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PlayStation VR Pre-Orders Sell Out In Minutes At Amazon (roadtovr.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Once seen as the underdog, Sony's PlayStation VR headset continues to hold its own against PC-based competitors Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The company announced last week that they won't ship the PSVR headset until October, but they also announced an attractive $399 price compared to the Rift at $599 and Vive at $799. And it appears the company's existing addressable market of 36 million PS4 owners are ready to get on board; Amazon U.S. opened pre-orders for the PSVR Launch Bundle this morning and sold out of its stock allocation in less than 10 minutes. Walmart befell the same fate quickly thereafter, though several other retailers in the U.S. are still showing pre-order stock.
Q: What's a pirate's favourite way of gaming?
A: Vee Aarrrrg.
I wonder what degree of motion sickness a vr helmet would do. One idea i had for a vr game was being suspended by a 3drange of motion harness. Do movements like you're in space in an iron man suit playing a game of soccer... The queasiness of vr and being spun around would probably outweigh the coolness factor.
God spoke to me
We all know that video game addiction can reach some pretty amazing levels. Even way back in the early days of Multi-User-Dungeons (MUDs) I knew some people who were so addicted to these games that they wouldn't leave the house for weeks just to play them non-stop. With VR entering the picture how deep will the addiction and weirdness go?
Right now for any reasonably popular multi-user game there are huge subcultures on youtube, reddit and elsewhere dedicated to the finest intricacies of the game and literally thousands of hours of recorded game play. With VR I wonder in what weird ways will this all intensify.
What about the social aspects of this? Are people really going to VR helmets at Starbucks or other public settings?
I wonder if they sold out to product squatters/scalpers who intend to flip them for double the price.
no. really. Jim, he's REALLY Dead.
This whole concept of pre-orders is dumb and feels like a trap.
Why would you, buy something that isn't ready, has not been previewed, reviewed and is price inflated?
All this, knowing early adopters in tech always get made.
Feels like some marketing trick.
I'm saving my money for a Sybian VR.
You are welcome on my lawn.
It's 399 if you already have the required camera and move controllers.(Which a lot of people don't have.) There is a package deal with those included for 499.
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
This article would be infinity more informative if we were told what Amazon's allotment was. Selling 100 units of VR equipment on a major console in a short amount of time would be completely unimpressive. Selling 100k would be very impressive. Without the numbers the only thing this tells us is we can't buy the VR gear from Amazon.
I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
There will be no boycott this year? Is this thing going to be safer than a Sony CD?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
I'm glad that there are people stupid enough to be sucked in by the marketing hype and buy brand-new products before they've been reviewed or tested. They serve a useful social purpose as guinea-pigs and product testers. That way, by the time I get around to thinking "i might want one of those", there will be dozens of reviews to read on line. and most likely I'll be buying the 2nd or 3rd generation bug-fixed version (if you think that all geeks are supposed to have a "must have it NOW!" shiny new gadget fetish, don't believe the hype. that's what marketers want you to think).
Unfortunately, they're reviews written mostly by people stupid enough to fall for marketing hype, but you can't have everything. with enough reviews, all flaws are exposed. and hopefully fixed.
But even I can't get my head around the existence of people stupid enough to pre-pay hundreds of dollars for over-hyped products that aren't even on the market yet. WTF?
But then, I also can't fathom people dumb enough to take on all the risks of small investors, without any of the protections or potential returns that small investors get in a regulated market....instead of any of that, they might one day get a product that they can use and enjoy - if the crowdfunded project don't run out of money (or just plain abscond with it), or fail to deliver, or the product gets changed to something much crappier, or just turns out to be a broken POS.
I do get the idea that some people are willing to effectively donate to or gamble on something they want. fair enough....but never gamble more than you can afford to lose, because gambling is a mug's game and you will almost certainly lose.
However, pre-paying to a huge company like sony is even dumber than crowdfunding a small indy team - sony has no excuse for asking their customers to bear any of the up-front development costs, they're a multi-billion dollar company.
Except, of course, the only excuse that matters to corporate execs - their customers are dumb enough to go along with it.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Jd3-eiid-Uw
Watch the video of what someone did with a Wii and its motion sensors. It seems that would be more fitting for multi-display computer gaming. It would be like looking out cockpit or similar. And that was in 2007! It might even be paired with 3D for an even better effect.
