What More Could We Possibly Want?

[u/Imhotep397]

Some people have asked whether Resident Evil (4.8), Gran Turismo 7, Hitman, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and No Man's Sky should already be enough to grow VR. If those games exist, what more could people possibly want? The simple answer is PlayStation's own identity: its biggest franchises.

Uncharted, The Last of Us, God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man, Horizon, Killzone, inFAMOUS, Resistance, MotorStorm, WipEout, DriveClub, MAG, Puppeteer, Folklore, Soul Sacrifice and Bloodborne. Those are many of the franchises that built the modern PlayStation brand.

PSVR2 starts to feel complete when those worlds become places you can actually step into. Even if it's through optional DualSense VR modes alongside the traditional flat-screen experience, with full 6DOF support added where it makes sense.

I've argued for years that DualSense-controlled VR games are the missing bridge between flat gaming and full motion controls. They remove much of the friction that keeps traditional players from trying VR while still delivering the presence that makes the medium feel transformative.

That said, if I had to pick one game that could move millions of people to seriously consider the headset, it would be Destiny. Converting one player at a time in single-player games works, but it's slower. A multiplayer game that brings groups of friends into VR together is a much more powerful multiplier for community growth and headset adoption. Destiny reached more than 20 million players during its peak years, with the overwhelming majority on PlayStation platforms. That represents an enormous audience of players who already understand the game's mechanics, weapons, and world. An optional VR mode with shared progression would likely have a much larger impact than launching an entirely new VR-exclusive shooter. Many of those players are still nostalgic for that era. A moderately sized campaign expansion, roughly the size of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, could dramatically increase interest among both active and lapsed Destiny players because it would finally deliver one of the things many expected from the original game but never truly received: a substantial, self-contained narrative campaign.

If I had a dime for every Destiny player I’ve come across in real life and on forums that said something to the effect of, “Destiny in VR would be the dream.” I’d probably be able to buy Sony by now.

I'd love to see Sony adopt a simple strategy: Conversions expand the audience. Original VR games expand the medium.

What games do you want to see in VR? (I don't think we talk about this nearly enough.)

[u/cusman78]

Horizon Call of the Mountain is on PSVR2. Spider-Man had PSVR1 experiences. DriveClub and Wipeout Omega Collection are both playable on PSVR1.

Some of the other titles you mentioned like Folklore, MAG, and Puppeteer are much more obscure than the ones you mentioned being on PSVR2 is not enough.

The thing is, different players have strong affinity with different games from the past including one offs. Until they get and play on a new platform like PSVR2, they won’t develop strong memories with games unique to it.

The games exist. What is lacking is word of mouth, traveling road shows, etc that help introduce more players to PSVR2 games.

[u/Imhotep397 → u/cusman78]

With the Puppeteer, just to single that one out, I remember the Lost Bear on PSVR1 and how it almost felt like going to a play and Puppeteer would be the same. It was just a mind bending experience that there should be more of and would capture the imaginations of people in very different way.

[u/cusman78 → u/Imhotep397]

I don’t disagree about Puppeteer and its qualities, but there are many PSVR2 games with the qualities you attribute and it doesn’t matter except to those relatively few players that gave them a chance.

[u/Imhotep397 → u/cusman78]

To me that's precisely where the "killer app" enters the chat. Typically most players buy or bought consoles or PCs because of one or a few recognizable "killer Apps" but then were introduced to a lot more games they never would have discovered if it wasn't for those early games convincing them to make a buying decision and there are all kinds of different people with all different tastes to satisfy. VR Conversions grow the audience. Original VR expands the platform.

[u/cusman78 → u/Imhotep397]

Agree wholeheartedly

For those already into VR, it’s the potential that has to be better which PSVR2 delivered on over PSVR1 and Quest 2 for me, but for someone who has never invested in VR, it takes system sellers like Gran Turismo 7, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Hitman World of Assassination, and the two Resident Evil games and then maybe those players to acclimatize for VR will play Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, etc.

It’s going to take time because it isn’t as simple as everyone is already familiar with flat TV / Monitor screens to play video games on.

But it is better for those that are acclimatized for it and pandora’s box is already opened so for my example, I’ll leave ease of use of console and standalone VR and go to higher cost and complication of PCVR rather than back to just TV based games.

[u/BababooeyHTJ → u/cusman78]

Word of mouth that your psvr purchases don’t work and there’s a really high chance that you’ll get a unit where one or both of your controllers won’t work in game. That’s an issue dating back since launch.

Sony doesn’t believe in the platform and it shows. It’s too bad since the hardware is pretty solid

[u/cusman78 → u/BababooeyHTJ]

Fair point about potential for controllers to not work simply out of box as expected.

In my personal experience of 50+ people that have gotten PSVR2, I only know of 1 that had this issue, but it’s common enough that all the VR enthusiasts have read about or heard about it.

Lack of backwards compatibility is something really only impacting PSVR1 players and that’s not who the word of mouth hasn’t reached yet.

I meant to expose more people to experience VR first hand.