Sony PlayStation VR Launches Next Week with Slate of Games

On October 13, Sony will release its PlayStation VR headset to be used with the PlayStation 4 game console and PlayStation camera that detects body movements. Sony’s Move wand-like motion controllers allow the user to interact with virtual objects. Tech experts agree that one positive note is PlayStation VR’s $399 sticker price, which is less expensive than rival models from HTC and Oculus. They’re also enthused that Sony is debuting the hardware with a significant number of game titles.

The New York Times is concerned that Sony’s PlayStation VR was “designed to be played sitting or standing – but not while walking.” What it likes about PlayStation VR, besides the price, is that it’s “a safer bet for games,” “is more practical to have in a living room” because of its configuration, and offers a more complete package.

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Although NYT says the PlayStation is the only VR device it would recommend for “consumers who are eager to dive into virtual reality,” it tempers the praise by saying that “most consumers can wait for more content to become available before buying the headset … For now, the headset is best just for early adopters.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that “the Oculus and Vive are technically superior,” but “it’s the games that matter, not the specs.” And Sony’s games got a thumbs-up: “the creativity and fun I saw in Sony’s PSVR games made the trade-offs worthwhile.”

Wired, which rates it an 8 out of 10, likes that “deceptively great ergonomics make the headset more comfortable, for longer.” It also likes the system’s “robust slate of games,” which it reports as “29 games available on Day One, with at least another 12 expected” by the holidays. On the downside, the Sony headset is “incrementally less powerful than the Rift or Vive, almost exclusively game-centered thus far.”

The Verge says the Sony system “offers a balanced, interesting launch catalog and a headset that’s a joy to wear, with weak points that hurt the system but don’t cripple it.” And TechCrunch simply calls PSVR “a truly transformational piece of consumer hardware … PlayStation VR finally takes the PC out of the equation and delivers positionally-tracked, high-quality VR to real consumers.”

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