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The Sony PlayStation VR headset has been a topic of conversation since its first appearance in 2014, offering the ability to deliver an exceptional virtual reality experience without the need for a high-end PC.
In fact, the PlayStation VR headset is compatible with one of the millions of PS4 in the world, with the ultra flat PS4 and, of course, with the PS4 Pro. I spent some time on the Sony PlayStation VR and that's what I lived.
PlayStation VR: Price and Availability
The PlayStation VR headset will give players £ 349 / $ 349, or £ 50 less than the £ 399 Oculus Rift and £ 150 at a price lower than the HTC Vive at £ 499. Amazon stores the PlayStation VR headset, which can be found for £ 326.99.
Amazon is not the only option though – THU (£ 339.99), Argos (£ 349.99), John lewis (£ 339.99) and Currys PC World (£ 349.99) also accept PlayStation VR headset controls in the UK.
Those in the United States can go to Amazon, Best Buy and even Walmart to buy PlayStation VR.
Although the price attracts attention, it does not seem that Sony has left out essential information.
Yes, the PlayStation VR headset costs around £ 349 in the UK, but it does not come with a PlayStation camera, an essential element for using virtual reality. The official PlayStation 4 camera costs £ 39.99 on Amazon at the time of writing this article.
It's the same with the PlayStation Move controllers, although these are not necessary to use the VR headset because all VR content will be compatible with the Sony DualShock 4 controller. Although the PlayStation Move controllers used with the PlayStation VR are the same as those used with the PS3, the Move sticks are currently sold on Amazon for $ 72.
It should be noted that the PlayStation VR headset is often offered as a set of controllers, a camera and even a game or two. Make sure to keep an eye on our best VR offers for cheap PSVR deals.
PlayStation VR: design and construction
The PlayStation VR headset is mostly white with black keys. It also has blue lights to track the headset in conjunction with a number of built-in sensors. It's pretty bulky and before using the headset for the first time, I assumed it would be pretty heavy too, though I was wrong.
I was surprised at how much the PlayStation VR headset was lightweight, especially if we consider its size. It is not as elegant and sexy as, for example, the Oculus Rift, but it is lightweight and comfortable. I did not experience any irritation on the edges of the headset, where it came in contact with my skin (the nose being a problem with some headsets), even when I used it for hours.
Why? I'm sure it has something to do with the plastic headband used by the PlayStation VR headset, compared to the fabric headband used by Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
The solid headband provides sufficient support to allow adjustment of the distance between the screen and the headband. This means that the headset can be attached in place without your eyes being covered. You just have to pull the screen towards you when you are ready to start.
It also means that the headset is not securely attached to your face, which helps to reduce perspiration and skin irritation over time, two common problems of virtual reality. This may not appear huge, but it shows that Sony has considered all the elements of use when designing the helmet, even the way you put it on and off. It also means that eyeglass wearers can use the PlayStation VR without problems – which I can personally attest to.
Light loss is not a problem with the PlayStation VR headset either, because the headset has several soft rubber flaps on the edges of the HMD that match the shape of your face when you wear the helmet. This ingenious feature allows the helmet to stop the light entering the helmet without it being too close to your face and becoming uncomfortable to wear.
Like many other VR headsets on the market, the PlayStation VR headset is wired and must be plugged into a PlayStation 4 console for use. The cable was long enough for us to sit comfortably away from the TV, and as many PlayStation VR games have to be played on the seat, it's not as big a problem as the HTC Vive.
The cable features headphone controls, very similar to the online multimedia controls that we find on many headphones for smartphones, offering a headphone jack for your headphones as well as volume controls and a power button .
A complaint about the helmet design? It's a bit complicated to put – at first, anyway. When I tried to turn on the headset for the first time, it took me about five minutes (including prompts on the screen showing me how to do it) to properly secure the headset and align the screen, while I did not have this problem with the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. That means it's a bit awkward to show it to your friends and family at first. However, just like cycling, once you have the talent, you can put it easily.
