4 ms·

The absolute price difference is more important here than the multiple. Spending roughly $1k more for entertainment is certainly within the budget of many folks

by emcq 11y ago

The absolute price difference is more important here than the multiple. Spending roughly $1k more for entertainment is certainly within the budget of many folks, versus $60k+ for a Tesla over a new Honda fit. But you're right that the PlayStation VR appeals to the price conscious. Almost as much as not buying one ;)

chc 11y ago
> But you're right that the PlayStation VR appeals to the price conscious. Almost as much as not buying one ;) The implication here, that there's no market for a $400 piece of video game hardware when more powerful hardware is available at higher price points, is pretty obviously wrong given the success of the PlayStation 4 itself. The simple fact is, for the price of a Vive, you can get both a PS4 and a PSVR. And the $800 Vive requires a computer even more expensive than itself. This is not an insignificant difference.
- emcq 11y ago
  That's fair. If you ask people outside the VR bubble if they would trust Facebook, some company called Valve, or Sony PlayStation to make a quality VR entertainment device most would put their money on PlayStation. Not only is the cost much less, you will probably get to try it out at your local Target. But thats just the gateway drug to VR. From my perspective in the VR bubble I prefer more pixels. I think the PSVR will have much better unit sales than Rift/Vive, but that the latter will provide tangible benefits to those that enjoy VR experiences.
  - tcdent 11y ago
    "...some company named Valve" who's software, social network and content distribution are installed on nearly every gamer's computer. Also don't forget their history as a game developer, which attributes an arguably Carmack-like reputation in 3D gaming.
    - emcq 11y ago
      Valve is indisputably an amazing company with kickass products! But if you're a mainstream consumer, perhaps someone voting for Trump, you've never heard of them. And like the name "Trump", Sony has turned the name "PlayStation" into a brand that appeals to the mass market, not just gamers.
sbarre 11y ago
The difference here is also barrier to "trying it out". I own a PS4, that is currently mostly collecting dust.. I got it last year for a specific game, I played it a lot, enjoyed it, don't regret the purchase, but since then nothing has come out that is interesting to me... I'm also pretty interested in VR, and am curious to try it out. But my PC would require about $1,200 in upgrades (I checked) in order to properly support the Rift or Vive, not to mention the cost of the unit itself, so I'm looking at at least a $2,000 investment to try VR at home on my PC (I am not counting trying it out somewhere else, I mean owning it and using it on my own time and terms).. On the other hand, I could spend 500$ to get the PSVR and potentially breathe new life into my PS4? Even if it's not the top-of-the-line experience, it's a pretty easy choice for someone like me who qualifies as a casual gamer but is pretty curious about this new tech, and wants to give it a shot for the lowest amount of investment.
- morninj 11y ago
  What would the $1200 upgrades entail? Seems that you could build a machine with enough power from scratch for around $1200.
  - sbarre 11y ago
    I would essentially need a new PC yes. I could keep my case, PS and SSD but the rest has to go. And I actually just put about 600$ in upgrades into the machine last year, so it stings a bit. I'm also not trying to match minimum spec, if I'm going to spend money upgrading for VR, I would want something that will last at least a few years, so I looked into (reasonably) top-of-the-line hardware.
    - projct 11y ago
      $920USD in the US will get you a I5-6500, 16GB, 980TI, case, PSU, and hard drive. The 6700K wouldn't be enough of a bump to be worth it (I own one.) 970 is really not that much slower and then the whole machine is like $600 instead of $920.

by emcq 11y ago

chc 11y ago

> But you're right that the PlayStation VR appeals to the price conscious. Almost as much as not buying one ;) The implication here, that there's no market for a $400 piece of video game hardware when more powerful hardware is available at higher price points, is pretty obviously wrong given the success of the PlayStation 4 itself. The simple fact is, for the price of a Vive, you can get both a PS4 and a PSVR. And the $800 Vive requires a computer even more expensive than itself. This is not an insignificant difference.

emcq 11y ago
That's fair. If you ask people outside the VR bubble if they would trust Facebook, some company called Valve, or Sony PlayStation to make a quality VR entertainment device most would put their money on PlayStation. Not only is the cost much less, you will probably get to try it out at your local Target. But thats just the gateway drug to VR. From my perspective in the VR bubble I prefer more pixels. I think the PSVR will have much better unit sales than Rift/Vive, but that the latter will provide tangible benefits to those that enjoy VR experiences.
- tcdent 11y ago
  "...some company named Valve" who's software, social network and content distribution are installed on nearly every gamer's computer. Also don't forget their history as a game developer, which attributes an arguably Carmack-like reputation in 3D gaming.
  - emcq 11y ago
    Valve is indisputably an amazing company with kickass products! But if you're a mainstream consumer, perhaps someone voting for Trump, you've never heard of them. And like the name "Trump", Sony has turned the name "PlayStation" into a brand that appeals to the mass market, not just gamers.

sbarre 11y ago

The difference here is also barrier to "trying it out". I own a PS4, that is currently mostly collecting dust.. I got it last year for a specific game, I played it a lot, enjoyed it, don't regret the purchase, but since then nothing has come out that is interesting to me... I'm also pretty interested in VR, and am curious to try it out. But my PC would require about $1,200 in upgrades (I checked) in order to properly support the Rift or Vive, not to mention the cost of the unit itself, so I'm looking at at least a $2,000 investment to try VR at home on my PC (I am not counting trying it out somewhere else, I mean owning it and using it on my own time and terms).. On the other hand, I could spend 500$ to get the PSVR and potentially breathe new life into my PS4? Even if it's not the top-of-the-line experience, it's a pretty easy choice for someone like me who qualifies as a casual gamer but is pretty curious about this new tech, and wants to give it a shot for the lowest amount of investment.

morninj 11y ago
What would the $1200 upgrades entail? Seems that you could build a machine with enough power from scratch for around $1200.
- sbarre 11y ago
  I would essentially need a new PC yes. I could keep my case, PS and SSD but the rest has to go. And I actually just put about 600$ in upgrades into the machine last year, so it stings a bit. I'm also not trying to match minimum spec, if I'm going to spend money upgrading for VR, I would want something that will last at least a few years, so I looked into (reasonably) top-of-the-line hardware.
  - projct 11y ago
    $920USD in the US will get you a I5-6500, 16GB, 980TI, case, PSU, and hard drive. The 6700K wouldn't be enough of a bump to be worth it (I own one.) 970 is really not that much slower and then the whole machine is like $600 instead of $920.