PlayStation has been a major part of the virtual reality push the last few years, and the relatively recent PSVR2 has moved things forward in the growing space. The headset's innovative features and unique controllers mean it's competitive with higher-end PC VR gear. It's been pretty successful so far, but how's Sony feeling about this subsection of the gaming world?
Senior Vice President, Head of Global Marketing, Sales & Business Operations at PlayStation, Eric Lempel, has passed comment on virtual reality in a recent interview. He says it's "important" to Sony, adding that it's "a category that can help us with innovation".
He continues: "It's never going to be the only way people play games, but I’m happy that we’re in it. There are great experiences to be had and consumers really like it. But it’s a nascent business for us."
Lempel concludes by saying PSVR2 isn't the "core proposition we have this season", and that PS5 fills that spot. It's a sensible and safe view on VR, which is yet to truly break into the mainstream. And of course, the PS5 should be the core for PlayStation; the company is shooting for a record-breaking holiday season, what with a revised hardware design, enough supply to meet demand, and strong software like Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
[source barrons.com]
Comments 74
So basically it’s dead.
It was a massively over priced add on
Games have been poor at best
Basically wait for the price drop
I have alot of fun with my PSVR2, I just can't understand why Sony doesn't support it more themselves now when so many great games are available for it.
I remember Jim (goodbye) Ryan said all PS5 games will support both regular TV and PSVR2, what a lie that was!! Only GT7 does that so far. I'm just curious that no "gamingmedia" pointed that out waaay back!
I wonder if Ozzy Osbourne is still using his
@nessisonett "But it’s a nascent business for us" does not sound like dead, more like that it will be ramping up slowly. And at the moment it is still the slow phase ....
@Zeke68 I am pretty sure he never said "all PS5 games will support both regular TV and PSVR2"
It's just nice to see Sony giving it's consumers more options and more ways to play, the VR was never meant to break records or be the core product, it's an extra incentive to sell playstation 5 consoles.
@RustyStag You obviously don't own one, and I kinda get a "but would want one" vibe from you comment.
The only downside to PSVR2 is that it totally ruined flat-screen gaming for me. And I wonder if it actually is a downside, to be honest. I've been gaming for 40 years now, and VR is the breath of fresh air this hobby needed.
I even look at, like, Spider-Man 2 and think "meh". The abstraction layer of pushing buttons and sticks on a pad while watching that translate to actions on a square 2D window located a few meters aways from me suddenly falls... flat.
We just won't make any games for it outside of that mid Horizon climbing simulator. I rarely regret purchases, but after getting a Quest 3 at launch it's a joke how much better the Quest is.
weird what is currently going on with playstation. PS5 sells apparently really well and ps is very confident that it will continue to do so despite few first party titles having released or being announced. It is also not clear how psvr2 is doing, At least some developers seem to be pretty happy with the software sales. So, it is apparently doing okay. It seems psvr2 is chucking along slowly on mostly quest ports and a few psvr2 exclusives or hybrids sprinkled in.
Maybe people here are just too impatient where normal people are just happy to have spiderman 2, and gt7+re8 in vr. Who knows ?
Announce a new Astro game and my mind will be soothed.
#Virtualboy2
@Art_Vandelay "The only downside to PSVR2 is that it totally ruined flat-screen gaming for me" fully support this. Flat-screen gaming now feels really ... flat. When I play a flat game I always think how fantastic this would be in VR ...
@dschons I am a bit afraid that the next astro bot will be a mobile game ...
@gaston Actually he did.
@Zeke68 Were did You see that ? Nobody is talking about that. If that was true everybody would just be talking about that. And I haven't heard a single person before.
@Zeke68 care to link to the quote where he said that as quite frankly it never happened.
I adore my PSVR2. It's the only thing this gen that has truly impressed me.
AKA "we won't actually have any of our great first party studios make games for it but hey at least it will continue getting some third party support! (except Valve, we'll never get Half-Life: Alyx but we will continue putting games on Valve's store 🙂)
I don’t really care what one publisher does with the hardware in terms of game releases, even Sony. As long as VR continues to grow and there is plenty to play I’ll always pick VR immersion ahead of flat panel gaming. For most genres it’s simply superior.
@Zeke68 jim ryan said all ps5 games would play on psvr2....really,you sure about that....link please
They should refund all who bought one. Hardly use it, still feel ripped off
@Styledvinny79 there's 130 games on it and some of the best vr games you can play,why do you feel ripped off?if you thought it was gonna be a place for AAA gaming you should have done more research.
