5 reasons why Sony could dominate VR

IM PLAYIN discuss Sony's PlayStation VR, and their reasons as to why it will probably prove to be the most popular.

"Sony has announced the price of PlayStation VR, and I must admit that it was far cheaper than I expected. I’ve always believed that, if VR was going to take off and go ‘mainstream’, it would be on the shoulders of one of the console manufacturers – and I have a feeling that it could be Sony leading the way. Maybe you agree, maybe you disagree. Check out my five reasons outlining my logic, and then let me know in the comments below if you’re like minded – or if you think that I’m full of it!"

[ArchangelMike]

Don't forget retail presence and marketing penetration. It's not so much the advertising dollars, as it is the advertising spaces.

In the UK For example, HTC have partnered with PC World stores and have demo stations in 3 PC World stores around the UK, as well as 2 other stores http://www.videogamer.com/n...

While that is a great move, Sony have partnership deals and strong retail presence with GAME and other retailers, and if the comments from GAME MD ard anyting to go by they will be providing a much bigger retail presence for PSVR across some 200+ stores http://www.gamasutra.com/vi...

[MasterCornholio]

Just making available in common brick and mortar stores and big franchises is a huge boost for the device.

That's where Sony nails it in my opinion.

[skydragoonityx]

1 simple reason, gamers trust sony will deliver as they have always when it comes to gaming

[Rearden]

Here's 5 more:

1: Price
2: Price
3: Price
4: Price
5: Price

[NegativeCreepWA]

Price or sells, doesn't make it better, just more affordable.

[Eonjay]

As we discovered at the start of gen 8, being more expensive doesn't make it better either: just less affordable.

[NegativeCreepWA]

I'm pretty sure you know that's not the case here.

[S2Killinit]

All I know is that VR is the coolest thing in a long time for games. Don't care who dominates. I just want to play it.

[DivineAssault]

PS4 has a good install base

Some people already have the camera/move controller

The price

PS has a great reputation for games

Its new tech that gamers are itching to try out

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Michael Pachter said that Sony will be the most successful with VR, due to the large PS4 install base .

[DivineAssault]

Patcher is full of it but i agree with him on that.. Obviously, its the easiest way to get into the VR scene

[bleedsoe9mm]

digital foundry comparison and break downs of vr games is going to be fascinating to watch because psvr isn't capable of higher resolution than the other 2 . psvr getting the xb1 treatment is going to break allot of noses .

[Bathyj]

What if the resolution is lower but the frame rate is higher. I keep getting told that's more important and for VR that may be right.

[bleedsoe9mm]

so now resolution doesn't matter is more about a good framerate , i agree with that but DF doesn't .

[starchild]

The problem is, it uses frame interpolation to reach those higher framerates. That will have negative consequences. The PS4 simply doesn't have the power to run modern graphically advanced games at those framerates. Actually even last gen games wouldn't be possible at 120fps on the PS4.

Oculus has put a lot of work into finding out which framerates are needed for the optimal VR experience, without negative side effects. I believe a native 90fps will give superior results to 120fps using frame interpolation.

[Bathyj]

What are these negative side effects? Seriously, Im asking because Id like to know. From what I understand Sonys reprojection technique involves taking frame 1 and frame 2 and making a blend of the two and then inserting it as frame 1.5. Thats as best as I can explain it with my admittedly limited knowledge of the subject.

To me it sounds like a great solution to give that high framerate and smoothness. The only downside I can think of is that you could discern the difference between frame 1 and frame 1.5, and between frame 1.5 and frame 2. This seems unlikely to me. Not at that framerate. Some people claim they cant tell the difference between 60fps and 30fps. Some claim they cant tell the difference between 1080p and 900p or even 720p. I doubt many will pick a drastic side effects between frames that are only displayed for 0.0083 of a second when they are a blend of the frames they are between. Bottomline is its 120fps and thats going to be very smooth.

With regards to resolution most people have been saying that PVSR is very good when it comes to the screen door effect. Perhaps even better than the higher rez sets. Possibly this is because PSVR has 3 sub pixels per pixel while the others have only 2. What all that means I dont really know, Im just a gamers not a tech expert, like I said my knowledge is limited but from what Ive read its a good thing, and the results speak for themselves. Plus not all screens are equal, even at the same resolution. A 1080p Bravia TV looks better than a 1080p Teac TV. Its not all about simply numbers. Sony is great at producing optics, the screen and the lenses in the PSVR are made for this purpose. They have ONE job, and apparently they do it pretty well.

Plus Im not really that interested in comparing the models against each other as you know. PS4 owners are going to get PSVR and PC owners are going to get the other 2 and I hope they all do well. Im starting to sound like a broken record on that point.

[MasterCornholio]

PSVR won't get treated like the XB1. The experience of VR will do more than enough to make people not mind the downgrade to visuals. Plus if people want superior graphics they have nonVR games which the PS4 has plenty of.

At least PS4 owners have the option of choosing between the two.

[DigitalRaptor]

Even the lower-end graphic experiences in VR can be impressive, because of what is know as a "sense of presence" so what you're suggesting is not going to happen.

PSVR has been designed smartly, with innovations that will help it keep up well enough. Its OLED-RGB screen is lower resolution, yet it's still a single 1080p panel, and it outputs at a higher sub-pixel density than Oculus Rift so it has less of a screen-door effect - that is true and has been confirmed.

As Bathyj said, PSVR will also be able to keep up in frame rate, since it is using a reprojection technique that prevents skipped frames and allows for a fast and buttery smooth frame rate, also helping to prevent motion sickness. That standard is being enforced across all games.

Then it also has advantages of its own, such as the ergonomics and how it's the most comfortable headset for long play sessions (in other words, it will help with the immersion, because it feels like you're not really wearing it after a while).

And yet, it's still an option for PS4 gamers, and will have its own exclusive games worth playing. Of course, you're going to see bitter Xbox fans trying to introduce what you're suggesting to try and undermine PSVR and accuse people of double standards. That much is obvious, but it's not going to be a valid argument considering PSVR is punching above its weight, and by doing downplaying Sony's VR, you might as well invalidate the entire console gaming space.

[level 360]

Easy Access on price, bundle deal with inter-connecting peripheral.

Simply plug and possibly some updates and play.

Worthwhile in-coming and future titles.

[SynestheticRoar]

Price is the only reason there needs to be.LOL. This article use the same pic, as the last three acticles of VR On NG4.

[ibrake4naps]

I wonder if they'll do a rerelease or patch of games that came out before psvr like esther, firewatch, gone to the rapture, no man's sky, etc that would be a good fit for VR