Price and launch month announced at GDC.
In the box:
PSVR headset
PlayRoom VR game
Earplugs
Breakout box w/cpu
Cables, documentation etc.
Plays standard PS4 games and videos in VR cinema.
The Move controller and camera are sold separately, along with the PS4.
Being a cagey saying $399 when it needs the camera to work.
Yeah, that sucks. I get that some people already have the camera, but I’m pretty sure the majority of PS4 owners don’t. It’s almost a mandatory $50 lift to that $399 price.
Yeah, that’s gonna cause a lot of confusion come Christmas.
Less than 18ms latency.
How does that compare to Rift/Vive?
It’s nice that the kit price is $200 lower than the nearest competitor, but given that it requires a PS4 and the PS4 camera and those would run me at least another $350, it’s not really coming out ahead in the final analysis. I’m sure it’s more tempting for console aficionados.
That’s not an entirely accurate assessment. The Rift and Vive both require a ~$1000(US) PC to run so you’re looking at roughly $1600 for the Rift and $1800 for the Vive if you’re starting from scratch. The PSVR would be $350+$400+$60(for the camera) so just a little over $800 for everything which is half of what the next “competitor” is. In fact the total for the PSVR + PS4 would be almost in line for what the Vive is all by its lonesome.
I’m of the opinion that at these price points we’re not at mass-market VR yet anyway, assuming VR is inherently mass-market.
They’ve sold millions of cameras already. They were always going to ship it without as a base. Besides, they’ve been as cheap as $25 and are often thrown in as a free bonus with PS4s. Retailers will offer similar deals on the PSVR during the holidays. If they included a camera with every PSVR we’d just be getting a bunch of hot takes about how they should have left it out and sold it for cheaper just like Oculus got over packing in the Xbox controller.
Yeah, keeping an eye out for a cheap camera on amazon, as I am sure it is sold out today.
Why does it need the camera? I’ve not followed VR that closely since I doubt I will be an early adopter, but I am curious as to what it needs the camera for.
To broadcast pictures over the internet of how stupid you look with that thing strapped to your face.
-Tom
Well, that seems reasonable.
You need the camera to track the movements of your head, so that the headset accurately shows what you’re facing.
(If you also have motion controllers, then the camera also tracks the location of your “hands.”)
Sure, if you’re starting from scratch. I’m not. I have a PC that more than equals the requirements for the Rift and the Vive both. I don’t have a PS4. If your situation is reversed from mine, or you don’t have any kind of VR capable system, the PSVR is certainly the cheapest way to get into VR, if not necessarily the best overall investment, but I’m speaking to my circumstances.
And you’re right, we’re certainly not at mass-market pricing yet.
The PS VR uses an optical tracking system. The camera is looking at the LEDs on the headset and controllers in addition to the sensor data the headset and controllers provide.
The other VR setups use a similar system. Oculus has a camera looking for LEDs on the headset and controllers, Vive does it backwards: the “lighthouses” draw a grid on the walls/floor, and there are sensors (cameras, basically) on the headset and controllers that look for the grid.
It seems like a no-win for PlayStation: if they included the camera, a bunch of people would complain they have to buy an extra camera. shrug.
Thanks for the replies, that makes sense. I bet VR for Gran Turismo would be amazing!
Be interesting to hear from people at GDC who try them out to tell the differences. Looks like the main difference with PlayStation VR is it uses one screen vs two for the others. Have to see if this makes any noticeable difference in quality.
And the usual dollar to euro direction conversion is apparent. (Huh - after looking it up, the difference actually isn’t that big anymore)
Thankfully, its not something I have any interest in at all. How many are really interested in VR on the PS4? Im inclined to think its a fad, but who knows, by this point.
That’s basically a fancy way of saying 60fps. But their display is 120hz, so games can be a 60fps, 90fps and 120fps, if I’m not mistaken.
Rift/Vive is everything at 90fps, with a 90hz display (less than 12ms latency).