@Jayslow the quest 3 what has zero exclusives at launch?
@kyleforrester87 Prob playing the new king kong game on it.
Think I'll stick to the quest 3,graphics aren't as good as vr2 but at least I can see the games I play with perfect clarity
@gaston It totally is impatience, no one has it anymore, just look at xbox and the rush to throw out crap first party titles to the market.
Anyway VR is and always will be a niche market, sorry if that hurts but it is common knowledge by now.
@nessisonett Just like the ps vita
@gaston They'd be so dumb. They gotta know that a new VR title would be one of the safest bets.
Personally I love PSVR2. Huge upgrade from VR1 and some of the games are brilliant. Brought Hubris last night to play when I’m off and REALLY looking forward to Arizona 2 in December, didn’t think it was going to be this soon so win win
@ROTTIEMAN16 true Asgards Wrath 2 comes in December (and also is bundled in free and not an extra $50). But Supernatural alone is worth the price of a quest for me personally. Also really digging Samba de Amigo. On top of all their other exclusives (and other 3rd party games) being backwards compatible which we can't say the same for PSVR 2.
@__jamiie I found the Jurassic park collection to be surprisingly good and cities vr also, the latter is a tough old platinum though
But nothing on quest even touch's re8,gt7 and synapse which are all psvr2 exclusives...plus re4 remake incoming
The PSVR2 is the best PC VR headset. Thank you iVRy.
yeah I know the iVRy add-on isn't out yet, but let me have this one.
I think their "core" now is doomed live service projects.
@ROTTIEMAN16 some mind blowing experiences there man. GT7 is just uncanny on PSVR2
@PSPortalRules Man, I love my Vita but I can also understand that it has a very niche library. The PSP was so much more diverse in its library and had more than just ports.
@nessisonett Just completed Killzone Mercenary tonight on Vita 😊
I mean, is this even a shocking statement? Of course PSVR2 was never going to be their core product. Not only because it’s an add-on, but because it’s more niche and has a much, much smaller audience.
Honestly I don’t think the prognosis for PSVR2 is looking too hot, though I’d love to be wrong. But I don’t think this statement alone really projects that it’s doomed or that it’s their most popular product. It seems like another non-answer from the same guy who said PS+ price increases are because Sony wants to make it better.
Wish they didn't make me sick
@Zeke68 He didn't mean every PS5 game would have a VR component...He just meant you can play PS5 games through the VR headset
@TrickyDicky99 things change. Waste of money.
I'm very happy with mine, there are still more good games for it than I've had time to play so far. Horizon is a brilliant showcase for the visuals the PS5 can deliver in VR, while Red Matter 2 has probably been the most immersive and responsive game I've played on it yet. I didn't buy into PSVR2 expecting a deluge of AAA games though so perhaps those unhappy with it had loftier expectations.
That being said, we're well overdue Sony announcing some further first-party plans for it, or throwing money at some other devs to build some exclusives, because it really needs to pick up momentum again. It clearly wasn't a lazily or cheaply designed product so you'd hope Sony understands the need to keep pushing with it.
Certainly don't dispute PS5 isn't core, but I spent £529 on VR2. Sony really need to show us early adopters that they are behind this damn hardware and give us some AAA titles. Not just indie puzzle games & crap fps title. Yes there are some good games but what we need is some dev like Insomniac or Naughty dog to really deliver something amazing preferably a 3rd person game. Hell was is Astrobot!!
@Art_Vandelay interesting that's the vibe I'm giving off
Sadly I brought one on release, as I'm a big horizon zero Dawn fan so I was massively excited to play however I feel it's basically a glorified tech demo
Arizona sunshine 2 should be good
But again it's down to the lack of content I just feel Sony release these things without a real plan and then just abandon it halfway through
PSVR2 works for Indies (especially as Portal is remote play and no development effort needed so....). But they need more than 1-2 first party working on VR too. London is working on non-VR so no successor to Blood and Truth then?
Or some Getaway project maybe maybe not? Astro/Asobi are doing VR I assume like Astrobot Rescue Mission as Astro's Playroom was 2020. Horizon Call of the Mountain came out....
What about Insomniac why not after Spiderman 2, with one on Wolverine the other work on a PSVR2 title or mode? Why have a studio that made Meta/Occulus games yet have them do nothing with PSVR now under Sony's ownership? At least Polyphony supports Sixaxis/PSVR1 & 2 I may not like their design of their games right now but I support their hardware use at least.
