

It is an exciting and potentially innovative avenue for developer’s to explore. There is no doubt that the video game development community is staunchly behind VR. And while its display isn’t as technologically advanced as the competition, it is the easiest to wear headset on the market. It is inescapable that wearing a headset can be a strain, but every effort has been made with PSVR to make it as comfortable as possible. From my own experiences I found I could use PSVR motion-sickness free, though it is worth pointing out that I have used VR regularly before. First time users, in particular, might feel a bit woozy when removing the headset for the first time as you re-adjust to reality. But because everything is so easy and lightweight with PSVR, it is simple to switch between a sitting and standing setup by simply moving the camera around.Īs with any VR headset, there is always the danger of a little motion sickness.

A far cry from Vive’s tetchy half-hour, though PSVR doesn’t have the excellent room-tracking feature that demands the effort of placing Vive’s sensors and going through its laborious set-up. It is the quickest and cleanest VR setup I’ve had. The PS4 menu displays on the headset, and holding the Start button recalibrates your view to the centre. You might have a small patch to download, but chances are your PS4 has already installed the relevant firmware to get PSVR working. Switch everything on and the camera will display its feed on your TV and headset for you to calibrate your headset by moving into the correct box, recognising your goggles by its blue lights. I nestled my junction box into a corner of my TV unit, and while it’s not small, it is discreet enough to hide away. The headset then connects to the junction box via a cable and your earphones connect to a control widget on the wire which has your power switch and volume control. Both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift need powerful PCs to run correctly, which typically cost upwards of £1,000. There are around 40 million PS4 consoles out there already, with the RRP set at £249 for the Slim for new adopters. The Pro will apparently offer the best VR experience, but more on that later. Any machine in the ‘PS4 family’ will work, whether it is the original model, the recently released Slim or the upcoming Pro. You also need a PlayStation 4 console, of course. You can get a new pair of Move controllers for about £70, but it’s also worth scouring eBay and the like if you are after VR extras on a budget.

Move controllers are not included and most games support a traditional controller but, as will become clear, to get the full effect of VR motion control is recommended. It’s possible you have some lying around from the PS3 days: they are the same controllers and will work on your new machine. You might want to get yourself a couple of Move controllers too.
