Comments 548

Re: PS5 Access Controller Revealed, User Interface and Buttons Detailed

Art_Vandelay

@Balosi Maybe there won't be an army of 80+ gamers, but surely there won't be no gamers of that age in a few decades. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

Statistically, the age of the average gamer is constantly raising, meaning many people do stick to the hobby. Sure, many fall off, but I'd guess many more get in. That's why the industry as a whole keeps growing.

On a side note, the idea of shorter, simpler games does appeal to me. And that could be a reason why I'm loving VR right now. It's surely not the main reason, but a compelling one nonetheless.

Re: PS5 Access Controller Revealed, User Interface and Buttons Detailed

Art_Vandelay

Whenever the subject of accessibility is raised, there's always the empty virtue signaling that is not truly helpful. Being empathetic is great of course, but what most people seem to miss is the fact that many of us will eventually need it.

Gaming is still a nascent industry, to the point where the vast majority of gamers have not reached an age where they would need any form of accessibility support. But that moment will eventually come, when you can't see or hear as clearly as before, and your reflexes are just not up to par with the game's original design. I'm 44 and my hands and fingers clearly don't move as quickly as they once did.

So yes, accessibility is super important. Not only for the others, but for admittedly self-centered reasons too.

Re: Mini Review: Walkabout Mini Golf (PSVR2) - Teerrific, Whole-in-One Experience Fore the Players

Art_Vandelay

@Snackfood I've noticed that too. Both the general politeness and the average age. Not only in VR, but also in places like Reddit.

Now, the age part really piques my interest, as I'm 44. Why is VR so appealing to older gamers? I've raised a few possible reasons:

  • We were there when the fake VR hype stormed the nineties. So modern VR feels a bit like vindication. It's been a long couple of decades of painful blue balls.
  • We've been gaming for too long. We've seen it all. Not only that, but games have evolved in an increasingly slower pace over the last couple of decades. VR feels fresh and exciting.
  • VR is still an expensive hobby, making it impenetrable to a much larger demographic than flat-screen gaming. In that sense, I wonder about the attach rate for PSVR2 games.

Re: Oh No, the Bloodborne Remake Rumours Have Returned

Art_Vandelay

To be fair, one of the original sources of this rumor was Colin Moriarty, who is a legit journalist with real industry connections. Which doesn't make it real, but lends it some credence. Now, he hasn't mentioned it for a couple years, so take it as you may.

And to those saying that this remake wouldn't be justified because Bloodborne is a bit of a niche title: it might be, but you need to see the big picture here. Bloodborne fans are the hardest of the hardcore. This is the sort of group that can make waves far beyond their inner circle. These are PlayStation evangelizers, influencers and so on. It is a super smart marketing strategy to appease this sort of customer.

Re: Battle Alongside the Autobots in Upgraded PSVR2 Port of Transformers Beyond Reality

Art_Vandelay

@thefourfoldroot1 I'm pretty sure it's a typo. Afaik, PSVR2 only supports native 90 and 120 fps, or 60 with reprojection to 120.

Technically, you could run a game at 70 fps, but then you'd need to fit it inside either a 60 or 90 Hz container. In the first case, it would just mean that the framerate would be capped to 60 fps reprojected. In the latter case, frame pacing would be all over the place, making it look actually worse than capped 60.

Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores?

Art_Vandelay

@zupertramp Yeah, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.. just released. I don't know how widespread it was, but I did see a decent number of complaints about Cal. How unlikeable he was, and all. I even saw some journalist complaining about his beard lol. I played the first one (Fallen Order) some time ago and didn't have any issues with the protagonist. Not remarkable in any way, but that is par for the course with Star Wars these days.

Now Deeke from Days Gone.. Wow, that bothered me. Not the guy, which was also totally fine, but the discourse around the game. I loved Days Gone and thought it was totally mistreated by the press. And the protagonist was a centerpiece in many outlets. Anyway, don't wanna get into it here but the point stands.

Re: Best PSVR Games We Want Upgraded for PSVR2

Art_Vandelay

@Splat I was in the same boat as you, as I'm super prone to motion sickness. To give you an idea, I downright don't play first-person-shooters as I get nauseated withing minutes of playing them. Any of them. Heck, sometimes I can barely sustain sessions of games in third person. It's that bad.

But I've always had a massive interest in VR and, with PSVR2, I decided to take the plunge. And I couldn't be happier. Yes, some games are a no go for now, especially ones that involve acceleration.