This whole goggle-VR fad never appealed to me. I wear glasses and prefer looking at a monitor
Do you realise that the finished PSVR was demonstrated to most game journalists and game developers in the recent Game Developers Conference? All reviews from this have been amazingly positive of the experience, except for one or two that complained about lag with the Move controller. They were _all_ very positive about the headset hardware itself, and its performance.
Now, perhaps 20% of those journalists may fit into your category of "stupid enough to fall for marketing hype". Not all, though. Certainly not the game devs. Those guys know what they're talking about.
My brother is a graphics programmer and a game dev. He was at the GDC. He tried the Sony headset. He was very impressed with it, rating it above the Vive for graphic quality, despite the PSVR having lower resolution. Believe me, he is no idiot.
The PSVR undoubtedly works well. Development has been years in the making, starting even before the Rift kickstarter, and it is now finished. The only ones who bore the development costs are Sony themselves. All is left now is manufacturing and distribution. Preorders help the manufacturer know what demand there is for the product, and how much effort they need to go to for manufacture. People putting their money down early is the best way for a manufacturer to gauge what demand will be like. The preorder numbers are invaluable for the high level of manufacturing needed for this.
Virtual reality has been a dream for a lot of people. Sony's PSVR has made that dream relatively affordable. Don't be a dick and call them dumb.
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1. it's not a product that exists and is available on the market yet. no matter how knowledgeable and generally all-round wonderful your brother is, he tested a carefully tuned demonstration model prototype. So did the journos and other developers at the conference. There's no way of knowing whether the actual released product will be the same or even similar.
Sony might even have claimed it was the actual finished product or very close to it, but (and this may come as a shock to you) marketing people and product demonstrators sometimes lie. Hardly believable of such fine and ethical professions well-known to be devoted to the truth, i know, but it happens.
1a. yes, absolutely. now that YOU'RE saying it, i can rest comfortably in the certain knowledge that your brother is no idiot. I wouldn't trust anyone else's bald assertion, but you're different so i have no choice but to believe you as you command.
2. journalists know what side their bread is buttered on. they also know that "product reviews" are basically advertorials that may generate actual paid advertising for their publication (or may even be part of a deal - so many words of advertorial to get the paid ad). They are also not generally required to pay for the products they review with their own personal money. their employers' money or a free gift doesn't cause the same level of scrutiny and critical analysis that spending their own money would.
3. in my experience, journalists rarely know what they're talking about, most can't even get the most basic facts right. that's because they don't care about facts, they're only interested in a "good story" and have a tight deadline, or they have some agenda to push which doesn't fit the facts. Maybe investigative journalists who spend months or years researching a story know their subjects well, but not journalists who spend most of their working lives pumping out advertorial trash and puff pieces.
4. maybe the PSVR does work well. it may be wonderful. it may be complete shite. it'll probably turn out to be somewhere in between, most likely tending towards expensive disappointment with unrealised potential just like all previous "VR" products.
I don't know. Neither do any of the morons pre-paying for it. That's **exactly** my point.
They should at least wait until they can try it in a shop, even if for no other reason than to find out if they're one of the fairly large percentage of people who puke from motion sickness with VR rigs.
5. They're not dumb because they want the 'dream' of VR to be fulfilled.
They're dumb because they are pre-paying 400 dollars for a product that isn't even released yet, that nobody knows anything about.
Hearing rumours and gushing praise of PR demo models don't count as "knowing".
6. who gives a fuck about "helping manufacturers know what demand there is" for an unreleased product? I wouldn't pre-pay even a small company that i liked and personally knew the owner and staff for an off-the-shelf product that doesn't exist yet. bespoke work yes, but not pre-paying for consumer goods. I'm certainly not going to bear the financial risk of a new product for a giant corporation like sony.
Assessing consumer demand is part of what they pay marketing people for. and those marketing people have come up with the brilliant plan of getting idiots to pre-pay for a product that doesn't exist yet. thus neatly pushing their marketing expenses directly onto potential customers.
i say "potential customers" rather than actual customers because these idiots haven't received the product yet.
