Just a few weeks ago, Sony provided us with plenty of details regarding PlayStation’s foray into virtual reality gaming with its PlayStation VR headset. We now know what is and isn’t coming bundled with the device, and we have confirmation of the pricing model for each SKU. Oh, and we also have an official release window. But let’s not dwell on these launch details. Aside from pricing, packaging, and release date revelations, there is no doubt that a handful of people don’t know what to make of the new piece of hardware for the PlayStation 4. They are unnerved by the console-like price and don’t really understand the purpose of the tech or what exactly it means and will mean for gaming. This is the group I want to focus on, the group I want to set aside their anxieties for a moment and consider things from my point of view.
I’ll admit that when it comes to deciding to purchase the PS VR, I’m not a fence-sitter—I knew I would preorder the PlayStation VR and pick one up upon its launch, mere minutes after trying it for the first time. Today, little has changed. In fact, my excitement has only increased the more I think about the device and its potential to drive the medium in a brave new direction.
I want to share this excitement with you by explaining why I am thrilled about the future of gaming as it relates to virtual reality experiences. I am in no way trying to persuade you to purchase a headset for yourself; I just want to outline what makes the gear a day-one purchase for me and why its release should stir some excitement in everyone. Who knows? You might do something crazy like agreeing with me by the end of this.
In no order of importance, the first thing I’d like to share about what I believe makes PS VR so attractive is the lonely, isolated experience it caters to. When I play games, I don’t enjoy playing with others. I like my meaty campaigns with single-player driven storylines. Unfortunately, this generation has been really trying to push multiplayer-only titles, and it just doesn’t do it for me. I like to be engrossed in my gaming experiences, and that just doesn’t happen when I am surrounded by distractions or the voices of others pounding my ears as I try to focus.
PlayStation VR takes gaming back to where I want it to be: a selfish experience. Though the potential is there to play multiplayer games, the headset is, in my opinion, best put to use when playing narrative games that are designed for a single person to play—something like a horror game.
Outside of the headset being best suited to single-player experiences, the fact that your ears and eyes are literally obstructed by the headset itself, means that gaming can be enjoyed in a very personal, very private manner. No longer will background noises affect high-octane gameplay, thrilling scenes or pensive story moments. More than that, the headset will completely immerse you on a visual level to the point that you and the game world are not separated by any sort of physical distance; you are in the game world. You are a part of it.
This is unlike any kind of gaming experience I’ve had before. Even a movie theatre, which tries to create an atmosphere of absolute focus, cannot match this kind of personal experience. Playing a character in an imagined world is one thing, but actually being present in one provides a much different feeling. It provides an almost tactile feel that I would say creates a new experience that pushes the boundaries of the medium to places where it always should have been. If a softcover book is the ideal way to read a novel, VR is the most fitting way to indulge in a game. No amount of money to design a getaway game room, no amount of effort put into developing characters, and no amount of technology used to create worlds with insanely rich graphical fidelity could ever hope to make you feel a part of the game—because you and the screen are always separated. Virtual reality changes that. The screen doesn’t just move physically closer to you; the screen swallows your area of vision, and the sound blends in to submerse you into the universe. As far as games are concerned, virtual reality will be marked in the history books as a major shift in how we experience games—one of a few major movements in the medium’s history.
Let’s talk about what I think of when considering major shifts in video games—it’s none other than the N64 launch title Super Mario 64. When Mario 64 launched, it presented an entirely new way to experience gaming. From the sidescrolling perspective that dominated the NES and SNES eras, gamers now had a fully realized world to explore in three dimensions. Though 3D platformers have been done prior to Mario 64’s release, it was this game that refined camera controls, which led to 3D platformers rising to prominence along with other mascot-leading games. It was a monumental shift in how people thought about games, about graphics, and about gameplay experiences; it was a shift that I wasn’t privy to. I was too young.
Now you’re probably thinking that there have surely been several other great shifts in how we experience games, some truly groundbreaking technologies that have changed the way we think about the medium. And you are right. There have been some innovations since 1996: Wii motion controls, PlayStation Move, Microsoft Kinect, and online gaming. I would never discredit these technologies, especially internet-enabled games hardware, but they simply change the way we manipulate games, not how we experience them. Motion controls change the way we interact with or manipulate the games we play. Kinect also changes how we interact with the virtual world, and online gaming affects how we share our experiences or purchase our games.
The commonality between all these pieces of tech is that they all make sense—we can imagine holding a motion controller and pretending it’s a sword, we can imagine punching through the air to have an alias boxer replicate our movements, and we can imagine what an ideal multiplayer experience would be like while gaming with our friends from across the world. We cannot wholly imagine games and how they would feel in virtual reality. Until we put a headset on, it is difficult to grasp just how much the technology can do for gaming—I know because my thoughts on the technology changed after trying PS VR. Similarly, I imagine that until someone saw a game presented in three dimensions like Super Mario 64, they could not perceive what an enduring shift it would present for the future of games. Like I said, I wasn’t there at the time. I’m here now, and for me, PlayStation VR marks the next step for gaming, and I want to be there on day one to experience it.
That’s not to say that PS VR will replace traditional gaming. Like we are seeing this generation, there are a wealth of games that embrace the past by opting for a two-dimensional representation, just as there are plenty of games that go for more technically impressive visuals like those found in open-world role playing games. Games will not all of a sudden dismiss their rich history. Triple-A titles will continue to exist in the format we enjoy them today, Sony and Microsoft consoles will still peruse thoughtful indie games, and virtual reality games will come as exclusive experiences or altered versions of traditional games. This is the kind of gaming landscape I love to be a part of. It is one that has an experience for any gamer, but one that is not afraid to take risks and establish an entirely new way to explore games entertainment.
If this article has done nothing but open your mind to the potential of virtual reality gaming, whether specific to PlayStation VR or not, I think my work is done. Maybe you aren’t even dreaming of purchasing a kit for yourself, but I’ll find it hard to believe that you do not at least recognize what the technology can do for gaming. Virtual reality Is not a one-and-done undertaking like motion controls. It’s not something that we try, something that is never truly perfected, and something that we will be quick to toss aside. PlayStation VR is not just a new control method; it is a window into a wholly new gaming experience, and one that I think is emblematic of what we have always wanted to get out of games: a singular and private getaway. Virtual reality is not new in that it has never been done before; it is new in that it has never been done in a sound fashion for gaming, for an affordable price. Like Mario 64 did for the concept of 3D platformers, virtual reality will be an iterative endeavour, one that only begins here with the PlayStation VR.
This is the first time I will be able to fully take part in what I believe will amount to an industry-defining shift. Whether you are a skeptical PlayStation 4 owner, a core gamer, or just a tech enthusiast, I simply ask that you join me in recognizing the launch of the PlayStation VR as an important and defining event in gaming history.