Sony - PlayStation VR

At this time the only issue hardware or software related I have to complain about is the pricing and lack of games for this product. However, the games it does have are quite immersive and very original. I'm specifically not dropping a star for that issue because it will be fixed over the lifetime of the PS VR. There is also a noticeable screen door effect due to the lower resolution, but that is a result of the price difference between this and the Vive or Oculus which both have a slightly higher resolution. If you think it may not be comfortable or is too heavy then consider that everyone I've demoed this to was eager to wear it for well over 3 hours with most of the complaints after taking it off being fatigue in the eyes. So it's comfortable, highly immersive, relatively cheap for an in-home VR and is very simple in every sense of the word. If you're even considering VR and you have a PS4 this is for you. This is especially true if you don't have a Samsung from last year or newer as Apple and Microsoft won't have mobile VR for quite some time. One last thing is this functions as a second screen so you can use it with an Xbox or Blu-ray player while something else is on your TV or while it's off. So if you wanted to quietly watch a movie without the bright lights and loud sound of a TV this can function as the TV all by itself.

Pros: Excellent immersion in most games. (especially when 2 move controllers are supported) Movement tracking and accuracy in both Head tracking and Move controllers Comfort. No seriously, this headset is so comfortable. I could wear it (and have worn it) for many hours on end and not feel discomforted. Also I use with glasses on and works great with that too. It's easy to adjust and remove with just single buttons to release, and elastic tension plus a turn dial for tightening. You could seriously forget you are wearing it at times. Also, using my TurtleBeach surround sound headphones wasn't hard at all. The design of the headset allowed enough room for over ear noise cancelling headphones to fit. (see picture) 3D Bluray playback is mostly awesome* Theater mode is very convenient In Line Microphone is seriously good. When using chat, there was a distinct bump in voice quality and detection (According to people I was chatting with. And I agree when setting mic levels and hearing voice notes) 360 degree perspective is very unique and worth experiencing in games and video. Cons: Set up can be a chore. Image quality is downgraded (sometimes significantly) for the ps4 to push graphics in VR. (playing non vr games in theater mode and comparing to a tv or monitor usually showed you loose some sharpness, contrast, and overall detail of images and movies. *3D included. But if you don't have a 3D tv, then by far this is an excellent use of the PSVR) And playing games that have VR support but also have traditional gameplay usually means you take a graphics hit. (Driveclub VR and Resident Evil 7: BioHazard) Screen Drifting happens fairly often. (The sensation of the screen resetting without you realizing. Usually resulting in slight discomfort from craning your neck to a side till you realize it's happened, and you hold the Options button to re-center the screen in a comfortable position again) Motion Sickness will likely hit at some point.** **While this is true of any VR system and not exclusive to PSVR. And is also dependent on the content you are using. And you should always use caution. I will say that I'm not a person who typically gets motion sick in cars or amusement park rides. But I frequently do with VR. It may be I'm just not cut out for VR, as my body reacts to it more then others might. But I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend finding a place to Demo it before purchase if at all possible. I am unfortunately considering returning it because of this reason. Its not every game, and faster movement games definitely trigger it more than slower or 3rd person games. And how well the content is created for 360 degrees of view matters alot too. (watching 360 degree videos on youtube is hit or miss. being almost instant nausea, to quite pleasant and no sickeness at all, to everything in between) IN DETAIL: I'll start off by saying my only other previous VR experience was with Samsung GearVR. And as such, I consider this my first "TRUE VR" experience. In the week and a couple days i've owned this now, I will say that this is on a completely different level than my GearVR experience. True head tracking in tandem with gyroscopes and accelerometers in the headset makes all the difference in "placing you" in the virtual space. Then add the move controllers*** for hand "placement" and you get a very immersive experience that is everything you expect VR to be. Not just head movements and looking around. Sadly though, there is plenty of "just looking around" in playstion vr games. As there are so few games I've found that support 1 move controller (one hand) and fewer still that support 2 (both hands). Majority of the games out there use only the Dualshock4 controller and head tracking. And while that PSVR experience is still far superior to say, "mobile/cardboard vr experiences", it still doesn't give you that 100% immersion without your hands involved. Set up wasn't terrible. But while Sony does its best to make it as simple as possible to set up. It can still be a small chore. The large included set up booklet is clear and understandable. And all the cords and other pieces have numbers and symbols for identifying where things go. While people familiar with home theater equipment and cables likely won't have problems. There are a lot of them, which could be intimidating to people less prepared. But follow the book and I'm sure anybody can get it set up. Then there's the calibrating inside the PS4 settings itself. When you turn it on you are greeted with a simple step by step calibration set up. It does the job to get you to your home screen and even to playing games if you want. But I recommend you go to your system settings, find the devices tap, click the playstation vr, and do the in depth calibration. It's more lengthy and makes one of my cons a bit less prominent. That problem being screen drifting. With the quick set up I felt like the system kept trying to guess my centered position. One of my non vr theater mode experiences, I was playing a game in a swivel chair four roughly 2 hours. I started out facing the tv in the room. But when I finished my session, I was surprised to find when I took off the headset. I was facing the complete other direction. I had obviously been following the screen gradually with my body by swiveling in the chair. The in depth calibration fixed this significantly but not 100%. As far as games go, the included demo disc (which can be downloaded form the psn store for even more game demos) was entertaining, but overall, gave that very short, tech demo feel. Playroom VR is a free full game for VR included with PS4. And it was quite enjoyable as well. Plenty of stuff to do and very smooth. Use of one move controller at times, and the occasional ability to have others play along side you watching the tv screen. Resident Evil 7 : BioHazard was another game that offered VR support for the full game. And this is where I really started to notice the image quality/resolution con. Playing this game normally you really notice the graphics and how the atmosphere plays into the survival horror feel and tension. When you go to VR, the graphics are significantly toned down. Noticeably so. Distractedly so. But the feeling of being placed in the world definitely makes it worth a try. Not for the faint of heart lol. Driveclub VR was another title that released as non vr, and later supported it. It too drops the graphics some, but not near as severely as RE7. And the feeling of actually being inside the vehicles and driving around is incredibly done. This is probably my most enjoyed experience so far. (partially cause I own driveclub and don't run into demo restrictions) When not in VR games, you can still use the VR headset to produce a virtual private screen of small, medium, and large sizes. I settled for the medium setting. Mainly because the small screen moves around in center of where you look at all times, which I found disorienting and made me motion sick very quickly. And the large screen feels like you're sitting in the front row at the IMAX theater. Much too close to enjoy IMO. But medium probably portrays what would probably be around a 80"-100" screen that you are comfortably sitting away from. Both the medium and large screens are fixed in place as you move your head (simulating your screen at home when you move your head). Playing non vr games this way was plenty enjoyable. 3D Bluray playback is finally supported by PS4, and using PlaystionVR to watch in 3D also takes place in this theater mode. And it really provides one of the best 3D effects you can get. But if you have a pretty good to great 3D tv already and have it calibrated correctly. Then the PSVR just can't keep up with the image quality. Excellent option for people without 3D tv's to experience 3D movies. But if you have a 3D tv, you'll probably use that instead. Watching 360 degree videos, however, from any of the apps or youtube was hit or miss for me. Definitely gives great new perspective and I would wish everyone to experience it. But be warned that content has to be done well in order to not cause motion sickness. The streaming apps didn't run into this much. But when browsing YouTube for interesting videos, there are some that can make you sick quite quickly. I can say I'm truly torn with trying to decide if I should return or not. I definitely enjoy the experience a lot. But health wise, it just may not be for me. Friends that have tried it didn't get sick in games that I did. So I would say that my motion sickness issues are definitely above most peoples when it comes to VR. It is what it is. I would definitely NOT be returning due to being unsatisfied or disappointed in any way of the hardware itself. So overall, I would definitely recommend PSVR to anybody interested in a high end VR experience. But if at all possible, find a way to demo it before purchase. With that recommendation also comes a warning: Know that motion sickness is pretty much guaranteed at some point in ANY VR system you use. Be sure you're ok knowing that in order to play some games, the graphics have to be sacrificed in favor of frame rate. It's just the nature of the beast. Low latency high frame rate is absolutely crucial for VR. And as such, some games will need to tone down graphics to meet requirements. ***this review is for the CORE ONLY and did not include a camera (required) or the 2 move controllers (optional and highly recommended)

