The future is (almost) here

[richerthanyou]

Virtual reality. Finally it's become a reality. (ha)

So I was planning on buying myself a ps4 since I haven't had a console since my xbox 360 broke well over a year ago.

But suddenly I'm hearing all about this Playstation VR thing and so I'm thinking I might hold off and save my money til it's here.

Is anyone else excited for virtual reality gaming? Or is it just another gimmick like 3dtv?

[NapalmKev]

VR certainly looks good but I would be more interested if they had some kind of glove/peripheral that could simulate touching something, for a more immersive experience.

Cheers

[richerthanyou]

[Grugz]

VR certainly looks good but I would be more interested if they had some kind of glove/peripheral that could simulate touching something, for a more immersive experience.

Cheers

i thought you were thrylseeker for a moment there!

I personally think its a fad as 3d was recently and will fizzle out as it all did in the 80's ...unless some boffin comes up with a star trek style holodeck

[Satanist]

I love gaming and would probably enjoy VR but I sure as hell aint shelling out over £400 to try it. If it takes off then I'll buy the next gen when its better and cheaper. If not then I'll pick it up when its cheaper and in the bargain bucket.

Unless they announce Half Life 3 then I'm on it day 1.

[TordelBack]

As somebody recently pointed out, you're asking for two tiny hi-res screens plus power and connectivity, set in a support structure that is light enough to comfortably sit on your face. Given the price of hi-end phone screens, TVs or designer sunglasses for that matter, what do we expect that to cost?

[Satanist]

I don't expect it to be cheap just stating that for a new tech which is trying tell us the future is now (again) I'm not jumping in right at the start. If it succeeds it WILL be cheaper going forward than it is initially.

Regards the PS4 headset you need...

PS4 - 250 to 300 quid
PS camera - 30 to 40 quid
VR headset - 350 quid
Motion controls (not needed but some games will require) - 30 quid each
A game to play - 10 to 40 quid

That's a lot of money to shell out on what could be the new Kinect. And considering how console manufacturers love to let you use old tech on new consoles what happens when PS5 arrives? The best option I see is getting one for PC as a lot of indy developers will produce some incredible stuff I'm sure.

[Professor Bear]

Just watch Lawnmower Man again until you become convinced you don't need VR in your life in any form.

[TordelBack]

Just watch Lawnmower Man again until you become convinced you don't need VR in your life in any form.

But the legendary sex scene was so steamy!  People in the virtual future are mad for it.

Sorry Satanist, didn't mean to imply you were being anything other than sensible - just noting that if we want to play with VR the actual kit has to be a pricey bit of tech (it's not just another Wii nunchuk), rather than the immoral corpirate profiteering I've seen them classed as elsewhere.

[Satanist]

I'm mainly trying to convince myself seeing as my house is slowly falling apart round my ears it would be much more sensible to deal with that before I invest in some 3d specs.

[shaolin_monkey]

I'm an early adopter type person of anything related to 3D, and the sense of virtual reality.  I have 3D stuff, electronic and otherwise, going all the way back to the green and red 3D poster of Terrahawks in Look-In from the 80s.  However, even I'm balking at the price.  That is a lot!

That said, I did splash out for a gaming rig that ran NVidia 3D Vision, complete with shutter glasses and appropriate 3D monitor some years back, and that was (still is!) an awesome gaming experience.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Best wait for the newly announced PS4.5.

Bit of a kick in the nuts for the 40m users who have already bought a machine, that one.

[Dandontdare]

I have 3D stuff, electronic and otherwise, going all the way back to the green and red 3D poster of Terrahawks in Look-In from the 80s. 

I remember being very excited about the experimental 3D night on telly years ago (Googled it but can't seem to find any info). You could send off for those blue and green glasses (or maybe they came with the Radio Times) and Blue Peter showed how to make them with coloured cellophane sweet wrappers; and there was a whole evening of programmes in that fuzzy migraine-inducing 3D. very primitive but it was like magic at the time - late 70s or early 80s maybe?

[M.I.K.]

1982. TV Times.

The entire episode of the introductory programme, (co-hosted by Michael Rodd), was on youtube a couple of years ago, but now seems to have disappeared. There is this, though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPU9SWZIOqI

[M.I.K.]

I tell a lie, here's the whole thing...

https://youtu.be/Ey8gkIlliEI

...and another, slightly different episode, which I think was broadcast only in the TVS region, ahead of the nationwide one...

https://youtu.be/mma_lTw3_EA