Ben-DutkaIt's the year of virtual reality, as PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are ready to explode onto the interactive gaming market.
If you had to guess, though, would you have said that console gamers are actually the most interested in this fancy new tech?
Well, they are, according to a new market survey (as cited by A-List Daily ). The survey tapped consumers in Europe and as it turns out, 63 percent of console gamers polled showed interest in VR, which is well up from only 51 percent of the PC audience. And when they focused exclusively on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the percentage grew to 72. Of course, we have to remember that while Vive and Oculus require high-end PCs, and are more expensive, something like PlayStation VR is simply cheaper and more accessible.
37 percent of the 72 percent responded with "very high interest," too, which is probably good news for PlayStation VR. The device, recently priced and dated , has certainly gotten plenty of attention and if you're already convinced, you need to spring on the official Launch Bundle , which just went up for pre-order yesterday.
You down for some VR experiences this year?
Thanks, BikerSaint!
Thanks for the shout-out, Ben!
I've been hearing that most places that had the pre-orders for the PSVR are already sold out of them in less than 24 hours.
I put it in my basket. I click checkout. The item is gone.
Worth pointing out that the sample size for PC was almost three times as large as PS4/XB1 combined. Statistically, that's not very comparable.
where's it say that?
On the chart:
PC Gamers (6147 answers) Vs. PS4/Xbox One gamers (2056 answers)
Why take a lopsided study?
I don't think it was intentional, more that they just asked X number of people in general, and then asked the respondents to indicate which platforms they owned.
Can't say for sure, since there isn't much detail on the study, but given that there are WAY more PC players in general (at present) than XB1 and PS4 players due to the early stage of the console generation we're in, it could be there were just that many more respondents who don't yet have a current gen console.
OK, now I see it.
But I also see that it says
Console 5427
PC 6147
So probably taking in that by consoles, they're including the PS3, 360, Wii & WiiU, & there's only a 720 dif' there on that one.
Amazon and Walmart ran out before the bundles in my basket could be checked out (mere seconds).
Sadly I had to turn to Best Buy, where I had to pay heavy taxes. At least I'll get it though, without waiting another million years or buying it in pieces. I look forward to watching the PSVR and its games go head to head with Oculus and its games.
I'd still like to know why Ben won't put one on. Sounds like it doesn't do anything to motion sickness or 3D handicapped folks. Like Highlander said it's just a matter of if your glasses work. That close up you might not need em.
Can't speak for Ben but I do not like 3D at all. It gives me what could be described as a mild headache but doesn't quite feel like one, and I'm always too aware of it; it never feels natural.
That's similar to how I feel sometimes. One of the reasons I'm not interested in it.
3D and VR depend on your brain adjusting to a stereoscopic 3D visual field with no apparent depth of field. Your eyes normally will adjust focus depending on how far something is from you to bring it into focus, but in 3D and VR, any depth of field effects are fake, and the point of focus is not under the control of your brain or optical center.
Some people cope better than others with this. IIRC Sony is quite conservative about the use of both 3D and VR by those who are still developing – as in kids, because it's unknown what happens in the long term if your perceptions are messed with at the time that they are developing.
The dept of field issue is one reason people get headaches initially because their eyes are trying to change focus, but can't, and the brain has to reconfigure a bit to interpret the incoming visual field correctly.
This is also the reason some get motion sickness with 3D. The isolation of the VR headset should help motion sickness though since the 3D field of vision is all there is, you don't have the real world objects in the background providing a false point of reference for balance vs what's on the screen.
If you are at sea and you get sea sick, it's often best to go on deck or look out a window so that your brain can get some point of reference for interpreting the constant motion. The more points of reference that your brain has that are in agreement about the motion you're experiencing, the better. If the brain has conflicting messages about motion – i.e. the eyes say one thing, but the inner ear says another, some people are liable to become motion sick. VR excludes all reference points except the VR environment making the visual reference points consistent at least, so it may affect fewer people.