But I have no issues with games that are either stationary or have constant movement, such as Moss, Tetris, Thumper, Pistol Whip, Job Simulator, Puzzling Places, C-Smash, Drums Rock (the most fun I've had with a game in years) and many others.

I'm still trying to build my "VR legs" so I can graduate to games that have full locomotion. I've tried Horizon and RE8 and, even if I can't play them for very long yet, I can definitely feel improvement day after day. My final goal is GT7, but I'll take my sweet time as it will be totally worth it.

Re: Soapbox: I No Longer Think Subscriptions Like PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Are the Future of Gaming

Art_Vandelay

@cragis0001 You're taking a single specific metric and failing to look at the big picture. What good is that growth when it does not translate financially?

  • Microsoft is not selling consoles at the pace they expected.
  • Xbox owners are not buying games anymore.
  • Game Pass' subscribers base is not growing at the rate Microsoft envisioned.
  • Microsoft's biggest bet yet - the ABK deal - is now under threat.

Put all this together and see the big picture. I gotta say it spells troubled times ahead, my friend.

Re: Soapbox: I No Longer Think Subscriptions Like PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Are the Future of Gaming

Art_Vandelay

I totally agree as I've been saying this from day one. Now, the big question is: what is Microsoft going to do? They've gone too deep down that path, and are now seemingly realizing the mistake they made. The change of tone has been remarkable as of late.

The obvious approach would be to gradually reverse course. The problema is that a few decisions they made are really hard to turn around, with the main one being day 1 releases. And there's the whole ABK deal, a ridiculous $69 billion bet on the subscription model.

On the other hand, they clearly can't compete head-to-head with Sony. Not without profound changes in the Xbox division.

At the end of the day, it's funny how the narrative has completely shifted from the start of this generation to now.

Re: PSVR2 Availability Expands to UK Retailers on 12th May

Art_Vandelay

@Member_the_game Look at the big picture. This is a soft-launch through and through. VR is tricky, and Sony understands it. I personally think this approach is the smart strategy for an unproven product segment like this. You get it in the hands of the enthusiasts first, then gradually expand it into the mainstream.

Either way, I'm having the gaming time of my life.

Re: Microsoft Dealt Major Blow as UK Blocks Activision Buyout

Art_Vandelay

@ShogunRok When you think about it, cloud gaming and subscription services are intertwined. The real threat here is Game Pass.

Microsoft has been playing an unfair game (pardon the pun) by sustaining an unsustainable business model, hoping that it would weaken competitors with shallower pockets in the long run. Bringing COD to GP would be another major blow in that sense.

Sure, they offered Sony to put COD on PS+, but that is such a cynical proposition as Sony cannot withstand the short-term loss in revenue.

At the end of the day, the subscription model the way Microsoft envisioned is only viable if it's close to a monopoly. This has always been the endgame, and I'm glad some regulatory bodies are seeing right through it.

Re: PlayStation Is No Longer Officially Verified on Twitter

Art_Vandelay

@RonnieL I won't judge his character because I don't know him personally and the media will spin any narrative to make you believe whatever they want.

And I don't measure anyone's success by the money that have, but by the accomplishments they achieved. And by that yardstick, Elon is the most successful living human being, period.

If you or I had all the money in the world, we still wouldn't be able to revolutionize a number of industries by sheer entrepreneurship. As a matter of fact, most sons and daughters of billionaires turn out to be spoiled losers.

I'm not "simping" for anyone, I just admire the guy as an entrepreneur myself. And on top of that, he surely has made much more for me than most people, even though he hasn't addressed me personally lol.

Re: PlayStation Is No Longer Officially Verified on Twitter

Art_Vandelay

@Flaming_Kaiser You really don't get, do you? Being rich doesn't mean anything. In Elon's case, money is a mere consequence of the many incredible deeds he has managed to accomplish.

Again, everyone makes mistakes. What matters at the end of the day, is the balance between the amount and size of your successes and failures.

Re: PlayStation Is No Longer Officially Verified on Twitter

Art_Vandelay

@nessisonett Well, he is the most successful entrepreneur amongst 8 billion people currently alive.

He has revolutionized the financial, automotive, energy and space exploration industries to name a few. And lately, he's on a quest for truth and freedom of speech.

But sure, the fact that you don't align with his takes automatically makes him "stupid".

Re: Preview: Firewall Ultra Proves There's Plenty to Look Forward to on PSVR2

Art_Vandelay

@NEStalgia You make very good points there. Having realistic expectations is key to enjoying VR; or rather, to enjoy any form of entertainment to a degree.

