What are you playing on your PlayStation 4?

[Mord]

Just picked up a PS4 Slim. I'll likely be playing Mighty No. 9 and Touhou Rondo once I get it set up and working until January 10th when Project Diva Future Tone & Colorful Tone are released digitally.

[spacecadet]

Just got my PS VR, so right now I'm playing through the two discs that it came with - it really comes with a *lot* of content (the standalone headset might not, I'm not sure; the launch bundle comes with VR Worlds and a demo disc). I've also just played through the RE7 demo, which actually made me a little sick, as well as the Hatsune Miku VR demo, which was pretty cool.

 

I ordered a physical copy of Rez Infinite, though, so I'm just waiting for that. Probably going to pick up Rush of Blood also, and the Batman VR game. I really love this thing. It doesn't even really feel like playing on the PS4 anymore - I feel like I'm posting in the wrong thread. But of course, it is - it just has the feel of a new platform.

[Cybergoth]

Hm... I assume the VR will do what every mid-generation console gimmick does - die. So enjoy it while it lasts

[BillLoguidice]

Hm... I assume the VR will do what every mid-generation console gimmick does - die. So enjoy it while it lasts

 

That's certainly possible, although I do think VR as an ongoing concern will continue to evolve and have a notable presence in the gaming world. It's just too good, even at this early stage, not to be.

[spacecadet]

Hm... I assume the VR will do what every mid-generation console gimmick does - die. So enjoy it while it lasts

 

It almost doesn't matter if it does. There's already way more than enough good stuff available for it to justify the purchase (and I can say that with confidence having now played probably 25 different demos). I mean I spent $400 on my PS4 itself and I have four total games for it over the span of 2-3 years. I've already got 3 now (if you count VR Worlds) for the PS VR, and a lot more that I want. I already almost don't even care about a new game if it's not VR. Playing on a flat screen feels retro.

 

Whether or not *this* iteration of VR dies, with its bulky headsets and whatnot, VR in general is definitely the future. In 50 years, people are not going to be playing games on a flat 2D screen with a controller. We're inexorably moving towards Star Trek holodeck type stuff, where a world is projected around you. And the full promise of that may really be 200 years away, but current-gen VR is one step towards getting there, and a glimpse towards that future.

 

I have a feeling the PS5 is going to be a VR-based system. The current PS VR feels like Sony trying to learn the ropes, but they're doing a pretty good job of it.

Edited December 30, 2016 by spacecadet

[Mord]

They'd better figure out how to get the price down if they want a VR-based system next gen. Although if anyone remembers the old commercials from the PS2 era, their plans for the PS9 were to be some kind of virtual reality machine.

[spacecadet]

They'd better figure out how to get the price down if they want a VR-based system next gen. Although if anyone remembers the old commercials from the PS2 era, their plans for the PS9 were to be some kind of virtual reality machine.

 

I see that as potentially part of why the PS VR exists now. The first iteration of anything is always the most expensive, then the costs come down over time. Putting this product out now is one way for Sony to figure out how they can streamline things in the future, if they do decide to make the PS5 VR-based. It's probably also kind of a market test to gauge popularity at this price point. Given how hard it was to find this thing (my wife had to physically go to the Sony store), it seems like Sony actually underestimated demand. (Some analysts predicted much higher sales, but Sony's internal projections had to be lower because this thing was just sold out everywhere before Christmas. They didn't produce enough.)

 

Also, one big reason why the PS VR is so expensive is because it's almost a self-contained platform. It has its own processor box, it requires the camera, it really also requires the Move controllers. The box it comes in is bigger than the box for the PS4 and has *way* more stuff in it. If they were to instead make a console from the ground up to be VR-based, most of that would come as part of the system itself. They'd only need a headset, which could be vastly simplified. Right now the way PS VR works is by tracking lights on the headset using the camera; they could instead just use a sensor built into the console.

