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[Wonko_C]

Let's say not just GT7 was compatible with PSVR2, but every first party game would support PSVR2, do you think that would have moved the needle?

Let's theorize how some of these games could work.

-3rd person melee combat and platformer games like GoW, Demon's Souls, Astro Bot, Horizon FW, Spider-Man wouldn't change much, just let us play in third person as is, like Hellblade VR Edition. (Maybe add an extra "Swing through NYC in first person" mode to Spider-Man 2 for those of us who have our VR legs)

-Third person shooter games like Uncharted, Helldivers 2, TLoU, Returnal, Ratchet and Clank would play in first person like Resident Evil 4, with switches to 3rd person when necessary. (Climbing in first person with your own hands in Uncharted would be a lot of fun)

-FPS games like Destiny 2, Marathon, Concord would be the easiest. Just don't pull a Firewall Ultra on us and let us reload manually, and let us crossplay with flatscreen players.

Adapt me to PC without all of my features if dumb.

 

[Robb]

I personally wouldn’t, but I definitely think it would’ve pushed sales a lot further.

I think more big games in the style of, say, Half-Life Alyx would be cool though. A big new TLoU game in VR through and through I think would entice a lot of people, for example. Problem is they don’t seem to want to make that kind of investment.

 

[tmlDan]

Where's the naw, i own it but it wouldn't have made a difference, option

 

[ZehDon]

Not really; shoehorning VR into every single title regardless is effectively what Movie Studios did with 3D films, which all but killed that format.

VR needs bespoke titles, or, titles adapted to the format with a lot of care. I don't want a VR "mode" for Spider-man 2, I want someone to make a game that finally challenges Half-Life: Alyx.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

At least 1 more, I'd have really considered buying one.

 

[GHound]

The instant they confirmed there was zero backwards compatibility I was out.
There's zero chance of me ever purchasing closed system VR software again.

 

[intheinbetween]

Nope, wired VR headsets are uncomfortable. Once you go Quest you don’t want to go back to wired VR

 

[CLW]

 

[Damigos]

PSVR2 should be fully compatible with PSVR1 titles to begin with. And also enhance them.

 

[Trab-Pu-Kcip]

I think yes but the following question is how much more unit it would sold. That peripheral is damn to expensive

 

[LordBlodgett]

Of course! But that's pretty unrealistic. You would need significant changes to screen wideness in many games and would likely have to dial the graphics back quite a bit for most actual PS5 games.

 

[ahtlas7]

would have sold a lot more if it included PC drivers.

 

[clem84]

I have it, and I'm not using it. I don't know how you guys' PSVR2 experience is but for me, comfort is just very bad. The way it squeezes your head, I mean I can't keep it on for more than 25-30 minutes. The sweet spot is so small that the helmet has to be correctly positioned, and tight. If it's not tight enough, it moves around and I lose the sweet spot and it's just annoying. If it's too tight it becomes extremely uncomfortable and I can't have it on for very long.

It's really too bad because the content is good. GT7, the Moss games, No Man's Sky, that Kayaking game I just love it. A friend of mine made me try his Quest3 with a top head strap... It is night and day comfort difference compared to PSVR2. You just forget that it's even there. At this point I'm just hoping Sony will redesign it with comfort in mind. I know this has virtually no chance of happening but it would be the only way for me to spend a significant amount of time with it.

 

[april6e]

There are no interesting games that a casual would be interested in. It is as simple as that. Horizon and Gran Turismo isn't enough for me to replace my PSVR1 for and with no interesting games on the horizon. Any multiplatform game on the PSVR2, I would just play on my PC VR sets instead because it would be way better. I, like many people, are waiting for Sony to just release these games on PC so I can use much better headsets and hardware to run those games instead.

 

[T-0800]

It would have sold a lot more if every Sony studio made something for it.

 

[willothedog]

I'm not too fond of the fact you cannot buy replacement controllers or that the main cable, although it can be user-replaced, is also not for sale.

 

[evanft]

I'll lay out the two biggest problems, as I see it.

• Price. It should be about $200-$300 at most. At ~$500 it's completely DOA.
• Backwards compatibility. PSVR1 actually had a decent line up of games that would have provided a great day 1 line up for anyone buying PSVR2. Unfortunately, those games are stuck on PSVR1, so if you're someone who already had a library for that headset why would you but PSVR2 immediately? You'd be better off clearing out your backlog and then picking up PSVR2 on sale.

