Until now, practical virtual reality has been available only through expensive and complicated PC-connected headsets or comparatively rudimentary smartphone holders. With the release on Thursday of the PlayStation VR, Sony is taking the middle ground and hoping to introduce the technology to the masses.
Designed to be used in your loungeroom, the PSVR provides full game experiences and interactivity in a way smartphone systems could not, while also removing many of the barriers to entry inherent to the PC's Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.
Running on the PlayStation 4, which is already in millions of homes, the $550 headset allows even the less tech-savvy users to plug it straight into their entertainment centre and let their games console do the rest. Users will have to get accustomed to being tethered to their TV via a long, thick cable, and most will have to spend extra money on the required PlayStation 4 camera ($90), but this still makes the solution the cheapest and easiest way to get high quality VR experiences at home.
The camera tracks movement via lights on the headset, controller and optional Move wands, which makes for minimal setup and very smooth tracking provided you have a few metres of room and you're sitting or standing in front of the TV.
Also of note is that the PSVR comes with a small processing box that sits between the PlayStation 4 and the TV. This box allows those not wearing the headset to watch what's happening on the big screen, and certain games even let additional players in on the fun using standard controllers. This makes for a much more social, console gaming feel compared to the mostly isolated experience of PC VR.
Michael Ephraim, managing director of Sony Interactive Entertainment's Australian arm, says getting PSVR out to PS4 owners will eventually win over non-gamers and those yet to take the VR plunge as well.
"For a PS4 and a PSVR, it's probably going to cost you half of what it would cost for another VR headset and a computer", Ephraim says.
The headset will initially be taken up by people who already own a PS4, he says, but he expects early adopters to demonstrate the experiences to people who have never used VR before, "and they're going to say 'wow, this is amazing'".
Existing VR enthusiasts are likely to see the Sony's headset as a step backwards in terms of technology. A product like the Vive may be expensive and require a huge empty space to operate, but it allows users to be tracked across that entire space. With the PSVR's single camera solution users can not, for example, bend over to interact with an object on the ground or continue to have their hands tracked when facing away from the TV.
If you've never used a Vive, though, you're unlikely to care. In terms of providing an experience that looks and feels like you're interacting with an artificial world, PSVR is on par with the others.
Ephraim says that despite the focus on accessibility over cutting edge tech, Sony's existing clout will help make the headset "the best" VR experience.
"We'll have 50 games by Christmas. We've got a multitude of publishers working on it", he says.
"We're in the gaming business, have been for a long time".
PlayStation VR launches on Thursday. We will have a full review of the hardware and impressions of the available games then.
