Thread bummed me out. I was still riding the PSVR high and crossing my fingers that devs would surprise us with so many ports and new releases this year. Was super excited about the possibility of ports, though.
Hardware sales mean little if the owners aren't buying anything or aren't willing to pay more than a couple of bucks for software. Given the limited capabilities of mobile VR right now though, I don't really blame owners for not buying much.
Yeah, I guess i'm an outlier. I bought the GEAR VR and purchased quite a few titles for it. I hate the phone, though, and have since cooled off - especially now that i've transition over to PSVR. The GEAR VR user base definitely seemed more into VR experiences and movies over gaming, unfortunately. AT least that was my casual observation from following app trends, GAF threads, and REDDIT. Despite having some genuinely great titles, GEAR VR turned into the porn viewing machine for many, which was a bummer.
Surprised devs aren't focused on PSVR as the platform with biggest base.
Are PSVR owners not buying games?
Again, anecdotal evidence from watching threads and REDDIT, but the attach rate on PSVR seems insanely high. I've bought 90% of the titles available to date, and the main chorus you hear from adoptees is GIVE ME MOAR. People on /r/PSVR get legit (and foolishly bummed) when there's no new update on the PS blog for a new release. They assume the worst about the console's future, which is silly talk.
Not so silly though, was my own assumption. I expected far more UNITY ports on the system. There were/are so many decent VR games on GEAR VR and non-room scale VR games on STEAM, that I expected more to hit PSN. Hell, as an example, I just bought a game called Crystal Rift as week ago. It was originally on STEAM, is an old-looking dungeon crawl that is more of a rogue-like dressed as a stripped down RPG than an actual meaty RPG. It has shit for combat, but I bought it out of that PSVR lust and ended up loving it. This has been a pretty common story. By all rights, this game would be terrible non-VR, but it found an audience on the PSVR platform. Check the reddit threads. So many games that wouldn't ordinarily get a pass get recommended because of that VR addiction.
My hope was/ is that some of those smaller VR games would hit PSVR and make a killing due to exposure/eager audience/new platform. This 13% support chart is really worrying.
The barrier to entry for developing PC and mobile VR content is far lower than developing for PSVR. There will always be less developers on a console.
Sony really needs to go all out courting the indie guys. That's where the fresh content is coming from. Don't get me wrong, The AAA experiences have really set the PSVR apart. I have a friend who I work with that owns Rift and VIVE and wrote off PSVR entirely. I brought mine into the office, he played it (batman, Star Wars , re7 demo) and was not only taken aback by the comfort of the headgear, but the quality of the games. Said he was TOTALLY not expecting it and is now buying the system. He was a huge VR enthusiast and PSVR naysayer before hand.
Dunno what Sony needs to do to get these indie guys to give them a chance. The UNITY thing should be a huge gateway, but perhaps the cost of the devkit is too high? I know a handful of developers who would kick ass putting their games out on the PSVR platform. E McNeill of E McNeil Games (for example) could put out a bundle pack with his tabletop-style neo RTS / strategy trilogy Tactera, Skylight, and Darknet, and make a real killing as a one man operation serving a REALLY hungry and curious audience. VTime from VTime limited would literally SLAY for those new to the social engagement potential on PSVR.
I would love to read about how the "I expect you to die" and "Werewolf Within" devs fared in the PSVR ecosystem.
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