7. if you're one of the idiots who pre-paid for the not-currently-in-existence PSVR then yes, i am laughing at you. you deserve it.
What a sad individual you are. Look at the effort you go to to vent anger over a fucking consumer level product. You need help. That much angst and anger is not healthy. Get a fucking life and ignore the crap others enjoy if it's not something your interested. What they spend their money is nothing to do with you.
Yes, you don't know me or my brother, so you can choose to disregard his informed opinion if you like. Yes, some journalists rush stories, or aren't quite knowledgeable as they should be, so you can choose to disregard what those journalists say. You can even believe that the end consumer product may not be as good as what was shown at the GDC. That's your belief.
The "morons" who have prepaid for it have read the opinions of people of many people that have experienced the product. They're basing their pre-purchase on the fact that all people who have tried it, have approved of it. This is an informed purchase. They're paying $400 for a product that has excellent reviews. Your take is basically "don't trust them, don't trust the thousands of people that have tried it, don't trust anyone but yourself". Basically, the cynical point of view.
I think it _very_ unlikely that Sony would take a product demonstrated to thousands of developers, and god knows how many journalists, and make it worse. But you know what, if you think they may do so, that's fine. I'm not actually trying to convince you to preorder the thing. I'm just trying to say that calling everyone who preorders it a moron, is a pretty awful thing to do, and even worse, is not even right. If it was ordered totally blind, you may have a leg to stand on. But the headset has been experienced by so many people, so many! The majority, or even unanimous, consensus is that it's the real deal. Based on that, a preorder is quite understandable.
Laugh if you will. Those that preorder this are happy with their decision. Please try to respect that and not insult them.
What's with all the pre-paid talk?
You do realize that Amazon pre-orders are not billed until the product ships right?
People having these screens so close to their eyes probably rather often.. it can't be good.
The "morons" who have prepaid for it have read the opinions of people of many people that have experienced the product. They're basing their pre-purchase on the fact that all people who have tried it, have approved of it. This is an informed purchase.
Remember those Gamergate dildos who were ranting about "ethics in gaming journalism"? They're especially dildoish because there has never been ethics in gaming journalism. Most gaming journalism is utter bullshit. Gaming reviews are consistently excessively high (8 and 9 scores for games that are barely playable) precisely because of the factors described in the GP comment, including reviewers who want to continue reviewing so they say nice things, and pre-release demos which are carefully constructed to avoid demonstrating the holes in the technology.
In short, any gamer who doesn't know this is either brand fucking new, or a complete goddamned idiot. We all know that buying prerelease stuff means you get bugs, you get things that will be revised out later. And you don't save any money doing it, so what are these people paying for? They're paying to be the first to experience the bugs. That's pretty fucking stupid if you're not so wealthy that the money is irrelevant.
Those who remember the lessons of history are doomed to stand around and watch others repeat them. I bet you buy Bethesda prereleases too, and don't wait for them to fix the 2308472823727 quest-stopping bugs that they put into literally every game they make.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
It depends on your genes, I guess.
I've tried "roller coaster" in Oculus Rift (first version).
It was fine and quite fun.
Then colleague started another demo without stopping previous one (which kept holding control) so that when I was rotating my head "world" was rotating with it.
I got VERY strong nausea which lasted for several hours (although, that kind of environment is probably irrelevant in normal conditions).
One of my colleagues who tried VR felt sick for about 2 weeks (!!!). Although that was one out of 20 guys, so is rather rare.
As Sony's representative once explained, what developers could do is minimize impact of technology being imperfect, by reducing lag, increasing frame rates etc, HOWEVER if you would feel sick sitting in a plane doing (mild, so that G-force doesn't matter much) acrobatics, you would also get sick when doing that in a game even if you are in a perfect VR helm, they can not fix that.
... 3d
I think that game would actually translate really well in 3D. A VR helmet would be nice but just make it work with my current 3D TV. That's all I want.
Don't be a dick and call them dumb.
That would be dumb... but can we call them dicks?
Just to be extra pedantic you have to pay local sales tax from all sites offering pre-orders, so it's more than $499 also.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Really? Most gaming journalism is utter bullshit? Methinks you have a penchant for hyperbole, my friend.
