Jim Ryan on the Future of PSVR

[Loudninja]

Moving on to VR - a much less thorny subject - again we're a year on from the launch of PSVR. How do you see the current state of that market?

"Pretty good. I think close to 20 VR segments were shown yesterday and I think eight of them were new games. Developers are starting to hit their stride with PlayStation VR. The difference int he games we launched with and the game we showed last night is quite striking. There are now more than 100 games out there, which is ahead of what we were expecting to have at this stage. It's starting to gather quite a lot of momentum."

Do you still think there's an appetite from the public for VR? Anecdotally everything we see from software sales to hits on stories about VR, there seems to be a little bit of a tailing off of that initial excitement. Do you think there's still an appetite for it?


"Yes I do. I think VR we definitely see as having the potential to be a very significant part of the future of interactive entertainment. Now quite what the horizon is and quite what the rate of pace of adoption is, that's still a little unclear. But Sony is committed to this and we're in it for the long haul."

What does Sony get out of it? I assume there's not much revenue in it at the moment so is it a brand leading exercise, an innovation exercise, an altruistic gift to the world of entertainment? What does Sony get out of backing VR?

"[Laughs] I think the answer to that question lies in the answer I just gave you that we see this as having the potential to being a significant part of the future of interactive entertainment. With something like that you can't just plunge in and overnight attain the sort of install base we have with PlayStation 4 right now. The hard yards have to be earned and you have to learn lessons, make mistakes because it's different to anything we've ever done before so it requires a lot of work."

Do you have any plans to iterate the hardware? Obviously your competitors in this space are iterating on their hardware all the time.


"Sure - Sony's a hardware company. We're always looking at iteration - we've got nothing to announce right now - but the history of our involvement in gaming has involved iteration and improvement."

One of the biggest criticisms of PSVR was the motion tracking technology and it would seem like quite an easy win to fix that. Are these areas you're looking to..

"We're looking at the whole thing constantly. Looking at how people us it, the things that they enjoy about it, the things they'd like to see improved and our engineers are constantly innovating and looking at new stuff."

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/f...playstations-jim-ryan-controversial-trailers/

 

[Dinobot]

VR is an excellent technology that will find many uses in the world (training for surgeons, pilots, soldiers, etc.), gaming isn't one of them.

The way the industry is, the pricing of games, the investment to make the software for it, the price of the hardware, all barriers to entry.

The install base also isn't big enough so in order to make your money back you need to charge a higher price for a game that's likely much shorter than what you'd pay at the same price for a console game.

 

[Apathy]

VR is an excellent technology that will find many uses in the world (training for surgeons, pilots, soldiers, etc.), gaming isn't one of them.

The way the industry is, the pricing of games, the investment to make the software for it, the price of the hardware, all barriers to entry.

The install base also isn't big enough so in order to make your money back you need to charge a higher price for a game that's likely much shorter than what you'd pay at the same price for a console game.

Click to shrink...

Best surgeon training tool already exists

 

[v_iHuGi]

VR is an excellent technology that will find many uses in the world (training for surgeons, pilots, soldiers, etc.), gaming isn't one of them.

The way the industry is, the pricing of games, the investment to make the software for it, the price of the hardware, all barriers to entry.

The install base also isn't big enough so in order to make your money back you need to charge a higher price for a game that's likely much shorter than what you'd pay at the same price for a console game.

Click to shrink...

To early to call that, nobody knows anything at this time, it might take off it might not.

 

[Loudninja]

VR is an excellent technology that will find many uses in the world (training for surgeons, pilots, soldiers, etc.), gaming isn't one of them.

The way the industry is, the pricing of games, the investment to make the software for it, the price of the hardware, all barriers to entry.

The install base also isn't big enough so in order to make your money back you need to charge a higher price for a game that's likely much shorter than what you'd pay at the same price for a console game.

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Umm I have no idea what you are talking about to be honest.

 

[Dinobot]

To early to call that, nobody knows anything at this time, it might take off it might not.

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It's dead, Jim.

Umm I have no idea what you are talking about to be honest.

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VIRTUAL REALITY

 

[Deleted member 6436]

I have to admit, Sony has been supporting the PSVR way more than I thought they would.

