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PlayStation VR will be “priced as a new gaming platform,” says Sony boss

FleetFeet

Member
Teeny exaggeration to demonstrate that 'priced as a new platform' could be anywhere between those two price points :)

But no, obviously not. Still worth remembering that outside the US the PS3 did sell at a much higher price point than would normally have been expected.



Yup. Unity and UE4 both having modules that enable easy porting between PC/PS4 is a big plus - didn't Epic say they'd created a PSVR specific module too?

The other point to remember is that VR is as much an unknown quantity on PC, so devs are going to want to go for the widest possible market.

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but this was recently revealed by the dev team behind VR for UE4.

Showdown Devs: No content changes needed to port from Oculus/Vive to PSVR [Morpheus]

And this is still only the beginning, so we should continue to expect more optimizations.
 

kyser73

Member
I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but this was recently revealed by the dev team behind VR for UE4.

Showdown Devs: No content changes needed to port from Oculus/Vive to PSVR [Morpheus]

And this is still only the beginning, so we should continue to expect more optimizations.

I'd read about the ease of porting and content changes thing, but hadn't connected the name to that sequence.

Just watched the Hum - Abductions trailer, and have decided that I will probably try VR horror once and leave it there...
 

mrdeiz

Member
I've tried Project Morpheus at IFA - totally stunning. There was a huge line of ppl every single day of the show just to try it
 
The big downside of PlaystationVR is to be bonded to a closed platform. Sony has to make it PC compatible, at the moment the Oculus Rift is much more appealing because of this and the exclusive games shown.
 
That's not surprising at all, but people don't generally think VR is going to be big in any way right? As long at its capabilities satisfy the niche willing to pay for the experience.
 

Sagroth

Member
I really want one(I've got myself a on Oculus Devkit and am super hype for VR), but even I won't bite if it's much above $300.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
It has to be $199 and actually good for it to survive.

But Oculus Rift will be fine if it costs ~$350 [that's Palmer's prediction, similar as DK2] even without Oculus touch controllers that will be sold separately [they will probably cost ~$100 for two of them]?

And even if full PSVR [headset+camera+2moves] costs the same as Vive/Oculus, total package will still be much more affordable because it does not require $1000+ PC to run it.
 

Briarios

Member
An average consumer will never pay $400 for a PS4 accessory.

You cannot even use it on PCs.

Thing is dead before it even arrived if they do not price it below $300.

The average user doesn't care about using it on PCs. That's not even relevant. There are millions of people that have a PS4 that either don't have a PC or don't have one capable enough for VR. The same can be said the other way - people without PS4s that have good PC rigs. So, we have PSVR and OR.

Also, the comparisons to Move are ridiculous. Move is specialized input method -- games have to be designed purely around that. With VR, there are many games that will be able to function with and without it, meaning you don't HAVE to choose the lower install base only. Some developers will to create unique experiences, but not all. None of this means they will add VR, but the comparisons aren't legitimate.
 

Zukuu

Banned
Should be priced at 299 maximum. I can't see 399 being very popular.
The big downside of PlaystationVR is to be bonded to a closed platform. Sony has to make it PC compatible, at the moment the Oculus Rift is much more appealing because of this and the exclusive games shown.
I don't even think Sony has to do that themselves (even if it would be greatly appreciated). Modders will do it.
 

Briarios

Member
Shouldn't the aim be to sell a PSVR to everyone who bought a PS4? Then it should be priced accordingly.

It's a company, the aim is to make money. Selling too many at a loss is a very bad thing, especially if it really takes off. That's why it's better to find the right early adopter price to sell just the amount you want to. Too much success can actually damage a company if things like pricing and support are out of whack.

So, no, you definitely don't want to start at a price everyone will buy it at ...
 

Vashetti

Banned
Thought this would be the best place to ask since this is the current PSVR thread.

Anyone know if the break-out box that comes with the PSVR has any other hardware in there to give some more grunt to the PS4 for running the games?

breakout2.jpeg.jpg

breakout11.jpeg.jpg
 
trying to think what would be a Day One Price for me? £200? Less would be instabuy but more??? hmmm. £250-£300 I would have to think real hard about it. Real real hard. Really Hard. It will probably be high though. Dat Luxury Item Price.
 

DrXym

Member
This won't take off, I'll be another PS move scenario.

And VR will use move and a camera for tracking. It's going to be a terribly cumbersome setup with wires, cables, calibration etc. Same will be true for the rivals too of course.

VR bears all the signs of a tech which will launch in a blaze of publicity and fall on its ass.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
$100 is my absolute limit on any gaming peripheral, so 10 years from now seems to be around the time I'll be trying Playstation VR.