Some people are delusional if they think Sony would invest a couple hundred million to fund one first-party VR game. That would actually be totally irresponsible.

And on top of that, it's not even necessary. I'm more than happy with the combination of hybrid AAA, third-party indies and the occasional second-party AA.

Re: Rumour: Sony's Allegedly Cut PSVR2 Production Plan by 20% in 2023

Art_Vandelay

@TheCollector316 Again, you're failing to do the math.

On one side, you have the revenue from the few Sony first-party games potentially sold on PC. On the other side, you have the massive engineering investment to make this thing work reliably on PC. I guess you have no idea of how expensive this would be. The PC ecosystem is a mess, and the VR scene there is a nightmare. The risk far outweighs the gain. Sorry, not gonna happen.

I get that you want PSVR2 on PC. It would be a great deal, that's for sure. But note: a great deal to you, not to Sony. Wishful thinking always gets in the way when making this sort of analysis. Look through your own bias.

Re: Rumour: Sony's Allegedly Cut PSVR2 Production Plan by 20% in 2023

Art_Vandelay

@TheCollector316 I'll break it down for you:

Companies exist to generate profit to shareholders, hence financial incentive is the only incentive.

The small margin Sony has (if any) on the PSVR2 device itself is not enough financial incentive for the product to exist. As with any corporation that is in the games console business, the real money comes from the software side. The hardware is a mean to an end.

Sony gets a 30% cut on every third-party game sold on PlayStation. 100% on first party. Sony makes no money on PC software sales. So why on Earth would they support PSVR2 on that platform?

Re: Mini Review: The Last Worker (PSVR2) - VR Doesn't Save the First-Person Order Picker

Art_Vandelay

@GrimReaper You've clearly not given modern VR a good try.

I've been gaming since the early 80's, and I have not been this excited since the PS1. PSVR2 has brought back some of that magic that was long lost.

Flat-screen gaming is great, but it has become too samey. VR has turned it on its head, suddenly making everything look interesting again.

Give it a go. You might be surprised by how a "7" somehow turns from "pass" to "must-have".

Re: Soapbox: PSVR2 Already Feels Like It's on Course for Failure

Art_Vandelay

It's mightily unfair to say that there is no PSVR2 first party roadmap. There is no public Sony first party roadmap, period. Apart from Spider-Man and Wolverine, of course.

People need to chill a little bit. It's been a month, for God's sake. This is clearly a soft launch all things considered. And a great launch for the few of us enthusiasts, that's for sure.

The Quest 3 and Apple's headset will surely raise a lot of awareness for VR by the year's end, and that could also help. The next holiday season is what will make or break PSVR2.

Re: PSVR2 Sales Off to a 'Slow Start', New Report Claims

Art_Vandelay

The next holiday season is what will make or break PSVR2.

Right now, it surely looks like a soft launch strategy. Which is smart, because VR is still in its early days as an industry.

On the one hand, Sony has done a great job at providing more than enough incentive for enthusiasts, with exclusive bangers like GT7 and RE8 in addition to a large and solid lineup of smaller but awesome ports.

On the other hand, the marketing campaign and device availability are clearly barebones.

All in all, this allows Sony to better mature the product in order for it to appeal to a more mainstream audience by the time the shopping season kicks off. And yes, a price cut would surely sweeten the deal and is definitely in the cards.

Re: PlayStation Fans Are Totally Torn Over PS5 Pro

Art_Vandelay

I've been totally convinced that a PS5 Pro would not happen anytime soon simply because AMD cannot provide Sony with a viable SoC. But here is an interesting idea: what if the Pro is essentially the same hardware as the base PS5 except for 2 things:

1) Double the storage space, since SSDs have been plummeting in price.

2) An additional chip that would virtually double framerate through accelerated FSR3 frame generation.

That would potentially add little strain on developers and still offer twice the performance of the base model. And be sold at a reasonable price.

Food for thought.

Re: Flagship First-Party Naughty Dog Will Develop for PS5 and PC Moving Forwards

Art_Vandelay

I'm really worried about the sustainability of the games industry. Here is the recipe for the upcoming meltdown:

  • Raised expectations with every new generation - bigger games, better graphics - have reached a breaking point.
  • Multiple SKUs - PS4, Pro, PS5, PC - have created the need to design with too many variables in mind, not to say "QA-ing" and optimizing each and every version.
  • The clamor for multiple graphics and performance options even on consoles has added yet another layer of complexity for developers on top of the previous point.
  • Game price increases have not followed the raise in production costs, creating the need for a AAA title to sell in the millions to be profitable. Not to mention the race to the bottom that Microsoft is trying to impose with Game Pass.

