People with nausea will get used to the headset. Like reading a book on the train or car, when you first do it you get a little headache of sorts and feel a little sick, but eventually you put up with it like it's nothing and don't even think about it.

I personally think the analysts are wrong. It think it will outsell even their predictions. PS VR is plug and play and even a moron can use it. It's comfortable. I think it well sell like crazy. I'm looking forward to having REAL VR in my home with no messing around with PC drivers and specs or anything like that. It will just... WORK.

[DashArrivals]

It won't sell like PS4 but I think it will blow away projections.

[pinkcrocodile75]

@DashArivals

I love your comment, "people with nausea get used to it" and "but eventually you'll put up with it".

I won't use anything that will make me vomit in less that an minute (This happened to me and it's due to my eyesight).

You'd make a good sales person, cold calculating and willing to tell a customer any lie you can think of in order to sell the product.

I said lie here because by omission in your post you simplified the realities for people with eyesight problems.

I personally will never have VR from any vendor until there is a way for me to use it not be ill.

[DashArrivals]

Shut up. I meant their bodies will get used to it and eventually they won't feel sick. You might be the exception. So don't buy it and maybe shut your mouth and watch all of us have fun. Your crap eyes aren't meant for VR I guess, so shut your mouth. Thanks and peace to you, good sir. That's my... 'opinion'.

[pinkcrocodile75]

I just hope you don't live alone.

A bit of advice for you my friend, when you are playing your new gadget of awesome-ness, make sure you lock all your doors and windows.

When that headset goes on you're essentially deaf and blind to the world around you.

Now I've always had a dark sense of humour, most brits do but Imagine this...

I see you have big mouth and slow mind, so your default reaction is the "Shut your mouth" defense.. News flash my plump little friend, saying that to big scarey people sometimes has consequences.

Now I may be 6ft 5" and built like a brick sh!t house but I'm a gentle giant.. like that gorilla in that Diane Fossey film "Gorillas in the mist"... but with opposable thumbs, and the understanding that Donald Trump is the child of Satan here to destry the planet earth, starting with Mexicans and Women who want abortions (What a T!t).

However, one day you'll say the same thing to a really angry person, then go home slip your headset on and start your night of VR stumulation.. BUT you'll have forgotten to lock the toilet window and said "Angry man" will quietly slip inside and come to say "I forgive you"... but with a hammer.

Just saying, I could happen, so be nicer to people... and lock the doors and windows before you engage in VR pleasure. :D

[corroios]

On consoles they dont have any kind of competition.

The question is how much they must sell to get profit? 2 millions on the first year? what are the targets? because its not easy to sell this without have the chance to try it on.

[rainslacker]

Profit in the business world is sort of a misnomer. The money involved in marketing and design is probably mostly already written off for another year, so all they will look at in reports is the cost to manufacture/distribute compared to the selling price. One would have to look at long term costs to see if it's profitable overall, but on release, it's said that it will sell at a profit.

[Monkey521]

The VR market is so young, no one really knows how any of the headsets will do. It's going to take time for the VR industry to mature and take hold in every living room. It kind of annoys me how everyone makes this a competition without anything to base "success" on. Let PSVR and the others come out into market first, then we can have discussions on their impact and adoption world-wide.

I personally think that this is the way of the future in terms of how we digest entertainment... I've tried both Oculus and PSVR and think they are both fantastic devices. The only thing standing in the way is people trying them out and believing that the price is justified.

[S2Killinit]

I think its definitely going to contribute to it.

[MasterCornholio]

As well as the PS4?

I don't believe so. But I can imagine it selling at a rate between the Wii U and the XB1.

[DivineAssault]

I hope it does well.. Im making the investment and going to see what its all about.. $100/month to pay it off and we shall see.. The better it does, the more games we'll get.. If it bombs, then im out half a grand but ill have a few good games at the very least..

[rainslacker]

I was going to wait for GT or Ace Combat, but the big screen feature became very appealing to me pretty fast. So I think I'll jump in day one just because I have all the stuff required, and only need the headset.

[Warshade]

I am not looking forward to when this comes out and every game company flocks to make VR games and normal ones hit the back burner for years.

I really want to like VR but I would need laser surgery in order to use it.

Either way the future looks fun