 

[low-G]

VR is an excellent technology that will find many uses in the world (training for surgeons, pilots, soldiers, etc.), gaming isn't one of them.

The way the industry is, the pricing of games, the investment to make the software for it, the price of the hardware, all barriers to entry.

The install base also isn't big enough so in order to make your money back you need to charge a higher price for a game that's likely much shorter than what you'd pay at the same price for a console game.

Click to shrink...

VR already has excellent uses in gaming. It's already amazing, dude.

 

[Occam]

I don't think I've been as amazed by anything else since PS1. Glad I got it day 1, totally worth it.

 

[Durante]

I fervently hope they get solid, consistent 360° HMD and controller tracking in their next hardware iteration.

It would be very advantageous if developer could assume that as a given across the whole VR installed base. (Though Windows MR also doesn't help in that aspect wrt. controller tracking)

 

[Sir Guts]

Never thought of buying one and never will to be honest. Tried it a couple of times and I felt thats enough
Yeah the first time experience is amazing but it won't last for a long time as it will fade fast

 

[mute]

Still plenty of (medium to smallish) games getting released for the platform, I just wish some bigger names were attached to them. I was initially excited at the prospect of a Sony VR device because it implied getting support from the more well-known franchises that normally go along with that. And we have got RE and eventually Ace Combat and a few other things, but still, disappointing. GTS being the most recent.

And that one Playroom VR Platformer game that everyone that played loved, nothing else like it.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Where's the Sony support besides third parties? RE7, DOAX3,and Summer Lessons are the only reasons to keep the VR

 

[v_iHuGi]

It's dead, Jim.

VIRTUAL REALITY

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LOL why do I even bother coming into this threads.

We'll talk in some years.

 

[afrodubs]

It's dead, Jim.

VIRTUAL REALITY

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I really dont get these posts. Wishful thinking? A lot of us are already here enjoying gaming in VR...

Sony is committed to this and we're in it for the long haul.

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I hope so, I really do.

 

[Giant Panda]

It's still early days for VR gaming. People trying to call VR gaming done already because of constraints existing at this moment seem to lack imagination.

 

[Bán]

You have to imagine that PSVR 2 will follow PS5 at some stage, and that PS5 will be built from the ground up to support PSVR 2.

That's the probably the most likely point at which I'd consider jumping in.

 

[Illusion]

I'm still waiting for some amazing PSVR games to pick up. Skyrim VR is a start (next to RE7) I like the technology a lot. It has room to catching on down the line, not yet though.

I just think the tech needs to work on the motion sickness, heavy/bulky headsets, wires, screen clarity, and then price options.

Sometimes I want to put the PSVR on just to watch a movie, but I hate getting sweaty wearing it and or messing up my hair.

 

[MoeGamer]

I think the mistake a lot of people make is believing that VR developers are trying to "replace" traditional gaming on a screen; they're not. VR is a complementary experience. It does something different. In many ways it's a distinct platform from its host systems, and should be regarded as such.

Most of the resistance I see to VR comes from people who are concerned that it's going to dumb down their favourite genres, or leave them high and dry with favourite franchises if they don't have a headset. I don't see that happening if the current marketplace is anything to go by; rather, we'll continue to see VR experiences that tie in with popular games rather than replace them entirely, coupled with things that are specifically designed to take full advantage of the medium.

Far too early to declare it "dead" yet, either way.

 

[Dash]

I love that VR offers smaller-scale experiences and titles. There may not be plenty of AAA content on there (looking forward to Skyrim VR), but there's such breadth, variety and experimentation happening. I Iove that you can hop from something like Bound, to Static, to Invisible Hours and to Gnog so easily. Experiences range all over the show in duration.

Sure if you like big budget 'traditional' gaming, outside of Batman VR and Resident Evil 7, then you might feel left out. But even there people oversell things. The likes of Dirt Rally, DriveClub, Rez Infinite, Psychonauts, Farpoint and others aren't the made-on-a-pittance low-polish scrap that a lot like to make out the platform almost entirely consists of. And even plenty of those presumably on a low budget have been great (see Polyibus/Statik/Megaton Rainfall).