And here is the canary in the coal mine: super long development cycles with multiples delays that still result in bug riddled games. What gives?

Re: Gran Turismo 7 Officially Details Huge PS5, PS4 1.31 Update, Out Today

Art_Vandelay

I bet they had to optimize the game like crazy to get it running rock solid in VR and, as a side effect, this work unlocked 120 fps in pancake. Now, it probably fluctuates between 60 and 120 and thus VRR becomes paramount.

I remember a similar thing happening with Ace Combat 7, where the PS4 Pro version ran better than the Xbox One X's. Probably also because the PS4 version required further optimizations for the VR missions.

Getting back to GT7, this is by far my favorite game on the PS5. Polyphony are just masters of their craft.

Re: Sony Is Acting Unfairly Against Xbox in Japan, US Congress Members Say

Art_Vandelay

I can almost literally see the cogs of the machine at work here. Microsoft is now putting all their corporate weight into making the Activision deal go through. Not in court, where it belongs though.

The sad thing is this deal will exponentially raise the damage that Microsoft's business model is causing to the industry at large. And the sadder thing is that most people will only realize this when it is too late.

Re: Tchia (PS5) - Unique Island Adventure Is a Joyful, Creative Playground

Art_Vandelay

@rjejr Oh, I know. I didn't get that interpretation at all.

And to be fair, all those Quest ports do contribute to create this idea that VR games look simpler. But on PSVR2, that is not the case at all. GT7, RE8 and Call of the Mountain look superb in the headset.

Now, VR is so awesome that I can easily look past the low polygon count and low-res textures even in the aforementioned Quest ports. And that is saying something, as I'm one of those graphics afficionados that watch each and every Digital Foundry video.

Re: Poll: We Want You to Rate Your Favourite PSVR2 Games

Art_Vandelay

@NEStalgia Yeah, me too. PS1 was the last I remember, since the shift to 3D felt a lot like how VR does now. But I could even go further back and refer to the Master System and Genesis days. Man, I would play whatever was available to me. Even the secret snail game.

Btw, I should be getting my replacement headset in the next couple of days. I've been tracking a few Reddit threads on this "world shift/wobble" issue, and it does seem like a (hopefully) rare hardware defect.

The weird thing is that, with many people, it started suddenly, with the firmware update being the main culprit. But not everyone. Some have reported that Sony tech support is aware of the issue.

We'll see.

Re: Poll: We Want You to Rate Your Favourite PSVR2 Games

Art_Vandelay

@Reeneman Yeah, but don't push it too much, as you could end up with the opposite of VR legs: that is, creating a negative association with the medium by feeling sick often.

VR is too much of a different paradigm to the brain, and the variables are many. People focus a lot on the movement aspects, but there are other important ones such as the vergence-accomodation conflict caused by the fixed plane of focus in current headsets.

There are loads of excellent stationary games like Moss, Puzzling Places and Drums Rock. These are the best starting point. Then you can move on to games with constant speed movement (no acceleration) such as most rhythm-based titles - Thumper, Synth Riders... Then to the locomotion-based ones with good comfort options, until you can finally and progressively take the wheels off.

To me, GT7 is dead last, but I'll get there. I'm having enough fun in the VR showroom already.

Re: Poll: We Want You to Rate Your Favourite PSVR2 Games

Art_Vandelay

@Reeneman I'm new to VR, and whilst I bought PSVR2 with mainly GT7 in mind, I could only handle a few seconds of racing when I first tried it. Too intense lol.

Now I'm diligently building my VR legs by playing less intense games every day and, honestly, I'm not in a rush. There are so many awesome titles, especially for newcomers like me.

I actually feel like I'm back to my early wonder years with videogames. Almost everything seems interesting and exciting. GT7 will be a sort of platinum trophy of my experience with VR.

Re: Talking Point: Is 2024 Too Soon for PS5 Pro?

Art_Vandelay

It is too soon, but the main reason is not mentioned in the article.

The bulk of performance gains in computing over the last few decades comes from node shrinks. But further reduction of transistor sizes inside microchips have become increasingly complex and expensive simply because of physical limits.

