Sometimes a chart is all you need to tell a story. The above depicts software unit sales for each major console in Spain for 2015. Another interesting takeaway from the chart is that for Sony, PS4 is now outselling PS3 in software which is a very healthy sign for their ecosystem. Don’t be surprised to see this gap widen as more 2016 exclusives like Uncharted 4 begin to arrive on PS4 in just a month’s time.
Creating a virtual reality headset is so small technical challenge on its own. However the feasibility of the technology is only part of the story. In order for VR to be compelling, it must also be easy to use and that’s long before you powering on the machine the drives it. Masayasu Ito, head of hardware at PlayStation talks design challenge.
The earlier prototype of Project Morpheus had two sets of fit bands, which was a bit too complicated for our tastes, so the designers came up with this one big band that stretches and shrinks pretty easily, so you can handle it with one hand when you’re used to it.
It also lets you to pull out the display when you need to look at a smartphone or drink, because of the weight balance. This was important but super challenging for the designers and we are proud of what they’ve accomplished.
This is actually something that’s quite profound. If done right, we never think of design and simply use the product at hand. It’s only when something is designed poorly or has obvious shortfalls that the products limitations begin to manifest themselves to us if just using it is frustrating on its own. This is especially important when you consider VR which is a completely new medium. Even if Sony is able to create the most immersive world possible, if the simple task of putting on and off the headset is a challenge, you’re likely to be less inclined to utilize it after a few times with it and in all likelihood, it’s an unconscious decision which makes Sony’s job at reeling you back in that much harder.
Unlike Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR when it launches this October won’t feature and intensity rating. Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida explains:
I’m a fan of the Oculus approach personally, to have ‘Intense’, ‘Comfortable for most’ or ‘Comfortable for everyone’, something like that. But I think our approach will be to go through each rating board, so PEGI for Europe.
We discussed it internally and it’s very subjective and difficult to work consistently as there’s so much content coming in. What causes the nausea? It’s not like everyone has the same reaction, everybody’s different, and people get used to some experiences.
This is so now. Because we are learning so much, we cannot just come up with one approach of our own, so we prefer to work with the industry.
This makes a lot of sense. Too many rating systems will not only be confusing for consumers, but convoluted as well if a title gets multi-console release with different scores/warnings attached to it. If anything, there will be some knee-jerk reactions to how we should handle VR content during its infancy but like all other mediums, it eventually become the norm. Think movies, we have G, PG, PG13, and R for the most part. Now attached to most of them are some small texts like ‘fantasy violence’ and ‘language’ but does anybody actually read them? In this case, not trying to pin down too much what VR is and can be is better as it’s still an evolving landscape.
PlayStation VR could come to a PC near you. Sony Computer Entertainment executive vice president Masayasu Ito:
Since Playstation 4 shares a lot of its internals with PCs, the possibility is there. At the moment we are focused on games and we are not ready to make any announcements at this stage, but I’d say there will be an expansion into various fields.
PlayStation VR could also come to Xbox One which also utilizes a PC architecture, an iPhone if the game was built on Swift and ported over for PS4, and on Linux because those 7 users also want in on the VR action. Kidding on the last one so don’t send me hate mail, I know there is at least 10 Linux users out there.
Jokes aside, the point is that Sony could bring VR to anything but that’s nor here or there as first, they have to launch the thing. The above statement is nothing more than just out loud thinking and should not be taken as indication of what’s to come.
Before anything else, can we collectively stop calling it PlayStation 4.5? Does Apple sell iPhone 6.5 units? Are we on the Galaxy S6.5? So with that out of the way, let’s talk about what the current PlayStation 4K rumors state. When originally surfaced, many sites reported that:
Based on conversations with developers who have spoken with Sony, this ‘PS4.5’ will include an upgraded GPU both to support high-end 4K resolution for games and add more processing power that can enhance the games
In short, the working theory was that PS4K would be an upgraded machine that would be capable of playing 4K games. While fully backwards compatible, PS4K would live alongside the current console. However, developers would now work in more of a PC environment where they’d create games capable of running on both machines with one running at a higher resolution and among other improvements allowed by the extra horsepower.