PlayStation VR: Features and Specifications
The PlayStation VR headset has quite impressive features for a £ 349 helmet, which should spark the enthusiasm of future VR players. The PSVR headset can be powered by one of the 44 million PS4 consoles currently on the market and can offer a better experience if it is powered by Sony's new PlayStation 4 Pro. This is an impressive achievement considering that high-end PC VR headsets require a powerful computer that will cost between £ 500 and £ 600 minimum.
The PlayStation VR headset features a 5.7 "x 1920 x 1080 Full HD OLED display, which equals 960 x 1080 per eye. Although not as high resolution as HTC Vive's 2160×1200 (1080×1200 per eye) resolution, it still offers its users an immersive virtual reality experience this different from high-end VR headsets.
The display is coupled to a 100-degree field of view, and an 18ms response time offers users an experience that is indistinguishable from real life – though it is partly based on game / experience graphics played. Sony's virtual reality headset also offers a refresh rate of 120Hz and therefore has the potential to render games at 120 frames per second, which is significantly higher than the 90Hz offer of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
Although I did not experience such a high frame rate during my time with the headset, I still have not had to complain about tearing screen nor any problem frame rate when I operate and interact with the virtual environment powered by both the standard PS4 and the PS4 Pro.
In fact, in some ways Sony's PlayStation VR headset is better than the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. The "screen door" effect is a problem that both high-end headsets suffer from – but what is it? In simple terms, the screen door effect refers to the gap between the individual pixels that appear when you look closely at a display. Spaces create an effect that resembles the mesh used in screen doors and can hinder the ability to read text, among other things, in virtual reality.
I was incredibly impressed when I used PlayStation VR, because the effect of the screen door was barely noticeable – even when trying to focus on individual pixels at the same time. Screen, it was difficult to select them. This is because Sony uses an RGB display that offers three RGB subpixels per pixel, which allows the pixels to blend into one. It may be small, but it's extremely impressive and it really improved my VR helmet experience.
The PlayStation 4 system makes it easy to track motion with integrated accelerometers and LED position lights that can be detected by a connected PlayStation camera. Sony claims that the PlayStation camera can track the PSVR headphones up to 1,000 times per second, which, in my experience, has allowed me to achieve a level of tracking equal to that of HTC Vive, although this tracking is excellent only when the PS Camera can see you.
The helmet design also allows users to turn their heads 360 degrees in the game, allowing players to look behind them when they are inevitably pursued by an armed enemy. This is possible thanks to the sensors located at the back of the helmet, which allow the system to know when you look behind you.
In addition to the PlayStation VR headset, users can purchase the optional Move sticks. Now, if you think they look familiar, you're right: these are the Move cookies used with the PS3, reused for virtual reality. Although this means that many users will already have the baton and will no longer need to replace it, it also means that the technology provided is not as impressive as the HTC Vive or Oculus Touch controllers. First, the tracking of the witness is not 1: 1 and is therefore not as accurate as the high-end systems, forcing the controllers to occasionally move into the game when the camera loses tracking.
Due to the relatively narrow field of view of the PlayStation camera, it is quite possible that some elements of the virtual reality experience are out of your reach. That's what happened to me when I played at London Heist – I tried to reach a drawer, but the light at the end of the witness was just outside the camera's field of view and so could not be followed. This meant that despite all my efforts, I could not open the drawer and I must admit that it spoiled the experience a little.
Although Move sticks can sometimes be a little tedious and difficult to use, we still think that they are an integral part of the PlayStation VR experience. Yes, using a DualShock 4 controller to interact with the virtual world is acceptable, but it is not as immersive as reaching out and interacting with the virtual environment, even if your hands are shaking from time to time.
It's important to remember that the headset is much cheaper than the high-end HTC Vive. Therefore, everything will not be perfect. But for new users of virtual reality and people interested in the world of virtual reality, this should not be too important, and I recommend investing in a pair of Move batons to use with the VR headset. All games and all experiences do not support stick moving support, but it will enhance the experience of those who do it.