 

[ApeEscaper]

Nice that they're prepping up nice amount of software for VR by the time PSVR 2 releases will be set from start

 

[Einbroch]

You have to imagine that PSVR 2 will follow PS5 at some stage, and that PS5 will be built from the ground up to support PSVR 2.

That's the probably the most likely point at which I'd consider jumping in.

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Yep.

Assuming they're in it for the long haul, PS5/PSVR2 could be the major breaking point for VR. Of course, interested in this $199 Oculus thing, but I have my doubts.

 

[The Ummah]

Just like with any other tech, it will improve over time and devs will find new ways to take advantage and offer innovative/new VR experiences. Way too early for them, or any other VR company, to throw in the towel.

 

[Absoludacrous]

I am surprised Sony has such a large lineup going into next year. I kind of figured by now it would have gone the way of the initial Move push or Wonderbook. I guess we'll have a better idea next year, but so far at least they seem to be walking the walk when it comes to support.

 

[Fukuzatsu]

Obviously the cost is one thing, but without a decent means of locomotion or even just "walking around a space" this is never going to achieve what people might want.

Until the medium can get out of teleport-moving/shooting gallery/tech demo hell, it's just not worth it.

 

[Deleted member 5764]

I've been really impressed with Sony's commitment to VR and really hope it continues! I can't bring myself to invest in the headset just yet, but I'd be really darn tempted if we got VR 2.0 with PS5. It'll be even better if the VR games/experiencing I'm stocking up on right now via PS+, etc... are playable as well.

Price is really the biggest barrier for me right now. $349 is the current asking price for the headset + camera on Amazon, and I'd need another $60-$80 for the motion controllers.

 

[Dinobot]

VR already has excellent uses in gaming. It's already amazing, dude.

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LOL why do I even bother coming into this threads.

We'll talk in some years.

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I really dont get these posts. Wishful thinking? A lot of us are already here enjoying gaming in VR...



I hope so, I really do.

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You enjoying something is great. You're anecdotal proof that you're enjoying something doesn't mean it's successful. The Wii U and Vita were and are loved by many. I wouldn't call those successful.

I just think with the lack of big software releases for VR combined with no killer apps and sales numbers suggests it's not taking off and will be a constant uphill climb.

I think VR will find much more success outside of gaming and hardware makers are just using gaming as a beta of sorts.

 

[Fukuzatsu]

I am surprised Sony has such a large lineup going into next year. I kind of figured by now it would have gone the way of the initial Move push or Wonderbook. I guess we'll have a better idea next year, but so far at least they seem to be walking the walk when it comes to support.

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I guess the idea is that if you get VR right and win big, you could do hereto unforeseen levels of success, but actually doing that is very hard.

 

[Abominuz]

Honestly, i use it once every three weeks. If there where more games like RE7 i would play it a lot more. The experience is awesome.

 

[v_iHuGi]

You enjoying something is great. You're anecdotal proof that you're enjoying something doesn't mean it's successful. The Wii U and Vita were and are loved by many. I wouldn't call those successful.

I just think with the lack of big software releases for VR combined with no killer apps and sales numbers suggests it's not taking off and will be a constant uphill climb.

I think VR will find much more success outside of gaming and hardware makers are just using gaming as a beta of sorts.

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Dreaming is good my friend =)

 

[Deleted member 1413]

VR feels like it hasn't gotten passed the launch experimental period.
Devs aren't investing much since there aren't enough consumers buying which is a bad cycle to be in.
Best chance is for a hardware manufacturer like Sony to invest a ton of money in order to VR to finally be acceptable for consumers and then other developers.

Other issues are:
pricing- more than the price of the base hardware as the cheapest non mobile alternative is too high
Quality- tech needs to improve to improve the experience
Game design- teleporting to move is not viable if VR is to be "the future of gaming".

This will fix itself with time, the question is how much time and if it'll be too late.

An idea I think would be good is to sell VR as an alternative to television.
Watch all your favorite programming in 3D when the headsets become high enough resolution to not look a bit garish.

 

[H.I.V.E.]