 

[Cr1ptkeeper]

Nope, wired VR headsets are uncomfortable. Once you go Quest you don’t want to go back to wired VR

For me it's the opposite. Sure, you have the advantage of going wireless but you get the discomfort of wearing a front heavy VR set.
There was a time when I was only using the Quest 2 and I thought the comfort was OK. Then PSVR2 came out and I switched to that.
After about a year of only using the PSVR2 I turned on my Quest 2 again. I immediatly thought/felt the Quest was very uncomfortable! Extremely front heavy.
So I'm glad the PSVR2 isn't wireless if that's the payoff...

 

[onQ123]

Yes

 

[onQ123]

PSVR2 failed because Richard Marks is no longer at PlayStation so no one is there with a real love for this stuff to push out new ideals

 

[bitbydeath]

Nah, I think it already has better games, but I went with Quest because it works without any additional equipment, no console or PC required.

 

[existensmaximum]

I don't know, but it would probably have stood a better chance if Sony bothered to make ANY games at all for it? Like ports of PSVR1 classics, some really cool tech demos (like Playstation VR Worlds) or just showed ANY kind of support and interest. Have they even marketed the thing since it was released?

I didn't believe all the nay-sayers who claimed they just dropped it and left it to die, but they were 100% right unfortunately. Still, I don't regret my purchase because I've had plenty of fun but damn what a load of wasted potential when the hardware is so good.

 

[intheinbetween]

For me it's the opposite. Sure, you have the advantage of going wireless but you get the discomfort of wearing a front heavy VR set.
There was a time when I was only using the Quest 2 and I thought the comfort was OK. Then PSVR2 came out and I switched to that.
After about a year of only using the PSVR2 I turned on my Quest 2 again. I immediatly thought/felt the Quest was very uncomfortable! Extremely front heavy.
So I'm glad the PSVR2 isn't wireless if that's the payoff...

Your choice and preference relies mostly on the PS platform, not the device itself. Today a wired VR headset is uncomfortable, as simple as that

 

[dragonyeuw]

I don't think the current economy supports a $500 add-on to an existing $400-500 device, even if every first party title had a VR mode, BC with PSVR1 titles and the like. It would tick a few more boxes and garner a little more interest but nothing that exponentially moves the needle.

 

[FunkMiller]

They put out an overpriced VR headset with old technology (wires) and made one game for it.

It was only ever going to fail.

Games. Sell. Hardware.

 

[sncvsrtoip]

Defenitely, gt7, re4r, village, no man's sky are best games psvr2 has to offer. Sony has huge opportunity to introduce hybrid model and bring vr to mainstream, unfortunately they failed

 

[Moses85]

They are, you can use the cinematic Mode

 

[Dr. Suchong]

I think VR will always remain niche until the hardware becomes as small and intuitive to wear as a pair of sunglasses.
I find AR far more intriguing tbh.

 

[Lunarorbit]

I jizzed my patalons when they showed 2 vr games at the sop. Thought Sony forgot they released it

 

[Wonko_C]

I have it, and I'm not using it. I don't know how you guys' PSVR2 experience it but for me, comfort is total shit. The way it squeezes your head, I mean I can't keep it on for more than 25-30 minutes. The sweet spot is so small that the helmet has to be correctly positioned, and tight. If it's not tight enough, it moves around and I lose the sweet spot and it's just annoying. If it's too tight it becomes extremely uncomfortable and I can't have it on for very long.

It's really too bad because the content is good. GT7, the Moss games, No Man's Sky, that Kayaking game I just love it. A friend of mine made me try his Quest3 with a top head strap... It is night and day comfort compared to PSVR2. You just forget that it's even there. At this point I'm just hoping Sony will redesign it with comfort in mind. I know this has virtually no chance of happening but it would be the only way for me to spend a significant amount of time with it.

I've only had PSVR1 and compared to my Quest 2 with the BoboVR strap, PSVR1 is much more comfortable, but not everybody is the same and there is no one size fits-all for this.

Your choice and preference relies mostly on the PS platform, not the device itself. Today a wired VR headset is uncomfortable, as simple as that

I use my Quest 2 both wireless and wired (when I want the battery to last longer) without issue. The cable inconvenience is jus that, an inconvenience. I just tune it out after a few minutes.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Nope, wired VR headsets are uncomfortable. Once you go Quest you don’t want to go back to wired VR

Quest is the most uncomfortable headset on the market. Interesting that you’d say that. The thing is a torture device after 30 minutes.

No, the PSVR2 had no support, no backwards compatibility and no PC support. Moreover, it was probably 50 grams too heavy and did not offer anything revolutionary like a huge FOV and the refresh rate sucks.