I actually handle 3d better than I thought. I'm so near sighted I wasn't ever sure what would happen. I don't prefer 3d by any means though and I hardly choose 3d over regular when going to the theater.
With that said I totally understand why people don't like 3d because of the physical affects.
After having Lasik I can't hardly process 3D (not at movies which I'm fine at but I mean just driving down the street) in real life so I'm not expecting problems.
Quite surprising, but encouraging. I agree it must be related to the price.
And either way, a well supported VR on consoles probably means a well supported VR on PC too. If it fails on consoles things would look grimmer.
I can't help but think that part of the reason for this is that PC gamers predominantly prefer Keyboard and mouse for the supposed speed and accuracy they convey. So when it comes to VR, the prospect of such a different control scheme might be off putting. Where as console gamers on all 3 console brands are used to controllers that detect motion, motion tracking cameras and even special purpose motion controllers such as PS Move. VR is simply the next step up from things like PS Move and throwing in immersive VR headsets to provide direct 3D experiences and head position tracking along with 3D Audio.
In that light, it seems only natural that console gamers might be more up for VR than PC gamers. And before anyone says it, yes I know not all PC gamers are wedded to mouse and keyboard, but after you see the highly prejudicial way in which the PC master race brandish their keyboard/mouse control schemes in MMOs and online FPS games, you really can't help but come to the conclusion I have about many PC gamers…
The speed and accuracy isn't supposed, it's objective fact. Doesn't make the input better, since there's more to a control scheme than that, and I vastly prefer controllers for anything that isn't a shooter (or, oddly, Mirror's Edge).
And I don't think PC gamers are put off by non-traditional control methods. I simply think the survey is fundamentally flawed in accurately expressing interest given the disparate sample sizes.
I know this is only anecdotal, and not proof of anything, but among the people I know who play on PC, most are interested and those who aren't are usually put off by the price, of both the VR sets and the necessary upgrades they'd have to do on their rigs, given that Oculus requires, at minimum, a GPU more costly than a PS4. Not to mention necessary upgrades to PSU, motherboard, RAM, etc.
My PC plays most games I want at settings I find acceptable. I don't need to upgrade anytime soon, so even if I was interested in VR, I wouldn't be interested enough to pony up the dough.
Nice to see you back in the comments, by the way 🙂
Speaking of PC gamers…….
Here's a ton of "up to 80% deals" for all you PC guys……..and gals!
So go check 'em all out & grab some of their sales while you still can!
http://www.greenmangaming.com/hot-deals/#b
Thanks for the shout-out, Ben!
I've been hearing that most places that had the pre-orders for the PSVR are already sold out of them in less than 24 hours.
Worth pointing out that the sample size for PC was almost three times as large as PS4/XB1 combined. Statistically, that's not very comparable.
where's it say that?
I put it in my basket. I click checkout. The item is gone.
OK, now I see it.
But I also see that it says
Console 5427
PC 6147
So probably taking in that by consoles, they're including the PS3, 360, Wii & WiiU, & there's only a 720 dif' there on that one.
Why take a lopsided study?
Can't speak for Ben but I do not like 3D at all. It gives me what could be described as a mild headache but doesn't quite feel like one, and I'm always too aware of it; it never feels natural.
I don't think it was intentional, more that they just asked X number of people in general, and then asked the respondents to indicate which platforms they owned.
Can't say for sure, since there isn't much detail on the study, but given that there are WAY more PC players in general (at present) than XB1 and PS4 players due to the early stage of the console generation we're in, it could be there were just that many more respondents who don't yet have a current gen console.
On the chart:
PC Gamers (6147 answers) Vs. PS4/Xbox One gamers (2056 answers)
That's similar to how I feel sometimes. One of the reasons I'm not interested in it.
3D and VR depend on your brain adjusting to a stereoscopic 3D visual field with no apparent depth of field. Your eyes normally will adjust focus depending on how far something is from you to bring it into focus, but in 3D and VR, any depth of field effects are fake, and the point of focus is not under the control of your brain or optical center.
