When it comes to new technology, you need to feel excited. You want new peripherals or hardware to have amazing and unconventional games to go with them. There has to be something that makes you say, “Take my money.” With all the hype surrounding the PlayStation VR, though, we have yet to see that sort of game or application. There are interesting things, sure, but nothing that makes you point and cry out, “That’s our headset!”
The last two PlayStation Experiences were opportunities. Sony had a chance to show that the PlayStation VR would be worth adding to our homes. While there have been plenty of impressive tech demos and samples of independent games, there hasn’t been a real game changer. We aren’t seeing games or series we know and love on the headset.
Yes, at this year’s PlayStation Experience, we saw Ace Combat 7 . It was undeniably cool to see what it would be like to fly if we were actually in the cockpit. It’s absolutely the kind of game that should be a PlayStation VR experience. The problem is, it’s also incredibly niche. When was the last time you played a flight sim? And I’m not talking about a game like Wander or Skyrim , where you just so happen to be able to fly on something. I’m talking about a complicated, fighter plane simulation. Those games are good, but they don’t have the largest audiences. Besides, it only offers PlayStation VR support and doesn’t require the headset.
Rez Infinite was a big hit at the PlayStation Experience. Of course it was. It’s a fantastic on-rails shooter and music game. But, as anyone who saw footage from the event noticed, it’s going to be one of the most impractical PlayStation VR games. To play it properly, you need the headset and a suit that gives the whole vibration effect. Without all that, is it really going to feel right? And really, how many times are you going to want to play a game that requires you to suit up?
There are a smattering of other titles that are going to offer some level of support for the PlayStation VR, but none of them compels a day one purchase. Tekken 7 will support the headset, but is a fighting game a good enough reason to buy one? Until Dawn: Rush of Blood will be there, but it isn’t a full adventure game and seems more like an on-rails haunted house. The only thing that comes close to being a seller is Gran Turismo Sport , but even that may not bring in the droves of people necessary to make the PlayStation VR a success.
Sony needs to get the PlayStation VR a champion. It needs to give the headset a Nathan Drake or Ratchet and Clank. There should be a Sole Survivor or Dragonborn. If this headset is going to soar once it’s released, companies need to start announcing their games will support the peripheral now.