Nah.

If that is really your budget.... in a year or two you will surely be able to find either a crazy holiday store deal or a second hand sale.
 

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
This is not how the public thinks.

You undervalue how important accessibility will be for PSVR.

There will likely be PS4s in 30m+ homes by the time PSVR launches and PS4 will likely have its first major price cut worldwide by then (not just in Asian markets) bringing the entry price of the system to $300-350 USD. Say PSVR is priced at $300, that's a $600-650 point of entry into the VR market for someone with little to no tech knowledge or preference. That's not pocket change, sure, but if my middle-aged dad with plenty of disposable income tries VR and is blown away by the experience and sold by its non-gaming applications as well, such as virtual tourism and cinematic experiences, then he's looking for the easiest way into that world. Not just the easiest, but the easiest to understand. He's gonna go out and spend $600 on a PS4 and PSVR headset (this is a hypothetical, my middle-aged dad already owns a PS4), hook it up and get to it. And again, a respectable number of non-enthusiast families will already have PS4s.

He's not gonna even consider upgrading my parents' PC (upgrades that would amount to more than $300 anyway) and he's certainly not gonna use it as an excuse to lay down $800-1000 on a brand new computer just for the privilege of purchasing and using a $300-400 Rift or Vive. Even with a brand new computer he'd have to research specs to see where individual parts measure up within complicated naming structures and if they meet the minimum requirements for the headsets, completely foreign ideas.

Is it a Herculean task? Of course not. Could a middle-aged dad figure it out? Of course. Are they going to care to bother when there is a much easier entry alternative? I'm not convinced.

More questions and hypotheses: Are the Rift and Vive going to offer better, higher fidelity experiences in a freer market? Of course! Of fucking course! Are Oculus and Valve (and other companies) going to strive to make this process more accessible in the pursuit of a wider market? Absolutely. And they will make good progress in this regard. I can see PC hardware manufacturers listing pre-assembled PCs as "VR Ready". Is VR even going to take off with the mainstream in this, its first iteration? Who can say. Chances are low. By the time VR really starts to take off outside of the enthusiasts, PC VR may be a much cheaper and more accessible affair (which will certainly compound its popularity) so it could end up a moot point, but the fact remains that as it stands, PS4's VR solution is the most accessible, digestible option for a lot of people outside our niche.

It has that going for it. And it would be naïve to overlook it.

I dont think the ps vr works with those non-gaming applications. i also believe consumers will rather use mobile vr which fit their phones and allows more general purpose over ps vr, which can only be used for gaming. Heck, i think the more realistic scenario is when he ask what is this headset he just used, and then proceed to buy that headset.

Besides, setting up oculus rift isn't some convoluted tasks. its like hooking up your tv, ps vr and the game console. Launching an application is as simple as download an app.

not to mention that oculus rift is bound to be the poster child for vr headset, since it will be getting push and exposure from the non-gaming sectors as well.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Yeah... I'll pass
 

DieH@rd

Banned
I wonder how the price will compare to Occulus/Vive

Expected price for Oculus is around $300-350 [could be a bit higher or lower], but that's without hand controllers [which will be sold separately, after the launch of headset].


Expected price for Vive will not be a crowd-pleaser. HTC exec confirmed that there is a lot of demand for this VR system, so they will most likely aim at higher price at the launch.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/...ightly-higher-price-point-for-valves-vive-vr/
 

Greddleok

Member
Good luck. This is going to be the problem with VR, and it won't kick off as anything other than an extreme niche until they sort it out. I'd love to have a Morpheus, but there's no way I'm spending another £350 on another thing.
 

Tumle

Member
An average consumer will never pay $400 for a PS4 accessory.

You cannot even use it on PCs.

Thing is dead before it even arrived if they do not price it below $300.
I don't understand this notion.. Your not able to use the vive or oculus on any other platform than pc either.. I know that it's are more open platform, but not for the average user.. So if this doesn't take off because it's limited to ps4 why why would oculus or vive?
 

bj00rn_

Banned
he's got himself in a position to have access to both highly sought after units, so I'd have to assume he has a much more firm grasp of what he's dealing with and experiencing than any of us. If that leads him to actually having been incorrect in his analysis than I guess we will find out sooner than later...

I obviously really suck at explaining.. :) Practical experience is fine and interestingly enough, I was purely talking about the actual isolated numbers and data presented used as a context to the conclusion.

This suddenly got bigger than it was, so I'll just STFU about it now :)

$100 is my absolute limit on any gaming peripheral, so 10 years from now seems to be around the time I'll be trying Playstation VR.