Some people cope better than others with this. IIRC Sony is quite conservative about the use of both 3D and VR by those who are still developing – as in kids, because it's unknown what happens in the long term if your perceptions are messed with at the time that they are developing.
The dept of field issue is one reason people get headaches initially because their eyes are trying to change focus, but can't, and the brain has to reconfigure a bit to interpret the incoming visual field correctly.
This is also the reason some get motion sickness with 3D. The isolation of the VR headset should help motion sickness though since the 3D field of vision is all there is, you don't have the real world objects in the background providing a false point of reference for balance vs what's on the screen.
If you are at sea and you get sea sick, it's often best to go on deck or look out a window so that your brain can get some point of reference for interpreting the constant motion. The more points of reference that your brain has that are in agreement about the motion you're experiencing, the better. If the brain has conflicting messages about motion – i.e. the eyes say one thing, but the inner ear says another, some people are liable to become motion sick. VR excludes all reference points except the VR environment making the visual reference points consistent at least, so it may affect fewer people.
After having Lasik I can't hardly process 3D (not at movies which I'm fine at but I mean just driving down the street) in real life so I'm not expecting problems.
Amazon and Walmart ran out before the bundles in my basket could be checked out (mere seconds).
Sadly I had to turn to Best Buy, where I had to pay heavy taxes. At least I'll get it though, without waiting another million years or buying it in pieces. I look forward to watching the PSVR and its games go head to head with Oculus and its games.
I'd still like to know why Ben won't put one on. Sounds like it doesn't do anything to motion sickness or 3D handicapped folks. Like Highlander said it's just a matter of if your glasses work. That close up you might not need em.
I actually handle 3d better than I thought. I'm so near sighted I wasn't ever sure what would happen. I don't prefer 3d by any means though and I hardly choose 3d over regular when going to the theater.
With that said I totally understand why people don't like 3d because of the physical affects.
Quite surprising, but encouraging. I agree it must be related to the price.
And either way, a well supported VR on consoles probably means a well supported VR on PC too. If it fails on consoles things would look grimmer.
The speed and accuracy isn't supposed, it's objective fact. Doesn't make the input better, since there's more to a control scheme than that, and I vastly prefer controllers for anything that isn't a shooter (or, oddly, Mirror's Edge).
And I don't think PC gamers are put off by non-traditional control methods. I simply think the survey is fundamentally flawed in accurately expressing interest given the disparate sample sizes.
I know this is only anecdotal, and not proof of anything, but among the people I know who play on PC, most are interested and those who aren't are usually put off by the price, of both the VR sets and the necessary upgrades they'd have to do on their rigs, given that Oculus requires, at minimum, a GPU more costly than a PS4. Not to mention necessary upgrades to PSU, motherboard, RAM, etc.
My PC plays most games I want at settings I find acceptable. I don't need to upgrade anytime soon, so even if I was interested in VR, I wouldn't be interested enough to pony up the dough.
Nice to see you back in the comments, by the way 🙂
I can't help but think that part of the reason for this is that PC gamers predominantly prefer Keyboard and mouse for the supposed speed and accuracy they convey. So when it comes to VR, the prospect of such a different control scheme might be off putting. Where as console gamers on all 3 console brands are used to controllers that detect motion, motion tracking cameras and even special purpose motion controllers such as PS Move. VR is simply the next step up from things like PS Move and throwing in immersive VR headsets to provide direct 3D experiences and head position tracking along with 3D Audio.
In that light, it seems only natural that console gamers might be more up for VR than PC gamers. And before anyone says it, yes I know not all PC gamers are wedded to mouse and keyboard, but after you see the highly prejudicial way in which the PC master race brandish their keyboard/mouse control schemes in MMOs and online FPS games, you really can't help but come to the conclusion I have about many PC gamers…
Speaking of PC gamers…….
Here's a ton of "up to 80% deals" for all you PC guys……..and gals!
So go check 'em all out & grab some of their sales while you still can!
http://www.greenmangaming.com/hot-deals/#b