 

And let's face it, part of the $500 price tag is paying for all the R&D that went into this. We early adopters pay the lion's share of that; later generations won't need to have so much of that cost tacked on.

 

Anyway I get the argument that it's like any other midstream accessory and could fail like all the others. But you know, most of those things *did* get incorporated into later systems. It's not like we all just forgot about 32 bit gaming because the 32X failed - the PS1 and Saturn were both 32 bit systems. It's not like we all forgot about CD gaming after the Sega CD. Not like we forgot about watching movies on our game consoles because the Saturn VCD card failed. Add-ons individually often do fail, but the reason they exist is because manufacturers see the way the industry as a whole is going, and future consoles more often than not include those features standard.

[Cybergoth]

I can't see into the future either, just saying that for example 3D movies are "coming" since 1890 and yet ~ this year 3D television died once again, with all major players like Samsung, LG, Phillips and even Sony reducing or quitting production entirely. Also: *cough* Virtual Boy *cough*...

 

The mid-generation thing is just an extra problem it'll face. Every serious game producer will go for the maximum user base - e.g. not even Nintendo makes "exclusive" NEW 3DS games. So while Batman VR may be a nice mini-game collection and there's currently all sorts of quasi tech-demos sold for 60 bucks, you won't ever see a AAA title like The Witcher for it. Your best bet will be hybrid titles like RE7, where most players will just turn the gimmick off after a while, like the 3D on the 3DS.

[BillLoguidice]

They'd better figure out how to get the price down if they want a VR-based system next gen. Although if anyone remembers the old commercials from the PS2 era, their plans for the PS9 were to be some kind of virtual reality machine.

 

Well, right now there's VR capability from $10 on up, so I think the price point is there overall. Obviously, the higher priced solutions are better than the cheap solutions, but the basic idea is still there. I think that's a good thing, as is continued streamlining, which, lets face it, is really needed. Not everyone can grok how to set up all the cabling, adjust the headset properly, etc. Once that becomes lighter and preferably wireless, we'll really start to have something.

 

Anyway, in terms of cheaper VR, it will be interesting to see what comes of Microsoft's initiative in this area in 2017 in terms of $300 headsets on PC. By more than halving the price of Oculus or Vive (and having far lower system requirements; of course the capabilities are expected to be less, and perhaps even a step below even PSVR), it may help with adoption on the PC side, which should further bring down the overall price of the technology. While I wouldn't expect a console to come with a VR headset by default, perhaps ever, certainly it may be something that just works with one if a user so chose. Frankly, that's what I think is going to happen with Xbox Scorpio. It will simply support certain types of PC headsets and call it a day.

 

Obviously another factor is cross compatibility. The more software that works regardless of what headset you have, the better. Right now, there's still a ways to go with that.

 

As for lack of AAA titles, right now, VR lends itself best to playing in 20 - 30 minute chunks. Until the comfort and other factors are addressed with advances in the technology that might take another 10 years, I just don't think it's practical to have truly deep, big budget experiences. Of course, if your definition of AAA titles is not necessarily length and depth and it's just production values, then I'd argue that we're already there. The big limiting factor in parity with regular games is a technological one at this point, i.e., rendering demands limit fidelity in comparison to 2D stuff.

[BillLoguidice]

I can't see into the future either, just saying that for example 3D movies are "coming" since 1890 and yet ~ this year 3D television died once again, with all major players like Samsung, LG, Phillips and even Sony reducing or quitting production entirely. Also: *cough* Virtual Boy *cough*...

 

The mid-generation thing is just an extra problem it'll face. Every serious game producer will go for the maximum user base - e.g. not even Nintendo makes "exclusive" NEW 3DS games. So while Batman VR may be a nice mini-game collection and there's currently all sorts of quasi tech-demos sold for 60 bucks, you won't ever see a AAA title like The Witcher for it. Your best bet will be hybrid titles like RE7, where most players will just turn the gimmick off after a while, like the 3D on the 3DS.