Seems straightforward enough, but soon after, the tune began to change with ‘trusted source’ regarding what this machine would be.
The new chip will enable support for 4K resolution, HDR (high dynamic range) and a wide color gamut. The same picture improvements are currently being built into new high-end TVs, including Sony TVs. In addition, it would have an HDMI 2.0 output to be capable of outputting 4K at up to 60 frames per second, as well as HEVC decoding
So it’s either it’s a 4K gaming machine or 4K media machine right? Well, according to some speculation, it’s both.
Besides supporting games in 4K, it would support 4K streaming from the likes of Netflix.
While that sounds nice, the reality is that it’s a pipe dream. That’s because:
Even if the processor is twice as powerful as today, it would struggle to deliver games in 4K and 60fps, they argue. Today, many PS4 games run at 1080p and 60fps but the most demanding games often halve the frame rate to 30fps or reduce resolution to 900p.
Think about it. There is still a lot of games that don’t hit that magical 60fps and when they do, it’s because of lowered resolution. If developers are still having a hard time hitting 60fps on large complicated games every single time, what will they do when their games go from 1920 x 1280 to 3840 × 2160? Will the PS4K have to double or quadruple its processor and RAM? If so, what will be the cost of the machine? It sure won’t be $399 or $499 and from every move Sony has made with PlayStation in the past few years, including the upcoming PlayStation VR, it’s clear that Sony wants to make more of a mass market machine than a raw power unit like the PS3 which launched with a high price tag. A PS4K would be exactly that. Even if Sony continues to make the PS4 (which they would), with a much higher price tag, there simply won’t be the adoption rate to make developing for it worth a studio’s time.
This brings us to the latest rumors regarding the PS4K and PlayStation VR. Let’s talk more PlayStation 4K rumors after the jump.
With the PlayStation VR bundle pre-orders behind us and standalone pre-orders still to come (next week!), PS VR is a hot topic right now. But which option do you prefer? Take a look at what comes in the PlayStation VR box versus the PlayStation VR bundle and let us know in our poll after the jump!
On the heels of closing one studio, Sony has announced the creation of ForwardWorks, a new mobile gaming arm. Unlike Evolution Studios which focused squarely on AAA titles for consoles, ForwardWorks:
is going to focus on users based in Japan and Asia, according to today’s announcement. The division will be formally created on April 1 — not a hoax (we hope) and the same date that Sony Computer Entertainment becomes Sony Interactive Entertainment — so we’re likely to learn more after then.
That means the new studio will be
tasked with bringing PlayStation titles and IP to iOS and Android devices.
I’ve argued plenty that the future of PlayStation is not only in the west, but beyond consoles as well. This is likely the start of that path that in all likeliness will take a good 5 to 10 years to fully play itself out but it’s good to see that Sony is planning ahead as opposed to reacting too late to new market realities. It’s just unfortunate that the studio will start creating content for Asia first.
Then again, mobile penetration is even larger there so it does make sense for them to get their feet wet in a culture that’s more than ready to embrace something like this and, once they find their footing, to expand their reach and hopefully scope to the West. So don’t expect to see Gran Turismo or God of War appearing on your iPhone quite just yet (think more Fat Princess, Sound Shapes) but a few years from now, there is no reason why Sony can’t develop a AAA game that’s meant for PlayStation and mobile. Statement from Sony after the jump.
The key to good VR is immersion, both visually and audibly. To that end, while you can use your current TV speakers, sound bar, or surround sound rig, Sony is also providing a pair of stereo headphones which you can see above (and this is everything you get inside the box). The idea is that these small, but directly-connected headphones will do a better job of transporting you to the world in front of you by tuning out some the surrounding sounds and instead let your ears focus on exactly what the developers want.
Of course that doesn’t mean Sony is providing the best headsets on the market which begs the question, can other headphones be used with PlayStation VR? The answer is both yes and sort-of-yes. More after the jump.