 

[Punished Miku]

It would be a nice feature for owners but it wouldnt change the product's success at all.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Price is on top of a PS5 which makes the target audience small to begin with, and its incompatible with PSVR1 games. Being stand alone might've fared better, and PSVR1 support as well as more support from Sony in general ofcourse wouldn't hurt it either.

i have a PS5 but I am not going to buy it. Its too expensive for what it offers, which is currently a rather small selection of games. PSVR1 was more cheap and offered more games, and even that didn't sell the world on fire. PSVR2 was destined to fail commercially.

 

[AV]

Wasn't it incompatible with most PSVR 1 games from day one? Dead on arrival.

 

[crackajack]

At least it would have interested me a lot more. Its prime games are all in the VR-too category. GT and the RE games are its best examples, while even its forefront title, that Horizon spinoff seems to not interestest even the VR fanboys.
Currently I struggle to justify buying it.
Price is too high. (the current 100 off deal makes it alright)
Sony support is abysmal.
Third Party beside Capcom non existent.
Indie experiences might be fun, but are too much like tech demos.
VR1 support should have been there.
Hell, I'd say every VR2 game should also have come out as a VR1 game. Crossgen ftw. For what reason did they even send out those VR1 for PS5 adapters if they kill it anyway? 4k downscaled to VR1 resolution is still something, and better than PS4 native stuff can be.
Having now that PC adapter is something, but it should be free, or at least cheaper. The VR2 rescue plan is as dumb and clueless as PS TV was for saving the Vita.

Minor thing: VR2 should have had a GT-bundle or maybe even a GT+RE (+Horizon) bundle. Really shove it in everyone's face what great titles it offers. Not much coming after those, but I would assume some more people would have at least noticed and researched a bit what this VR2 even is. Even though most people that are remotely interested know by now, with having reached probably almost everyone with VR1 already and probably not dragging many away from Quest or Pico or other PC tech.

Personally I did not mind the cable with VR1, at all, but I guess once I would try it without, I might think different. So a second wireless kit, also to make it easier PC-compatible, would be wise to make. The streaming tech inside the PS Portal or any Android Tablet exists.
Much like the Portal should have, add a second version to this tech too, with standalone PS4 (?) capabilities...

 

[Danknugz]

I have it, and I'm not using it. I don't know how you guys' PSVR2 experience it but for me, comfort is total shit. The way it squeezes your head, I mean I can't keep it on for more than 25-30 minutes. The sweet spot is so small that the helmet has to be correctly positioned, and tight. If it's not tight enough, it moves around and I lose the sweet spot and it's just annoying. If it's too tight it becomes extremely uncomfortable and I can't have it on for very long.

It's really too bad because the content is good. GT7, the Moss games, No Man's Sky, that Kayaking game I just love it. A friend of mine made me try his Quest3 with a top head strap... It is night and day comfort compared to PSVR2. You just forget that it's even there. At this point I'm just hoping Sony will redesign it with comfort in mind. I know this has virtually no chance of happening but it would be the only way for me to spend a significant amount of time with it.

one thing that always impressed me with my CV1 was how comfortable and light it was on my head after using other headsets like the reverb g2. i never considered comfort a factor at the top of my list but it turns out when you're faced with something strapped that close to your face for over 30 minutes it becomes a major issue. I haven't used quest 2 or 3 but i would assume those also are good in the same way.

 

[Wonko_C]

It would be a nice feature for owners but it wouldnt change the product's success at all.

Interesting, do you think 3rd party games would have done it? Like say we get a perfect storm of big AAA releases all having the full game in VR mode, (Say GTA VI, CoD, Fortnite, FIFA, etc.) if even that wouldn't sell tons of PSVR2 units? What would it take then?

 

[Punished Miku]

Interesting, do you think 3rd party games would have done it? Like say we get a perfect storm of big AAA releases all having the full game in VR mode, (Say GTA VI, CoD, Fortnite, FIFA, etc.) if even that wouldn't sell tons of PSVR2 units? What would it take then?

Every game with a custom VR mode requiring new controls? That would be huge. I figured people just meant a big picture mode. The thing is still too expensive and wired though

 

[rabbity-thing]

I think VR would be more successful if it didn't cause wicked motion sickness. I love VR but can't hardly play it. While there are things that devs do to mitigate the motion sickness, I feel like they are a one step forward two steps back kind of thing. The weird teleportation controls and step-like camera turns are cumbersome and ruin the immersion on something that basically only exists to be as immersive as possible.

 

[Crayon]

Oh hell yeah. I've been harping on this for years, but I hate how we got stuck with this idea that a VR game has to be this full body vraf experience. It's perfectly fine to sit there with a controller, in fact it's better sometimes.

 

[Leonidas]

It would have sold a lot more if it was wireless and included PC support from day one without the purchase of another add-on.

