PlayStation VR 2: Where we are now & where we COULD be

[gf78]

I jumped on the PSVR 2 during it's launch window and can say that it is a very impressive piece of hardware.  and I've been reading how Sony has had to lower sales forecasts, it's not moving units or software, etc.  And there are some very specific problems right now that is hampering adoption of the tech.  Here's my thoughts.

1.  The hardware is only available online through Sony.  It's pretty hard to expect to sell and bunch of units when the only place to buy them are on a single website.  Why are they not available at retail?  Pretty easy to understand.  Sony isn't selling to a middle-man (ie retailer), thus minimizing costs and maximizing profits.  Unfortunately, they aren't moving units this way.  They need to have a physical presence and be offered through more online retailers.

2.  There aren't very many PSVR 2 games, and even less in stores.  I'm a collector and a fan of physical games.  Along with zero hardware at retail, there are currently zero games at retail.  Sorry, I'm not spending $60 for Horizon Call of the Mountain to download or pretty much any other game.  I bought the Moss I & II set digital so I had something to play that was new-ish, but that was forty bucks and not $60 or more.  Which brings me to my next point.

3.  Since Moss I & II was ported (fairly) easily to the PSVR 2, why hasn't Sony issued patches for ANY of their VR games to run on the new hardware?  Or released "remastered" versions of any of them?  Astro Bot Rescue Mission was a fantastic game that I had a lot of fun playing.  Astro's Playroom on the PS5 was one of the best games I have played on the PS5.  Why not update this or reissue this for the VR2?  It seems to be more about laziness and forcing people into a digital-only route to me.

With these issues, my PSVR 2 while quite fun, has seen limited use.  I would love to play Horizon Call of the Mountain, Dark Pictures Switchback and several more upcoming games.  But I'm not paying full price for digital downloads.  Not gonna happen.  In the meantime, I play Moss I & II and Gran Turismo 7 and am going to update No Man's Sky to play in VR.

Gran Turismo 7 for all it's wonky sensibilities like the cafe and elevator music, is sublime in VR.  The racing is pure bliss.  And it's just gonna have to do for now at least.  Sony really needs to get to work releasing PHYSICAL games and getting the hardware into stores if they want it to succeed.  Get cracking on making original VR games compatible and advertise this stuff.

[weirdfeline]

Townsmen VR is available at retail.

[fazerco]

Yeah, there arent many physical games, especially AAA games. And are now afraid that it will become shovelware games that will come out.

Im also waiting for some physical releases, and i bought townsmen already. And there are 2 or 3 other physical games, but im not sure i want to pay that money for those games.

[telekill]

I have the first PSVR. My wife got it for me for Christmas a couple years after its release having found an incredible Black Friday deal on it. I was incredibly excited to jump into VR as I grew up in the 80's and 90's when VR was believed to be the future. The tech was on the back burner for a couple decades before it finally came back and I was on board believing we were finally there.

Sadly, I found with the first PSVR... we are not there.

First off, I would get motion sick very quickly. Some games with "walking" instead of using a vehicle, such as Tomb Raider, made me want to hurl within seconds. Literal.... seconds. I had to switch and use their "warp" option to get around Lara's mansion. RE7 did better with walking but I was still feeling it within 20 min.

Second... aside from a few gems like Moss and Star Trek Bridge Crew, the really fun games are few and far between. VR as we know it has been little better than a super expensive tech demo for all these years.

With PSVR2 and the current state of modern gaming, my excitement for any new hardware, let alone VR, has plummeted. I'm now at the sit back and wait for them to prove I should buy their hardware.

[fazerco]

I also got the motion sickniss from the psvr. But if you build it up slow, it might work for you again. It worked for me, but i havent used the psvr for a while, and now with the psvr2 i got it again. But i think its getting better again by slowly building up my time.

[weirdfeline]

A game called VR Skater will have a physical release.

[fazerco]

Very slowly their will be more physical games, but you cant find them so easy, or they are to expensive.

The good news is, you can buy psvr2 in the shops now. So hopefully the gamecount goes up quick.

[weirdfeline]

Hopefully at the PlayStation event supposedly happening this month they have Astro ready to show or something unexpected. If it's just Firewall, some ports and some crappy looking indies that'd be really lame.

[dodgykebaab]

As an owner of PS1VR and enjoyer of Gran Turismo Sport VR, I'm sold on just the idea of GT7 in VR alone.

That said, I can wait a couple of years like I did on the first headset before I dive in.  As far as sales of the unit go, I think that now you can buy it at retail it'll start turning around.  I think Sony went the direct route first of all to avoid the scalper problems they had with the PS5 and it looks to have worked.

VR on PlayStation seems to have long sales legs, and sales are riven by people that try it out round a friends house first.  People say it lacks advertising, but so did the PSVR1 and I think Sony know that print and media adverts can't sell it.  It's something people need to try before investing.