Missed out on the PlayStation VR bundle pre-order? If so, you’ll be relieved to know that it wasn’t just you as pre-orders sold out within minutes. But for many of us who already owned a PlayStation Camera and Move controllers, the bundle, despite being a good deal, wasn’t all that attractive. Luckily, Sony, while initially not wanting to offer pre-orders on the standalone PlayStation VR package, now plans to give us just that. Here is John Koller, Vice President, PlayStation Brand Marketing, SCEA:
Thanks to everyone for sharing their feedback on PlayStation VR pre-orders! It’s clear that there’s a lot of interest from many of you to secure the PlayStation VR core system
So when do the standalone PlayStation VR pre-orders go live? That info is after the jump.
A lot of you have been asking me some great questions on Twitter and Facebook regarding PlayStation VR. The biggest of them is for multi-player gaming and whether you can connect two PlayStation VR headsets to a PS4. In short, the answer is no and that’s because of the raw power it takes to run VR games.
Sony has gone on record, indicating that they will reject games that run under 60fps for VR and, as it stands, developers at times have a hard time reaching that frame rate on normal, non-VR games. Add the extra complexity that is VR and trying to get PS4 to power two different headsets is simply out of the question. For that very same reason, even high-end rigs designed for Oculus Rift can only power one headset at a time. However, that doesn’t mean multi-player is out of the question. More after the jump.
Chances are, like me, you didn’t score a PlayStation VR bundle when they went up for pre-order earlier this morning. That’s because the $499 bundle, which includes a handful of items that you can read about here, sold out on Amazon within minutes. Those visiting Amazon, no matter the country will likely be greeted with something similar to this:
We’re sorry. The item PlayStation VR Launch Bundle – PlayStation 4 is no longer available from the seller you selected. To see if it’s available from another seller, click here to return to the item’s product detail page.
It’s worth noting that pre-orders have yet to go live for the standalone PlayStation VR and there is no word yet on when those will be available. While a good sign, it’s unclear how many units Sony made available to Amazon so don’t take this, or other stories like Rift and Vive pre-orders selling out, as real indicators of where the path for VR lies. The true strength of VR won’t be determined in 2016 but in 2017 and truly 2018 when consumer awareness and content increases while pricing of hardware decreases. After all, when PlayStation Move and Kinect launched, they also sold out.
Many moons ago, I had a chance to work at a very prominent AAA studio but timing didn’t permit as such. Though that studio is fine (for now it seems, right?), other studios haven’t been so lucky. In the past few years, we’ve seen major developers have their doors shut after potentially one less-than-stellar title. While the writing has been on the wall for some time now with a handful of layoffs here and there, Sony is officially shutting the doors on Evolution Studios which brought us the ever excellent DriveClub on PS4 and the MotorStorm series on PS3.
Here is Paul Rustchynsky, Game Director on DriveClub:
Before I sign off to take a break and spend some time with my family I just wanted to say a few words…
Firstly, a big, big thank you to all the fans that have supported us throughout Evo’s storied history; we couldn’t have achieved what we did without you!
Thank you to Sony who helped Evo rise to the top tier of racing game teams in the world, working as a first party team has been a fantastic experience.
Last but certainly not least: A massive thank you to the whole team at Evo, it truly has been an honor to work with such a talented, passionate and determined group of people.
I hope you will all join me today in celebrating Evolution by picking up a pad, throwing on your favourite Evo game, and giving us a victory lap.
Until next time,
Rushy
After the jump, a statement from Sony.
Come October, you’ll have a chance to get your hands on virtual reality at a far more affordable price than other rigs which are starting to come to market. Besides the standalone core package, Sony is also planning to release a PlayStation VR bundle which you can read about here. So what exactly does $399 buy you come this fall? Let’s look at what’s inside the box after the jump.
Just a quick followup on the earlier reports about the PlayStation VR bundle. As PlayStation’s worldwide head of studios Shuhei Yoshida had confirmed during their GDC keynote:
There will be a bundle in the SCEA region [North America] with Move and a Camera
At the time, details of the bundle were unclear but Sony has officially announced its price and what’s included. Let’s talk details after the jump.
This past week at GDC 2016 we learned the price point and release month of PlayStation VR. Will you purchase PS VR for $399 this October? Let us know in our poll after the jump!
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