PlayStation VR: the experience
I spent more time than it was important to admit that I played various games on PlayStation VR, and this is where I will tell you a little about what I experienced. But first, I thought it would be a good idea to fix game differences when you are running a PS4 Pro virtual reality game and a standard PS4-based virtual reality game.
PS4 vs. PS4 Pro: VR Experience
Before going any further, it's worth mentioning that just having a PS4 Pro will not provide you with a library of enhanced VR games. Just like with standard PS4 games, developers need to specifically add support for the console and until the time has come, the game will look exactly the same as it was on a standard PS4.
The standard experience of the PS4 VR should not be ignored, however, as it offers users a decent virtual reality experience. The textures are detailed enough for the experiment to be credible, the frame rate never drops below 60 frames per second (in my experience, anyway!) With no visible shift or tear in the image. ;screen.
This is impressive when you consider that it is powered by a console released in 2013 – the same can not be said of the majority of PCs released the same year. Yes, of course, 3D models are sometimes rasterized, and when you look closely at the environment, you'll find that it's not as clearly defined as you thought, but just providing a satisfactory virtual reality.
However, when you run a supported virtual reality game, such as PlayStation Worlds (including London Heist is a mini-game), on a PS4 Pro, the PlayStation VR headset makes perfect sense. Because headset resolution can not be increased, developers can use more graphics power to create better textures, better lighting, and other features that make immersion more intense.
The difference is immediately noticeable. the models are rarely rasterized, the textures are real enough to be touched and the experience is much more enjoyable. I even once went to press a virtual table because it looked so real and I simply forgot that I was in a game.
It's amazing to see the little details produced by the extra power provided by the PS4 Pro in VR, and I'd go so far as to say that the PlayStation VR experience powered by the Pro could compete with high-end VR headsets – in games where extra power is used effectively, anyway. Of course, the quality may vary from game to game, but the PlayStation VR headset offers an incredible VR experience.
If you consider that the HTC Vive costs the same price as the combined PlayStation VR headset and console, Sony has achieved something remarkable.
So let's go to the games! While I've played many PlayStation VR games, here are some of my favorites:
Farpoint
The first game I played was the next PSVR exclusive, Farpoint. Farpoint is different from the rest of the PSVR lineup as it is currently the only game to have a dedicated accessory – PSVR Aim. The lens is essentially a pistol, with triggers, buttons and a sensor to use in virtual reality, and offers a much more realistic experience than using Move controllers.
Although tracking is not quite 1: 1, feeling the gun in our hands and aiming as we would in real life really plunged us into the extraterrestrial world of Farpoint and made the overall experience much better. What is not clear at the moment is if the controller will work with other shooters or if it is exclusive to Farpoint.
In any case, I mislead. I find myself stuck on an extraterrestrial planet with "standard equipment" to keep me alive and aim to reach The Pilgrim, a broken down space station. The catch? The planet is teeming with aliens of all shapes and sizes, ranging from small spider-like animals that spit and leap to your face, passing by huge behemoths that charge you with a devastating effect. You only have one weapon at the beginning of the game and you gain more as you go, helping to keep the game fresh and exciting.
Motion sickness worried me, because practically standing up can cause discomfort for some. However, after a long period of play, I can say with joy that I did not feel any motion sickness, although I'm not quite sure that it was due to the intelligent design of the game movements or the PSVR helmet him -even. I even ran backwards shooting aliens who chased me without any kind of nausea.
Robinson: the journey
Robinson: The Journey is perhaps the most popular PlayStation VR game to date, and I understand why. From the moment the game started and I ended up in my emergency pod, the details of the textures and the environment blew me away. Crytek is famous for creating games with spectacular graphics and Robinson: The Journey did not disappoint.
The graphics are beautiful and the environment is "alive," so much so that I felt like I was the lonely explorer as I wandered in the jungle looking for HIGS units to scan and play. hide and seek with my pet T-Rex.
The environment is huge and abounds with objects with which to interact, as well as a huge library of prehistoric animals to discover and document. The different puzzles that you have to solve throughout the game should keep you busy for hours, as it was for me.