At least we have some hardware doing other things besides the Dualsense/whatever software benefits of PS5.
At least we have Cosmic Smash on PSVR2 then stuck on Dreamcast/arcade or other exciting stuff coming hopefully like we saw cool odd games on PSVR1.
It may be niche like MP3 players but it has a place. Far from dead it's just getting started. AAA might go to Meta because their cheap developers who want an existing userbase then to take a risk because that's annoying, build up one already on other platforms and you'll get better sales! But otherwise it's fair I'd say.
@TrickyDicky99 The game I played the most this generation is GT7 by a mile. It was the number one reason I got PSVR2, and its VR mode has exceeded my expectations. That's more than enough meat for me.
Now, not everyone is a GT7 hardcore like me, but PSVR2 has plenty of other meaty stuff already. RE8 and the upcoming RE4 are the obvious examples here, but there's also games like No Man's Sky in which people have spent hundreds of hours. Not to mention Call of The Mountain, which is a AAA quality, PSVR2-exclusive first-party title.
Sure, the medium could benefit immensely from bigger investments, but one must be realistic. It's a chicken and egg situation and Sony's approach, while frustrating to many, is the smart way to go from a financial standpoint. VR is ground-breaking tech that will take years or even decades to mature, and Sony is making sure they have a foot on it.
I might get back to flat, or I may stay mostly in VR like many people have. The truth is I don't care. I'm just glad PSVR2 exists because I'm having the best time I've had with gaming since the original PlayStation. So, I ask kindly: please, don't waste your time trying to take away from that enjoyment.
@RustyStag So, you bought PSVR2 for the Horizon game alone? What kinds of games do you like?
VR has so much potential, but it's not going to grow by itself, it needs headline games. Beatsaber can't carry the weight forever. Yeesh, at least make astrobot 2.
@RustyStag actually the PSVR2 isn't overpriced look at the price of the PC VR headsets on the market they cost way more and PSVR2 is the best headsets on the market
Oh yes. Please bin that resource vacuumer and focus on what matters.
Microsoft isn't kidding around anymore. No more time to kid around with silly peripherals that can't break mass market.
If that's true Sony then where's our PSVR games from China Hero Project? We haven't gotten a single new VR game from that since the first batch and the only one that's still in development might as well be cancelled. It's a shame too because flaws aside, I did have an enjoyable time with the PSVR and even met some new friends. The fact that they coudln't even bother giving us a PSVR2 port for Dreams before they dropped the game still leaves a mark.
That, and I'm still salty for the lack of backwards compatibility. If the PS5 can do it with (most) PS4 games, why can't the PSVR2 with PSVR games?
@Mikey856 I haven't played Cities but did enjoy the Jurassic Collection.
I've also bought far too many other VR2 games because I'm just blown away every time I put the headset on.
Then release Astro Bot Rescue Mission Remastered and The 2nd Mission!!!
https://youtu.be/1pAPTWiV5P4?si=GipWiBCuCxJv4K-D
These are the top 26 psvr2 games from psvr2withoutparole
( actually like 6-7 great games have come out/ been updated since then) check out these games before saying psvr2 has no games! Can some of them be played on the quest ? Yes ! Are those games a better experience on the psvr2 with superior haptic feedback, rumble and oled colours ? DEFINITELY!
@TrickyDicky99 To be honest, I'm loving my games being smaller. I'm a grown adult with a small tech company to run, so my gaming time is limited to about one hour a day (not every day).
The last flat-screen game I dived into before switching to VR was Forbidden West. And although it was a good game, it took me two or three months to see it through. What a relief then, to be playing Moss now and seeing that 60% completion on the launch screen after about a week. And sure, it doesn't have the production values of Horizon, but it's dripping with creativity and soul. So much more enjoyable.
I'm sorry you fell off VR, because you seem to like it. But I'm glad I still have a few years of delight left before it wears on me.
"a category that can help us with innovation"
I'm glad the £550 i spent on a device that i never use helped Sony with their innovation. They have badly let their early adopters down with this who trusted the marketing like myself.There are virtually no new games, a lack of first-party support and the quality of their 1st and 1.5 party games has been mediocre, with the possible exception of Horizon COTM.
Theyve killed the possibility of PSVR3 with this.
And do Sony subject all their PR/marketers to 'word salad' tests before offering themselves positions?
