PSVR worth it still?

[mk2 24v]

Really tempted to get a PSVR headset at the moment, but can't justify the 300 odd quid new purchase price.
Noticed there are new boxsets available for 160, and CEX have second hand at around 80.
Is it worth taking a risk for the limited amount of games that use the VR to full effect?
(And possibly watching 3D pron and films as well)

Anyone on here have a PSVR and willing to share their experiences?

[paul99]

I've had the PSVR since launch and as an introduction to VR its still very good and has a massive selection of games to try out. I would definitely pick one up used from eBay or CEX over paying full price, its pretty old tech now and if the price including accessories (motion controllers) is getting anywhere near an Oculus Quest 2 i would go for that instead, the Q2 is a great bit of kit.for the price and can be connected to a PC opening a massive library of games if you have a capable enough PC.

I've got a lot of PSVR games and the ones listed below stand out, I would wait till PS sales and you can pick up most of these games with a sizable discount now if your patient:

Beat Saber
Resident Evil 7
Dirt Rally
Superhot
REZ Infinite
Blood and Truth
Astro Bot
Moss
Star Wars Squadrons
Until Dawn - Rush of Blood

Edited by paul99 on Monday 3rd October 12:15

[Bullett]

I had one when they came out and it was pretty good for the time and considering the hardware (PS4) they had to work with. The tracking was good, the graphics were fine. I didn't keep it because I had PC VR and that was much better at the time. I'll probably get the v2 when it arrives to see what the PS5 brings to the party.

You'll need the camera and wand controllers to get the best out of it. Get a bundle if you can and the cheap 2nd hand ones are a really good starting point.

[Alorotom]

I got a refurb PSVR setup from Argos (on their ebay account) just before Covid all started. I found I got massive motion sickness from it, and I really wanted to love it.

I ended up returning it all within the cooling period as I just couldn't use it and it was getting worse each time - but it looked good.

Prices should drop further though as PSVR2 is just around the corner.

[Lucas Ayde]

Considering the hardware it has to use as a base, and the low price, it's a pretty amazing system. Really vibrant OLED screen that gives better perceived resolution than the low specs, decent field of view and a nice comfortable and well balanced headset.

The tracking is a bit prone to weirdness ... I keep experiencing a strange bug where I am very slowly 'rotating' inside the VR World. It's most noticeable with something like 'Statik' where you are physically sat in one place inside the virtual world. Over time you notice that 'straight ahead' has drifted to one side and you need to recentre. I've not had problems with tracking on the 'wands' (PS Move controllers) but I do see a lot of people reporting issues there too. You do have to faff around with the PS camera to try to get the best tracking.

Also a downer is the low native refresh rate (a limitation of the hardware) on many games which they get around by 'reprojection' ie generating intermediate frames to bring the displayed rate to 90 or 120 (but the underlying rate is 45 or 60). It works OK but I would have to say that after more than about 1 1/2 hours tops I start to feel pretty queasy in PSVR whereas on my Quest 2, I can play for hours on end as it typically will give at least a solid 72fps and usually a true 90 or even 120fps.

If you can get a good price on the headset kit and have a PS4 Pro, it's a cheap way to try out VR and have some fun.

Note: Sony have said that PSVR2 will NOT support original PSVR games on the new high-spec hardware.

[Lucas Ayde]

Alorotom said:

I got a refurb PSVR setup from Argos (on their ebay account) just before Covid all started. I found I got massive motion sickness from it, and I really wanted to love it.

I ended up returning it all within the cooling period as I just couldn't use it and it was getting worse each time - but it looked good.

Prices should drop further though as PSVR2 is just around the corner.

The motion sickness is likely because of a discontinuity between what you see and how you are moving your head ... low innate framerates are the cause IMO. I do eventually get the queasy feeling any time from an hour onwards but absolutely not a problem in a Quest 2 headset at all. Even when I'm streaming via WiFi from my PC.

I'd imagine PSVR2 won't have the issue. It looks really awesome actually, a real leap ahead. Just a shame that it is wired. Having used Quest 2 stand-alone and wirelessly with the PC, I would not go back to cabled VR.

[Bullett]

The VR sickness is very dependant on the person and/or the game in question.
Anything cockpit based, racing, flying aircraft, that sort of thing where your body is fixed in a location and the world is moving around it I can do for hours. Movement based on arms or other physical locomotion methods also ok.
Movement like in a FPS controlled via the stick (smooth motion or similar name) I can take for a while then makes me ill. Teleportation movement is fine.
Anything that has you disembodied, swooping of swooshing around - vomit city.

Even within those categories how well things are done, framerates and micro judder can cause issues.

You can build up a resistance to it, I'd keep early sessions short until you know what you can take.