Am still convinced it is a giant flop, another bubble. But then I wasn't amazed by it like some people are. I don't think I will own another VR set at least for 10-20 years and that's provided we get giant leaps in technology going forward and I strongly doubt that.

 

[Loudninja]

VR feels like it hasn't gotten passed the launch experimental period.
Devs aren't investing much since there aren't enough consumers buying which is a bad cycle to be in.
Best chance is for a hardware manufacturer like Sony to invest a ton of money in order to VR to finally be acceptable for consumers and then other developers.

Other issues are:
pricing- more than the price of the base hardware as the cheapest non mobile alternative is too high
Quality- tech needs to improve to improve the experience
Game design- teleporting to move is not viable if VR is to be "the future of gaming".

This will fix itself with time, the question is how much time and if it'll be too late.

Click to shrink...

This is not true.

Moving on to VR - a much less thorny subject - again we're a year on from the launch of PSVR. How do you see the current state of that market?

"Pretty good. I think close to 20 VR segments were shown yesterday and I think eight of them were new games. Developers are starting to hit their stride with PlayStation VR. The difference int he games we launched with and the game we showed last night is quite striking. There are now more than 100 games out there, which is ahead of what we were expecting to have at this stage. It's starting to gather quite a lot of momentum."

 

[ThiefofDreams]

Every single person I have shown PSVR to, whether they had previous interest in it or not, has been blown away by it and subsequently bought it later. Including people I know that work for companies not named Sony.

 

[Soul Skater]

VR isn't practical in a gaming sense until they can make it affordable enough to bundle it with consoles like Motion controls where with the Wii.

Ok maybe it'll never be that affordable but same idea. They need to have affordable bundles that aren't that much more expensive than buying the system itself. People aren't gonna spend an extra $400 ontop of their $300-400 console in order to play games that use it. It's just way too much. Developers aren't going to want to make games for systems with such large barriers or split user bases. Why make a PSVR game that can reach just over a million people vs make a game for the PS4 that can reach nearly 70m etc.

The most practical way I can see VR gaming working in the near future is in a theoretical Switch 2 where all you have to do is slap the system itself into a plastic shell.

 

[Deleted member 1413]

This is not true.

Click to shrink...

...it's not?
Didn't Eve Valkyrie close down their VR studio like yesterday due to there not being much of a market?

 

[Paquete_PT]

VR is an excellent technology that will find many uses in the world (training for surgeons, pilots, soldiers, etc.), gaming isn't one of them.

The way the industry is, the pricing of games, the investment to make the software for it, the price of the hardware, all barriers to entry.

The install base also isn't big enough so in order to make your money back you need to charge a higher price for a game that's likely much shorter than what you'd pay at the same price for a console game.

Click to shrink...

Incredibly short-sighted view. Sure, the VR landscape isn't too hot right now, but to think that this isn't where entertainment will take us in the near future is delusional. Sci fi has been playing with the idea for decades, we're now at a time where it is a real possibility and the room to improvement is tremendous. Playing something like Resident Evil VII, even with all the current shortcomings (graphics, movement, etc), it's impossible not to see that this is the future of gaming. Imagine it with more comfort (glasses you almost can't feel on your face), less wires, better graphical fidelity, and tell me it's not something worth pursuing.

 

[Deleted member 2620]

Armchair bean counters can count beans. The tech is here and amazing and combined VR has a great library given how long it's been out.

I'll worry when there are no more games, and not a second sooner.

 

[Solid Shake]

VR would be selling much more if the games for it weren't so expensive, yet short. Once it price drops and there's plenty of full games out I could see it selling way more.

 

[MattAces]

people who are looking for PSVR OT, we're in hangouts section! Any question about PSVR, join us there.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/playstation-vr-ot-virtually-a-new-era.336/

 

[shimon]

I have to admit, Sony has been supporting the PSVR way more than I thought they would.

Click to shrink...

Same. I was a bit of a sceptic when it comes to VR.

 

[Lakuza]

...it's not?
Didn't Eve Valkyrie close down their VR studio like yesterday due to there not being much of a market?

Click to shrink...