This kinda shows the challenge in explaining VR, and the first gen VR to the masses. I suspect shoaling developers and their tacked on "VR-modes" are undermining the messages about what VR actually is. I mean, VR isn't even supposed to be a peripheral like an add-on to "videogames", it's supposed to be a completely new experience; its own thing, an experience potentially worth many times more than the system it's attached to so-to-speak.. I wonder when we'll finally be able to shake off "videogames" entirely.. I fear it's going to take generations.
 
If these headsets break 250 bucks they will absolutely fail. The cost of entry will then be too high. No amount of VR evangelist hyperbole will change that.
 
I don't understand this notion.. Your not able to use the vive or oculus on any other platform than pc either.. I know that it's are more open platform, but not for the average user.. So if this doesn't take off because it's limited to ps4 why why would oculus or vive?

Mainly because Oculus and Vive can be used for more than just games. They work on a device that isn't just a games console. They can be used for all types of design work so you can view your projects in virtual space. It's bigger than just gaming.
 
Question for ya. Oculus dk1 and dk2 were sold at cost (300/350 respectively) and with inferior specs and parts. You really believe Sony would take that much of a hit in costs gambling on such a dicey product and market? I seriously doubt it goes for less than 300, but time will tell.

Oculus isn't a hardware company (in the sense that they don't/didn't have experience fabricating it) and DKs were prototypes, not mass-produced consumer versions. Your comparison is seriously flawed.

If these headsets break 250 bucks they will absolutely fail. The cost of entry will then be too high. No amount of VR evangelist hyperbole will change that.

What hyperbole?
 
Expected price for Oculus is around $300-350 [could be a bit higher or lower], but that's without hand controllers [which will be sold separately, after the launch of headset].


Expected price for Vive will not be a crowd-pleaser. HTC exec confirmed that there is a lot of demand for this VR system, so they will most likely aim at higher price at the launch.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/...ightly-higher-price-point-for-valves-vive-vr/
I think you're a bit low on the Rift - I think somewhere around $400-450, including XBox controller. They are only going to sell it for cost, but back when they had just barely released DK2 and signed the deal with Facebook, they said $200-400 but said it could slide upwards a bit if they could greatly improve the experience by doing so. It also wasn't going to come with a controller at that time.

As for PSVR, I'm surprised, I had expected them to take a loss to release it for relatively cheap since it would sell more games *and* consoles.
 

Theonik

Member
As for PSVR, I'm surprised, I had expected them to take a loss to release it for relatively cheap since it would sell more games *and* consoles.
Sony sees it as an enthusiast device and isn't really thinking it will sell a significant number of games. Instead I guess that they want it to be a crown on the PS4 of sorts where VR is more of a long term thing.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
PSVR has few things going into its favor price-wise:

- Vive and Oculus use two screens [with two display driver electronics], while PSVR uses just one
- Oculus will have integrated [and detachable] headphones, while PSVR will only have a audio jack
- Oculus and Vive will ship with gamepad/wands, while PSVR will heavily lean on DS4 that every PS4 owner already have


Other price-friendly advantages of PSVR:
- ~million users have purchased PS4 camera by the first half of 2014
- there are more than dozen of millions PS Move controllers in the wild [and they can often be found for very cheap]
- PS4 is much cheaper than recommended PCs that are needed to drive Oculus/Vive
 

kyser73

Member
I obviously really suck at explaining.. :) Practical experience is fine and interestingly enough, I was purely talking about the actual isolated numbers and data presented used as a context to the conclusion.

This suddenly got bigger than it was, so I'll just STFU about it now :)



This kinda shows the challenge in explaining VR, and the first gen VR to the masses. I suspect shoaling developers and their tacked on "VR-modes" are undermining the messages about what VR actually is. I mean, VR isn't even supposed to be a peripheral like an add-on to "videogames", it's supposed to be a completely new experience; its own thing, an experience potentially worth many times more than the system it's attached to so-to-speak.. I wonder when we'll finally be able to shake off "videogames" entirely.. I fear it's going to take generations.

This again! It was ONE title. You should take a look at this thread about upcoming PSVR tiles. 33 titles, all standalone, not 'add-ins' to existing games. Many shared with the PC HMDs too.

PSVR won't be the only platform that publishers try and create 'add-ins' for non-VR titles. What you will get - hopefully - will be a controlled publishing environment that pushes back devs who create sub-optimal VR experiences (by this I mean the kind that make you feel ill rather than poor experiences). I suspect that Oculus would like to be able to offer something similar, even if the open nature of the PC development scene wouldn't allow the level of control that Sony could have if they wanted to.
 
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