All that means that AMD just cannot provide Sony with an SoC that is considerably more powerful than the PS5's one at a reasonable price point. Not in 2024. Probably not in 2025. Simple as that.

Re: 17 New PS Plus Extra, Premium Games Revealed in Another Huge Update

Art_Vandelay

No love for PS VR2... I understand that this is the time where people are most prone to buy games on the new platform, given their excitement with the new toy. But on the other hand, PS+ could be used by Sony to promote sales of the hardware by offering one or two games. This would be the very same line of thinking of the PS+ Collection.

Re: Mini Review: Puzzling Places (PSVR2) - A Lovely Game with a Few Problems

Art_Vandelay

@NEStalgia It is quite subtle in games such as Horizon or Village, but a total showstopper in Puzzling Places. And since you mentioned, I actually saw someone describe the exact same issue on Reddit, stating that Moss was simply unplayable. Though I haven't got to Moss just yet.

Funny thing is, in the few threads on Reddit that describe a similar issue, no one has been able to find a solution. Which leads me back to the theory that something is amiss with the device itself. Or the software, of course, but for some reason it only affects a few people.

Re: Mini Review: Puzzling Places (PSVR2) - A Lovely Game with a Few Problems

Art_Vandelay

@NEStalgia I feel like I have tried everything: low light, bright light, natural light… I have done the crosses on the walls with tape… I've tried with the TV on and off… I have covered reflective surfaces… Hell, I have even tried it in the kitchen (seriously). And yes, the "tracking support" option has been enabled from the very beginning. Oh, and disabling eye tracking doesn't have any effect either. And I have reset camera calibration a dozen times.

Now what do you mean by "use your tv as an extra tracking device". Isn't it the aforementioned "tracking support" setting that applies the border around the screen? As I understand, this is supposed to cause the tracking to ignore the image on screen to avoid confusion. But yeah, doesn't help either.

The most annoying thing is that the issue is bad enough to ruin the experience but subtle enough to make me doubt my judgement. Maybe I'm too sensitive and this is expected. Or maybe there's some crazy interference plaguing my house.

If I had to guess, I'd say that there could be some sort of mismatch between the information being fed by the tracking cameras and the data from the gyros/accelerometers. I have some experience with with IR/NIR computer vision development and that is what it feels like when I play. It's like the image is constantly adjusting itself slightly as the data from all sensors doesn't quite match when I turn my head.

Oh well, I guess the only way at this point is to request for a replacement. Thanks for the help.

Re: Mini Review: Puzzling Places (PSVR2) - A Lovely Game with a Few Problems

Art_Vandelay

@gbanas92 Thanks for the reply. And kudos to you and the team for the excellent coverage of PSVR2's launch.

No, I have not tried a factory reset, though I did clean the console's cache. The thought of reconfiguring everything and redownloading all my games sounds a bit like a nightmare lol. But it might be worth it.

The last update went smoothly, but the wobble might have gotten worse. Hard to say with confidence, though.

Re: Mini Review: Puzzling Places (PSVR2) - A Lovely Game with a Few Problems

Art_Vandelay

@Dalejrfanfreak It's definitely more noticeable in some games than others, but it's always there. It is especially bad in stationary games where objects are close to view, because any slight shift in perspective is immediately noticeable. Another example is the cockpit view in GT7's VR Showroom.

I'm struggling with the decision if I should return this unit, but I really don't want to. This could well be a widespread software thing that gets ironed out in the future. But at the same time, I haven't seen many people complaining about it.

And yes, Puzzling Places is great. Perfect for VR.

Re: Mini Review: Puzzling Places (PSVR2) - A Lovely Game with a Few Problems

Art_Vandelay

I've been having tracking issues with my PSVR2, and this game is where it is most notable. Every few seconds, the world sort of shifts slightly, as if the tracking is trying to self-correct. It pretty much ruins the experience by creating this wobbly environment thus inducing severe motion sickness.

I've tried the headset in different rooms with different furniture and lighting conditions, but nothing so far has had the slightest impact. And no, it's not the TV and there are no mirrors in the rooms.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Re: WW2 Flight Sim Aces of Thunder Soaring to PSVR2 from the Makers of War Thunder

Art_Vandelay

@MattSilverado Right, but it certainly hinges on how successful the device is (in sales, obviously) in the next several months (holiday season, especially).

VR can easily be perceived as a gimmick by people who have never tried it, or who have tried early stuff like GearVR. And at $550, it's an even harder sell.

So, we fans need to spread the word as much as possible because that is how this niche could become mainstream.