 

Let's be fair. Virtual Boy was too early of an implementation of 3D gaming, just like the prior Vectrex, Famicom, and SMS/Mark III headsets. Nintendo got it mostly right with the 3DS, but clearly the demand wasn't there and/or Nintendo lost interest/couldn't figure out how to leverage it. It seems the only place 3D has REALLY finally succeeded has been at the movie theater. The lack of 3D success in the home was understandable for a lot of reasons, though, including a lack of content, which is something 4K is dealing with. Unlike 3D, though, at least a good 4K set (with proper HDR) still has value outside of native content, and shooting in 4K (and beyond) is less of an issue than shooting in 3D.

 

Again, I understand the "gimmick" tag for VR, but, when done right, it really is a profound experience unlike any other before it. It's truly a next gen way to play. When that's properly merged with AR, motion tracking, etc. - all technologies that have had their heyday before - we'll have ways to play that will make what we're doing now seem like Pong. It may not be this generation, but I think it would be silly to dismiss the potential of a technology like this. We have to start somewhere, and I think we can say between PSVR, Oculus, and Vive, we've finally started. Obviously, we're also getting a push from the mobile side (Google Cardboard and beyond), and if the Apple AR/VR rumors hold true, we'll have a significant new player in that space sometime soon as well. There's just too much activity for this not to lead to something.

 

Of course, I'm not saying I think this will ever be mainstream, at least in its current form (no matter how advanced it gets), but there's nothing wrong with this being a well supported niche.

[spacecadet]

The mid-generation thing is just an extra problem it'll face. Every serious game producer will go for the maximum user base - e.g. not even Nintendo makes "exclusive" NEW 3DS games. So while Batman VR may be a nice mini-game collection and there's currently all sorts of quasi tech-demos sold for 60 bucks, you won't ever see a AAA title like The Witcher for it. Your best bet will be hybrid titles like RE7, where most players will just turn the gimmick off after a while, like the 3D on the 3DS.

 

The term "AAA title" has become so meaningless these days that I almost actively avoid games tagged with that now. They're almost always cookie-cutter FPS games or sports games that amount to a roster update from last year. Ironically, those are a couple genres that lend themselves to really easy VR. The game industry has become very much like the Hollywood movie industry. Summer blockbusters can sometimes be fun in a broad sense, but the older I get, the less I care about seeing any of them. "AAA game", like "blockbuster movie", is a term that's come to imply lower quality, at least to me. I'd rather play a game like Bound or Thumper.

 

I never bought (or wanted to buy) The Witcher, btw. There's certainly nothing preventing me from doing so; regular PS4 games still work just fine for PS VR owners. I just don't want it.

 

And Battlezone is a tech demo? Rush of Blood? Job Simulator? Rez Infinite? Hatsune Miku VR Future Live? These are full-fledged games in my book. Most of them aren't anywhere close to $60 either (only Battlezone, which is the only reason I haven't bought it yet - I don't buy any game for $60). You don't have to *like* them, but they're as much a full game as anything else on the market. I mean, you are on AA for God's sake; I hope you don't think a game needs an 80 hour long cinematic story to be considered a game and not a tech demo.

Edited December 31, 2016 by spacecadet

[Cybergoth]

And Battlezone is a tech demo? Rush of Blood? Job Simulator? Rez Infinite? Hatsune Miku VR Future Live? These are full-fledged games in my book. Most of them aren't anywhere close to $60 either (only Battlezone, which is the only reason I haven't bought it yet - I don't buy any game for $60). You don't have to *like* them, but they're as much a full game as anything else on the market. I mean, you are on AA for God's sake; I hope you don't think a game needs an 80 hour long cinematic story to be considered a game and not a tech demo.

 

None of the games you mentioned qualify as "system seller", that's all I'm saying. Rez is the only one of them at with a green metascore and it's still just a niche title.