Eve Valkyrie not selling enough was not related to the vr market not being there, They were selling a game with little content for a high price and then added micro transactions to the multiplayer, gameplay wise it's been beaten by other space cockpit vr games.

Whilst they may have closed down, you have big studios working on their own vr games, just to name a few:

• Insomniac games have released 2 vr games (one of the games is an online multiplayer game with regular updates and its now also getting a free singleplayer campaign, which was announced a few weeks ago).
• Killing floor devs released a vr killing floor game about a month ago with new content being worked on.
• 4A games (metro devs) just released a vr game last month.
• Ready at dawn released one of the best vr games so far a few months ago alongside a multiplayer game for it. They've also announced a sequel to that game with a new multiplayer game to go alongside the sequel.
• bethseda+id software are releasing Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR, as well as creating a brand new Doom game for VR only.
• Respawn Entertainment announced a few weeks ago that they are now working on a big bugdet vr game for 2019 too.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Thread went as expected

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

VR would be selling much more if the games for it weren't so expensive, yet short. Once it price drops and there's plenty of full games out I could see it selling way more.

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The shorter games is one of the best parts, as you have more of a chance of beating many of the games on PSVR than normal PS4 games that are 40+ hours and they can better accomplish what they set out to do in that amount of time. That's why many of them are $20 and under.

 

[SuiQuan]

You enjoying something is great. You're anecdotal proof that you're enjoying something doesn't mean it's successful. The Wii U and Vita were and are loved by many. I wouldn't call those successful.

I just think with the lack of big software releases for VR combined with no killer apps and sales numbers suggests it's not taking off and will be a constant uphill climb.

I think VR will find much more success outside of gaming and hardware makers are just using gaming as a beta of sorts.

Click to shrink...

VR is not a platform like Vita or Wii U. It's an approach to technology with many possible platforms that can utilize it. At this point saying that VR will never really take off in gaming when compared to other uses is conjecture. Despite its current hurdles there is absolutely no way to predict the future main venue for VR.

 

[Dinobot]

This is not true.

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Sure it is. The low install base is why it's not seeing tons of support. Low install base also means you need to charge more for your games to get a decent ROI or you focus on projects with much smaller scopes and get smaller bite sized games.

 

[Loudninja]

Who knew that bethseda would be one of the biggest VR supporters with some of the longest games.

 

[shepcommandr]

It's nice that there's a passionate community for VR, but people do need to realize that "I like this thing" doesn't equal "this thing is a viable product long term".
There's a reason why you aren't seeing AAA publishers jumping on board with huge from-the-ground-up VR experiences. It's because the capital investment required to make a game of that scale doesn't make sense when you're selling your product to a percentage of the market on that platform... and not a high percentage.
VR launched years before the tech was ready for mass market, and I question if the industry can support the platform long enough for it to be ready for every day consumers. My gut feeling is no, VR won't see support long enough to have Dual 1080p or 4k screen headsets going from the price of the Google Daydream headset (<$100).

 

[MattAces]

Sure it is. The low install base is why it's not seeing tons of support. Low install base also means you need to charge more for your games to get a decent ROI or you focus on projects with much smaller scopes and get smaller bite sized games.

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Just because you are completely out of loop, or not following VR games announcement, doesn't mean they don't exist. Sure, you may argue they are shorter games, but they exist, and they are going stronger than ever. Doom VFR, Bravo Team, Skyrim VR, The Inpatient, Moss, Apex Construct, Blood and Truth, Megalith, Bow to Blood, Gunheart, The Persistence, Rec Room, Rom, Sprint Vector, Zone of the Enders.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...jZfJfHtn8Yr1-_4iumB11CdAE/edit#gid=1494737607
https://blog.eu.playstation.com/201...r-games-coming-this-year-and-into-early-2018/

 

[Rockstar]

VR is an excellent technology that will find many uses in the world (training for surgeons, pilots, soldiers, etc.), gaming isn't one of them.

The way the industry is, the pricing of games, the investment to make the software for it, the price of the hardware, all barriers to entry.

The install base also isn't big enough so in order to make your money back you need to charge a higher price for a game that's likely much shorter than what you'd pay at the same price for a console game.

Click to shrink...