It's really a fascinating experience (if it's not terribly terrifying) to come out of a cave and watch a Diplodocus that dominates over you, munching the leaves of the trees. When you wear the PlayStation VR headset, you always get the same feeling of depth. So you understand how big these dinosaurs were. This also makes the situation even more terrifying when the dinosaurs begin to charge you, but I'll let you discover it yourself.
My only complaint? There is no support for Move Move. This is understandable because you have to explore the environment yourself, but I have the feeling that Crytek could have integrated a teleportation system similar to that used by HTC Vive developers. Using a controller to explore is fine and it's fun to watch the virtual world, but it would be much more immersive if I could scan, levitate and interact with the world with my own hands.
Battlezone
Battlezone is a reimagination of the classic 80s, built from scratch for virtual reality, and is one of my personal favorites because, who does not like to blow up tanks? The campaign can be done offline or online, where users have to go through a hex tile map, with each tile representing a randomly generated mission. I had a lot of fun playing the offline campaign, but after a while, I felt lonely. So, of course, I opted for the online variant and I have not regretted it.
The ability to communicate with two other PSVR players on a single card allows you to coordinate your attack, allowing us to quickly and efficiently eliminate waves of enemies. This has allowed me a second to enjoy the little details of the game, like the plethora of displays in your cockpit that display live information about your shields, balls, and so on. The graphics and lighting are impressive, especially in the cockpit, and I can confidently. Say this game will bring hours of fun to any PlayStation VR player.
London Heist
The London Heist is a mini-game from PlayStation VR Worlds. He is by far my favorite. At one point in the experiment, I found myself in the passenger seat of a white transit van next to a typical East London gangster, endowed with 39, a bald head and a thick cockney accent. I was able to use the PlayStation Move batons, which allowed me to reach out and interact with the environment that surrounds me.
The first thing I did? Pick up an empty can and throw it at the driver's head, of course. Whatever it was, my friend Cockney and I were being chased by a Russian gang on a bicycle and by car, and it was incumbent upon us to stop the pursuit. The cockney gangster slipped a SMG on the dashboard and, instinctively, I reached out and grabbed it without even thinking about it, and I opened fire.
It was at this point that I first noticed the problems with tracking Move sticks. I tried to lean out the window of the car to fight back, like the gangster I am, and I lost track of it because the controllers were out of the camera's field of vision. While this is understandable, it is not ideal to lose the controller's tracking when shooting at gangsters leaning out the window of a car.
As soon as I retracted from the window, follow-up came back and I continued, but that was not the point that was made – the immersive feeling I had felt so far had been temporarily lost. Still, I continued and in a few seconds, I had forgotten the tracking issues.
The game is quite immersive and realistic, thanks in part to manual reloading. Since I had full control of my two virtual hands, it was up to me to reload the SMG when it ran out of balls (which happened frequently, as I sent a volley of bullets to our pursuers) by catching a bullet , ammo clamp in the bag next to me and slide it down the SMG.
As the cars exploded around us and the corpses flew, I completely forgot that I was in my room. As far as I'm concerned, I was an armed gangster in East London throwing a rival gang on a deserted highway – and it was great. I've even had a cockney accent slightly thicker than normal at the end of the experiment, but let's be honest, I'm not made for gangster life and that's why PlayStation VR is great.
It allowed me to experience something that I would never live in my life and it was exciting. The graphics are not as detailed as the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, but they are more expensive and require a computer two or three times more expensive than a PlayStation 4. It does not really matter either, because in a few seconds after putting on the headset, I was completely immersed and I did not care anymore about things like screen resolution and high quality textures.
Read more: The best PlayStation VR games
Verdict
The world that PlayStation VR will open for players around the world is exciting and much more affordable than high end VR headsets without experiencing experience. I am confident that players will appreciate Sony's offer with the PlayStation VR and, given the number of developers who are actively developing this platform, the brand appears to be a strong contender in the race for popularity of reality Virtual.
The experience is immersive and only enhanced by the more powerful PlayStation 4 Pro, which offers computer-like graphics that are two times cheaper than a gaming PC.
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