[Iwantgames:)]

I want a colecovision and Intellivision collection on PS4

[BillLoguidice]

 

None of the games you mentioned qualify as "system seller", that's all I'm saying. Rez is the only one of them at with a green metascore and it's still just a niche title.

 

I'm not sure what a VR "system seller" really would be. Technically, the VR tech itself is a system seller. Anyway, the idea of a system seller is something of a myth. Not every system has needed one. Certainly the PS4 didn't have one and that was a huge success out of the box.

[WispFollower]

I've been playing some of the Uncharted 4 co-op update which was released recently. It is very addicting and fun, like the co-op modes of the past. I can't wait until my friends get into it so we can beat some of the higher levels together. Battlefield 1 has also been a lot of fun lately, with medic and support being my favorite classes. I've also been playing some Skyrim and Rocket League here and there.

[King_Salamon]

Did anyone see the footage of Surge?? Wow! It appears to be a Bloodborne/Dark Souls type of game but set in a futuristic space setting. I'll be watching that one as it develops and may be a day one purchase for me.

 

I just picked up Dragon Quest Builders so we will be trying that next week (shipping).

 

If the PS VR can find it's killer app... then it will take off. Remember, the Atari VCS was doing ok but didn't take off until Space Invaders hit. As for must have titles (not quite a killer app) on any system, those are subjective. I'm waiting to find the deluxe (launch) bundle to appear on shelves. I refuse to buy the VR and then have to purchase the add-ons separately... I like the all in one convenient box. I did find the wands and basic headset at one store a couple days ago but no camera. I'm not going to jump through hoops for a VR. But when I see the bundle, I'll grab it.

[Shawn]

 

I just picked up Dragon Quest Builders so we will be trying that next week (shipping).

 

 

It's awesome dude, I'm sure you will love it.

 

I myself have been playing Watch Dogs 2 like it was crack cocaine. Got the platinum trophy for it the other night. The story, the game play, it's exactly what I want from a game. I mean who doesn't want to take down Google, Facebook and the Church Of Scientology via worldwide liberation of the masses with the technology they use against us in the first place?

[Cybergoth]

I started playing MGS Phantom Pain last night. That series never really klicked for me and the first hour once again left me in the cold

[Mord]

Now playing Project Diva Future Tone (Future Sound + Colorful Tone halves). Almost finished with the touhou game's story modes.

[romeoteknik]

Blazblue: Central Fiction

Bases Loaded 2016

[Jess Ragan]

Right now? It's been KOF14 and Street Fighter V. About the only way I can satisfy my craving for new fighting games is with the PS4.

[cimerians]

My console gaming days are on indefinite hold but damn I wish I can play Yakuza 0 and Nioh

Anyone playing those post thoughts

[WispFollower]

I started playing the Nuka World DLC for Fallout, and it's been really fun so far. Also, I've been playing Rocket League on and off, with some decent improvements in my strategy and skill. After much pestering from a friend of mine, I finally got Overwatch the other day. The main reason I was putting it off was I have gotten a bunch of games in the last few months and have also been trying to accomplish many things in my personal life as well. The last thing I needed was another addictive online game. Oh well, there's no going back now.

[raz]

Sometimes i play SFV or one of the 6 Rockman games (Megaman Legacy Collection), but that's about it.

 

Until i can find a copy of Yakuza 0, i use my PS4 to watch youtube more than anything, as i play more on the Famicom and Nintendo DS nowadays

[Video]

Picked up littlebig planet 3 again. I had it a couple years back, but gave it to a friend when he moved outof state and took a while to get back into it.

 

I'm going to have to restart I think as I have no idea what I'm doing. Still a lot of fun though.

 

And minecraft, after being down for four months I had to download several patches about the size of texas, but I love the game. I probably need professional help....off to MA, hope they don't mind if I lug my PS4 so I can play mincraft while I'm there.