Playstation VR Pax East 2016 Impressions

This year at PAX East 2016 I was able to experience first hand the new Sony Playstation VR which is set to launch in late 2016. The unit that I used was not the finished production model, but I was very impressed by both the VR unit itself and the immersive experience it provides. The VR headset is sleek and comfortable, you can also view a picture below of me wearing the headset at a distance. Since the product is unfinished I wasn't allowed to have any close up shots of PSVR though you can see how it generally wears. The main difference that I noticed between the Playstation VR and the other VR units that I was able to try over the past weekend, is that the Playstation VR was easier to put on. Other units had several straps that needed to be adjusted while the Sony unit had more like an elastic or spring loaded means of adjustment. The head strap only needed to be stretched apart and placed just as if I were putting on a cap. While I am sure the other VRs can be put on by the user, during my other demos I was assisted in adjusting the unit.





The Playstation VR was intuitive, and with minimal instruction I was in the game in no time. The padding on the headset is comfortable and the unit is light weight. Coupling that with the 3D headphones blocking out the considerable noise of the convention floor, it allowed me to focus wholly on the game. Speaking as a Bassist, I was impressed how the headphones were able to handle the driving bass line powering the rhythm based game called Thumper that I was playing. The demo was seamless with no noticeable lag which was impressive. While using the Playstation VR I was able to look in any direction and feel as if I was inside the game. During the demo for the game I used the VR headset and a Dualshock 4 controller combination. The game, Thumper, is not part of the Playstation VR Worlds suite that comes with the Playstation VR bundle. I liked that there are other titles in development to support this new technology, and I am looking forward to the release of the Playstation VR. I'll also have full impressions for Thumper in the near future which will be linked below, if you have any other questions about the VR headset let us know and someone will try to answer them.

Read our Thumper Playstation VR Impressions