 

[IAmRei]

Sold more, i think yes, big yes. But not for me. I'm still favor to "flat" gaming. VR is good, but not for me...

 

[IntentionalPun]

Most people just don’t want to put a headset on often if at all.

Forcing devs to design and develop around shoehorning VR into every game would be a terrible idea. VR would remain niche while games would be harder to dev and potentially effect the experience for the vast amount of gamers who aren’t interested.

 

[CitizenKratos]

It might be too demanding on the ps5, but if you throw in stereoscopic 3D, many flat games would be pretty great with the headset.

Even still, it’s tough to convince people to put the headset on. It’s a lazy passtime. And so I don’t think that’s what’s needed.

 

[Mahavastu]

Yes, I think the missing major games are the main problem.
They lost a lot of games by not being compatible to PSVR1: I have a lot of older games with PSVR1 mode (Wipeout, Hitman...) and would have liked to see them in VR but I am not able to.
Now think about some of the newer games and being able to see them in VR: Helldivers2 and Returnal would be insanely great, the beauty of Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, Horizon and Death Stranding would be even more impressive, some 3rd party games like Cyberpunk, Avatar and the other Racing games would be interesting too.

I understood Playstation before the launch that they have "the tools" to make adding a VR mode to existing games very easy. But somehow those games never came (beside the Resident Evils). And if even the major 1st parties don't add these modes it understandable that 3rd parties don't do either.

I am convinced that BC and adding such a VR mode to existing AAA titles would make the PSVR2 way more attractive and would increase the sales by a lot.
I am afraid that it is too late now...

 

[Boss Mog]

Good VR games need to be designed specifically for VR. This would require a lot of extra dev time and costs.

 

[crackajack]

I think VR would be more successful if it didn't cause wicked motion sickness.

I can't talk about current sets, if those are just better due to better resolution, better native frames, better latency or something, it is something that is important but seems not be talked about as a general improvement. So maybe the problem is still there and growing legs as far as is even possible, is still required.
Feeling unwell with VR1 was a coin toss, though. There are games I would have expected to feel something, but didn't and I even could play some for hours with zero problems. While others, pretty similar games, did induce sickness sometimes with just one camera movement, especially remembering that one horror game, Here they lie, that had a camera drop right in the menu screen that greets you everytime you start it and I always closed my eyes cause once seen, I felt bad afterwards. The game itself was tolerable, also on the rather bad side, but its menu screen was a dealbreaker.

Good VR games need to be designed specifically for VR. This would require a lot of extra dev time and costs.

I would say the exact opposite. Wasting dev time specifically for a VR exclusive is just dumb, with VR2 even more so. No VR-exclusive I played would not have been possible as a VR-too game. For VR1 having it in mind was probably not possible. But VR2 should have been in all games in some capacity. At very least a 3D cinema mode. Or using the VR-controllers without the headset, ie. like Move games- bring back motion gaming! You could even assign a button to make the camera move with a hand gesture, kinda simulating some head movement. Or whatever. But VR design does imho not really exist if you are clever.
Edit: I remember the Soma dev said something like the only thing stopping their game to get a VR patch was that some effects were done as a 2D layer so would not be easy to translate to true 3D, required for VR. Seemingly this work was too much to do. But exactly those decisions should be made at the beginning. Include VR in the whole thought process and minor things might need to change, but you get a lot more suitable games immediately, as when limiting yourself to some VR-only BS. Sony would have to do it themselves though and also ask (with money) everyone to do the same. Just hoping on support was not enough.

The aim with only exclusives is failing- since bascially only GT and RE are VR-too and are praised- so pretending that it is the right strategy is from a business perspective just delusional. VR-too might not have helped much. Pointless what if scenario, but imho the cheapest way to get more games, interest and sales on the failing platform would have been broad VR-too support. Even before PC-support, or VR1 ports, or untethered, or cheaper price.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Nah that would just result in jamming badly-implemented VR into games that weren’t designed for it. It’d probably make people even less interested in VR. Not to mention pointlessly adding development time/cost when those things are already totally out of control.


And what would Sony gain? I don’t think Sony gives a shit about VR. Sony doesn’t even want you to buy a PSVR2. They’d rather spend all their effort making regular “ass on couch” games.

PSVR2 isn’t here to push VR gaming. Sony were just hedging their bets so they’d have a VR product ready in case VR became the next big gaming trend. Now that we know the answer is “no” they’re going to let it die.

 

[Klik]

PSVR2 doesnt even have Eleven table tennis let alone anything else

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Not by much. Fundamentally wired headset are not really that popular - even Apple Vision is more attractive despite you wearing the gas cylinder to power it.

Future of VR can only be wireless because people move.