So after a good amount of time with the Playstation VR I can safely say that it is a SYSTEM SELLER!!!!!!! I am a gadget guy and VR has always intrigued me so I had fairly high hopes for it going in. I was a bit nervous I'd get queasy or dizzy as I've had that happen in some games when I was younger but thankfully I've not had any issues whatsoever with it. Yes the graphics aren't going to blow anyone away, yes sometimes the images are a bit blurry, yes the recalibrating it and getting it going can be a pain in the rear, yes it has a crapload of annoying cables and connections and yes the majority of games are too short and more like tech demos than real games. And with all that being said I can safely say PSVR IS F'IN AWESOME AND I LOVE IT!!!! So far I've just had my buddy Mike and my wife check it out and both were fairly skeptical (especially my wife who it took some doing to be convinced to play). After playing it for a while though both of them are as excited about it as me and like me, they were both blown away by how great it is. In fact, my wife, who isn't that much of a gamer, said, and I quote..."This is a GAME CHANGER". She's never said that about anything gaming related. And she said it in dead seriousness about PSVR. I've waited since Friday to post my impressions because I didn't want to jump the gun until I had some time with it but I have played enough to know this is the future of gaming. My advice to Sony: Get demo units out there and get them everywhere. Then encourage people to check it out via an advertising campaign. People will not realize just how much of a big deal this is until they play it. Seeing videos of it, pictures of it or hearing people talk about it isn't going to sell people on it, but playing it will sell a lot of people on it. I'm working a lot as it's the end of the year for me but even when I'm not playing the PSVR I'm thinking about playing it. So do yourself a favor, whether you're on the fence about it or even think it looks just plain stupid, go to a Best Buy who has a demo unit and see for yourself! My money is saying most of you all who try it will be pretty damned impressed and want to buy one asap!!

Never in a million years did I think we'd actually get VR. Our sons received their allowances and saved up for it. I love it. I think my favorite game is just the PlayStation Playroom because it can be enjoyed by the whole family. We have been pleasantly surprised by it. I highly recommend it.

I first tried out the Sony VR at a demo day at the local Best Buy. I was immediately impressed. I finally caved into buying a headset after the price dropped to $199. It is worth every penny! There are now plenty of games to try. Being an FPS fan, I love Farpoint the most. Probably the best game they have at this point.

This a great product for the price. I was blown away by the awesome image quality and playability. This is only get better as more games are developed and designed for this system.

Great sturdy device. Really immerses you in the games! I make all my friends and family try it!

Good equipment and console, graphics I bought it for my son and he loved it