PS4 Pro Review: Does It Improve The PS VR Experience?

UploadVR: Now that Sony's iterative upgrade known as the PS4 Pro is set to release this week, the burning question is: Does it improve the PS VR experience at all?

[darthv72]

The key benefit of the Pro as it relates to PSVR is that the Pro will allow for the PSVR to achieve its specs more consistently. When sony opts to create an improved PSVR 2.0 then the Pro will also be able to achieve more of its specs consistently.

[Neonridr]

I guess that depends on when we can expect a PS5 and if Sony plans on releasing multiple headsets during the lifespan of the PS4.

As long as devs are willing to put in the effort to enhance the VR experience for Pro users, it should help greatly. It is one of my primary reasons for upgrading to it since I don't have a 4K TV yet.

[freshslicepizza]

Some may disagree but I think the PS5 should all come with PSVR. That really is the only way to get full support of the device. If PSVR can prove to be something serious gamers want unlike the motion controls on the Wii and Kinect, which I think it will.

It won't happen because of costs but at least by then the hardware will be vastly improved.

[ninsigma]

@moldy
Have you not learned from Microsofts mistake of including the kinect?? Don't include things not everyone will want if it's gonna bring up the price.

[ABizzel1]

@moldy

As ninsigma said, the XBO was a prime example of why you don't force a peripheral on your customers, when you have actual competition in your market.

The even greater problem with PSVR is the fact that it cost $400 (the price of a console). Now by the time the PS5 launches it could very well be $200 - $250 (2020). That being said that instantly turns the PS5 into a $600 bundle at minimum with the current iteration of PSVR. It's just not going to sell to a large audience.

And then there the fact that if PSVR does do well, there will likely be a successor with 4K OLED screens for much higher resolution for gaming, better overall hardware and specs, and more than likely VR+AR hybrid which means you're paying at least $600 and getting an inferior PSVR headset.

[Errorist76]

I guess the main benefit next to more stable performance will be enhanced detail and especially picture quality by downsampling. That way they can overcome the relatively low resolution which seems to be confirmed by the first comparisons.

[Skillz1215]

u have the inside scoop huh...

[XanderZane]

I'll save people the clicking. This is really all you need to read. Pretty much some improvement for a few games, but most of the other games are identical to the original PS4 with PSVR. Not really a huge improvement, which is disappointing for me as I wanted the PS4 Pro before I got the PSVR because I thought there would be significant improvements. Oh well. I'll still end up with both pieces of hardware eventually anyways.

"Well, it’s a complex answer. Objectively speaking, yes, PS VR games do look better when running on a PS4 Pro. After setting them both up, side-by-side, on the same television using the same headset, I can confirm that games are noticeably sharper and crisper, especially if they have received an official patch incorporating support for PS4 Pro. Games like Battlezone and PS VR Worlds were patched ahead of time for testing, but even games like Driveclub VR, which didn’t have official Pro patches yet, looked crisper and smoother inside the headset.

Since adding Pro support is entirely up to the developers, it’s a bit of a mixed bag still. EVE: Valkyrie could arguable benefit from it the most, as the jagged edges and intense action could use the extra boost that the Pro affords, but I didn’t notice much of a difference in that one yet.

Ultimately though, most of the PS VR games are nearly identical, even if they have been patched with Pro support. No matter what spec sheet you look at, marketing material you read, or trailer you watch, at the end of the day they are all still PS4 games running on a PS4 inside of a PS VR. It won’t ever approach the same level of detail possible on a high-end gaming PC powering an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. The PS VR is still a less powerful, but awfully capable headset — even when propped up by the additional strength of the PS4 Pro."

[torreth1]

I like your enthusiasm, but you must temper the potential value of the unknown. Right now we are dealing with consumer grade state of the art technology. The limits, and capabilities of the current model isnt even close to being fully realized. I know what you are thinking. Even the current gen came out maxed out, but is it an accurate assumption when you base a new entertainment medium to that same profile? At this point, developers dont know where the limits of the current model drop out in regards to visual fidelity, and there is a humongous difference in the regards to graphical performance across the line. Some games seem extremely blurry, as though they came from the PS2 era (here they lie). Other games look like they've come straight out of current gen (Robinson the Journey), and both look like a decade of gaming appeared in between. My point is, right now, developers havent really nailed down how to get the most out of the standard PS4. It would be a huge mistake to look at the visuals of the first wave of VR games, and believe you can figure out how good or bad they will be. Seriously, some of the games look generations apart, and each developer will swear they used cutting edge techniques. Right now Sony is investigating the consumer response of offering an expensive high end gaming addon for their large consumer base of almost 50,000,000, and cant afford the backlash of releasing a device that has twice the power as its successor, because it could aggravate its core base that it expects to purchase the Addon. You wont see major enhancements that showcase the power of the new "Most powerful console in history" until the possible backlash is reduced by the passage of time, and for people to get used to the idea. This is where we are. The Pro power jump wont be showcased yet, but the things you believe need to happen in the PSVR 2.0 are already being planned, and implemented in the current PSVR 1.0.

[jznrpg]

I will know soon! I would figure it would be stability for games out now and more for games later, possibly like regular games, a Pro mode and original mode , just got Robinson game today ready to try it out when pro gets here , hopefully early.

[blanka4545]

It gears towards the vr! No other use really!

[Errorist76]

Except for higher resolution, more detail, higher frame rate, better picture quality, better lighting, 4K capabilities...and all that for just 50 bucks more.

[TKCMuzzer]

Actually it does have another use, it seems to be pissing a lot of Xbox owners off, their in every article, commenting on every post, looking for negative things and so on. Gamers are not about games these days, they are about a war that's not even a war and if it was, the winning shots were fired a long time ago.

[cyber_daemonx]

So what use will scorpio have seeing as it won't have vr or exclusives.

[Saxism]

I really hope the PS4 Pro is capable of getting the resoluation of cinematic mode equal to the resolution of a 1080p TV when watching media or playing non-VR games.

[Saxism]

I hope the PS4 Pro will get the PSVR to display cinematic mode in full 1080p

[Mroc13]

Please get to the damn point next time or at least not have a title that's so specific

[GrimDragon]

Hmmm so it seems to me that if you have a ps4 and a psvr stay put. No need to get this mid cycle upgrade for a few extra pixels. Makes valid sense. I'll get the pro if my ps4 dies though. As for the psvr now I see a definite upgrade when ps5 launches due to the lenses needing to handle the upgraded visuals. Iam 100% certain VR is the future and here to stay.

My only hope is that they find a way to make future hmd's wireless or Bluetooth or something. The amount of wires right now is truly annoying.

[cyber_daemonx]

Yeah the wires are a pain but the only way to make it truly wireless would be with rechargeable batteries.