Sure, some game journalists may lack ethics, but I'm pretty sure it's not as pervasive as you make it out to be. Not that I read every game article in the world, I suppose, but the articles I do read, on the sites I visit, are often quite good and not afraid to call out bullshit when they encounter it. It also helps to realise that game reporting, for the most part, is a subjective issue. It's next to impossible to score. The best articles are ones which describe what the reviewer likes and dislikes about the game, so you can compare that to what you like and dislike. Any provided game score is almost immaterial.
Besides, as far as the PSVR is concerned, I also have the word of my brother, who works in the field of computer graphics, was at the recent GDC, and actually tried the headset there. If you can't trust family, who can you trust! OK, I may regret that last sentence.
Agreed about Bethesda, though I think that's the nature of that type of game. Even New Vegas suffered from quest bugs, and that was done by Obsidian.
Why would you, buy something that isn't ready, has not been previewed, reviewed and is price inflated?
(a) Sony has shown they mostly ship things that are production (but honestly with VR being so new who cares if it's still a bit beta? Software updates can fix most things).
(b) It has been previewed which is why I pre-ordered one.
(c) You seem to be confused as to what "price inflated" means. I will get one at launch for $499. If you want one anytime before next January you will pay a LOT more. Explain to me again how it is "price inflated" when I am the one buying at list...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Unfortunately, even with a "PS 4.5" you'll be stuck with last-gen graphics within several years, while PC gamers will have access to affordable upgrades and, likely, to newer headsets that require them (not to mention all the user-created content that comes with PC games). I'm not a fanboy, I don't have a high end gaming PC. But when I get into VR, it's going to be on an upgradeable, user-moddable platform.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
If there's one thing I think of when I hear "user-created content", it's most definitely "I simply must play this top quality content!"
I wish it was 4k 3D. To me, the minimum for VR to work is HD for each eye. Adding 3D would also help to make it feel even more immersive. I'm guessing they haven't done this due to hardware constraints or price points, but as it stands, I find the low resolution distracting in addition to the 'telescope' effect.
I think that I'll wait for the 2nd or 3rd generation. Hopefully by then it will be 8k at 60fps.
what anger are you talking about?
i'm not angry at all, not emotionally involved in any way.
sorry that you feel so offended by someone pointing out the obvious truths about the idiocy of pre-paying for non-existent products.
I don't think they'd deliberately make the product worse. (not unless they planned to release an improved model in the near future, and a) there's no evidence of that and b) such a move would almost certainly backfire by killing the market).
I do think it's possible that the demo unit was finely tuned or hacked up to work just for the demo and isn't anywhere near as good in general non-demo use.
There's a long history of this happening with computer products. The mockup demo has so long a history that it qualifies as both "traditional" and "completely normal and expected".
BTW, given that "caveat emptor" is considered an acceptable and even admirable business practice in the US, the cynical point of view is the only sensible one that a consumer can have. unless they're happy with being ripped off by scumbag conmen.
As for respecting their decision - well, i respect their right to make that decision (there's nothing illegal, immoral, or unethical about making such a decision - although I do think that Sony and their sales partners, but not the buyer, are behaving unethically in asking for and accepting pre-paid sales).
I also respect my own right to regard that decision as idiotic and don't feel obliged in any way to respect the decision itself. In fact, respecting something you think is idiotic is pretty much impossible.
And I respect and exercise my right to express my opinion on the matter.
Really? Most gaming journalism is utter bullshit? Methinks you have a penchant for hyperbole, my friend.
Oh, I do, but this time I'm being quite literal. Most gaming journalism is indeed entirely bullshit.
Besides, as far as the PSVR is concerned, I also have the word of my brother, who works in the field of computer graphics, was at the recent GDC, and actually tried the headset there. If you can't trust family, who can you trust! OK, I may regret that last sentence.
I went to GDC once because I could get a pass and go for free. I saw a lot of things that never showed up again at all, and a lot of things that didn't turn out to be as awesome as the demo implied.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The mockup demo has so long a history that it qualifies as both "traditional" and "completely normal and expected".
I remember the first time I saw a Macintosh computer. It was on a table at the mall in front of the computer store running a word processing demo. See how nice it prints? See how nice the font looks? See how you cannot type anything in on the keyboard? What a useful computer!