@Styledvinny79 That's sort of on you that you don't use it though.
@Critonic again, I’ve no reason to as played most and I am done with it. Total waste of money
@Art_Vandelay Exactly what you describe here, even the very best 'pancake' games can't get me excited anymore these days. I'm 45 years of age, have been gaming since i was able to hold a controller and VR saved my hobby bigtime. Finally some REAL innovation after many years of playing the same kind of stale open-world stuff with just a different layer of paint on them. I had a blast with the PSVR 1, and have the same feeling playing with the new headset. Biggest innovation in gaming since games went 3D in the 90's for sure, and the tech itself is still very much in it's infancy so stuff will only get better from here on out..
@Trousersnake That's funny, I'm also 45. And yes, VR feels exactly like the early days of 2D on the NES/Sega Master System, or the early days of 3D on the original PlayStation/N64. It's a little janky and cumbersome, but it's fresh and mind-blowing.
I actually think VR will take longer than those two analogies to mature, because it's so much more ground-breaking. But it's more than good enough already, and it's always exciting to participate in a nascent revolutionary tech.
@__jamiie awesome good to hear people are enjoying as much as I am. I take it you had PSVR1 then?
@Discol76 fantastic game! Is the online still active? I’d love to dust off the Vita and have a few games
@Art_Vandelay It really stands out to me that the average VR gamer is often a bit older just like us, and probably a fan of the tech for roughly the same reasons. Not only being able to afford such a (relatively) expensive console 'accessory' drives the age up, but being able to finally experience proper VR too. A childhood dream of many 80's and 90's kids, fuelled by movies like 'Lawnmower Man', 'Existenz' and 'The Matrix' as well as remembering multiple failed attempts at consumer VR back in these days, it all contributes to VR's popularity among the older gamer i think. Well, back to Red Matter 2 now!
@__jamiie cough....and the generation before....
@Mikey856 I do and still play it today. I actually ended up buying a load of PSVR games that I didn't have in preparation for PSVR2. I also bought some brand new PS Move controllers. I also bought the Aim controller Far Point bundle.
I finally completed Blood and Truth a couple of weeks ago.
I just wish Sony would make the DualSense VR controllers available to buy because my friend almost stepped on on when he was drunk and I can't take that chance again.
Maybe I should stop being his friend.
@Trousersnake All this plus the "being there, done that" feeling from having played flat-screen games for the last 40 years lol.
@Mikey856 Unfortunately not. Servers been shutdown. Great production valve for a Vita game.
@Axelay71 This year GT7, call of the mountain. Also the VR modes of Re village and Re4 are likely fully paid by playstation. People always consider call of the mountain a glorified tech demo. But it is just a very accessible title and it is not horizon zero dawn, but a fun climbing game with arcade shooting. It is more tomb raider than horizon.
The market share of Vr does not allow for all of playstation's studios to develop vr games. Though, the amount of work to add a VR mode cannot be that much (e.g. hitman 3). Therefor I am still puzzled why there are not more examples like re village, hitman 3. In particular for old titles which have been remade it seems like a missed opportunity to not add a vr mode. The latter would make these old titles more interesting. I would say. But likely it all boils down, that at the moment it is difficult to make money with psvr2 titles, so they have to be developed on a very tight budget.
@Smiffy01 given that some people suffer motion sickness, that it does not allow for couch co-op, and is slightly more difficult to pass a headset around when playing with a group of friends, and that is more hassle than just picking up a controller, it certainly will never reach the same market share as console flat-screen gaming. At the moment there is also the still too steep entrance fee. But, if standalone hardware becomes good enough, VR might appeal to a much bigger audience than it currently does. And for many people who tried VR, flat games lost all appeal. Anyway it is still possible that the games industry will abandon VR and maybe even stop producing home console games and fully focus on mobile games only.
@NeonPizza We're on the exact same page buddy, we should have a beer together sometime! Lol!🍻
@Discol76 ah that’s tragic mate. And yeah the production values of that game were top draw for a handheld bro
@__jamiie haha yeah that would be lame if one got broken!!, feed them less beer next time they come around 😂. Blood and truth ahhh what a game.
I had PSVR1 and I am now loving PSVR2. It just needs a few more mainstream IP’s, like Horizon, translated into VR. However, even then games like Demeo, Red Matter 1 & 2 or The Light Brigade are uniquely brilliant and at a cheap cost!
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...