E3: Sony’s VR headset is coming, along with some killer new titles.
When we first broke the news that PlayStation VR would be coming this Fall, we still had no idea what date or even what the price of Sony’s VR headset would end up at.
Now, announced at a press conference during E3 2016, the long-awaited PlayStation VR release date was revealed for North America: October 13, 2016.
And it will cost $399.
Sony also announced that the Playstation VR, which will work with your Playstation 4, will have 50 different games to choose from at launch, with quite a few industry favorite studios in the mix.
VR is coming, and with the accessibility of PlayStation VR to PS4 owners around the world, Sony will introduce VR to an entirely new audience of millions, reaching far and wide into the mainstream, all while bringing some of the biggest gaming franchises to the new immersive medium.
During the E3 press conference, Sony unveiled new PS VR experiences, including Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing VR Mission, Resident Evil VII and Batman: Arkham VR. Sony’s Interactive Entertainment Studio also highlighted their latest game Farpoint, a VR shoot em up space adventure that we played with Sony’s unique Aim controller. They even announced that Final Fantasy XV will support PlayStation VR as well.
So what can you look forward to when you finally get your PlayStation VR? Here are a few VR games that were announced.
Batman: Arkham VR
Batman: Arkham VR is from the critically-acclaimed Rocksteady Studios and is the first virtual reality Batman experience that will allow fans to experience Gotham City through the eyes of the World’s Greatest Detective in an all new Arkham mystery. Delving deep into an all-new Batman: Arkham mystery, those who enter this virtual reality world must think like Batman and utilize his legendary gadgets to unravel a plot that threatens the lives of his closest allies.
“Rocksteady is always looking for new ways to further engross players into the worlds we create and Batman: Arkham VR is an example of how we’re taking advantage of the latest technology to do that,” said Sefton Hill, Game Director, Rocksteady Studios. “The team is committed to delivering a Batman experience that stays true to the character and allows players to fully immerse themselves in the role of the World’s Greatest Detective.”
Batman: Arkham VR is based on DC’s core Batman license and will be available exclusively for the PlayStation VR in October 2016.
Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing VR Mission
Developed by Criterion Games and EA DICE, Star Wars Battlefront will be coming exclusively to PlayStation VR later this year.
The game has been detailed further on the PlayStation Blog, where Criterion’s James Svensson explains the team’s vision for this experience.
“Piloting an X-Wing is an aspect of the Star Wars universe many of us have dreamed of experiencing”, he says. “It’s something from the films we remember watching with awe, and even reenacted throughout our lives.”
“Virtual reality brings us one step closer to realizing this amazing dream of piloting an X-wing in space. With this incredible new platform, you will be instantaneously transported from the comforts of your living room to an X-Wing cockpit in space. And with the artists at Criterion and DICE meticulously crafting every authentic detail, the experience feels more real than you can imagine.”
The PlayStation VR title will be free for everyone who owns Star Wars Battlefront on PlayStation 4.
Farpoint
Developed exclusively for PlayStation VR, Farpoint is an unnerving space adventure set on a hostile alien world. After crash landing you have to fight to survive as you explore and uncover the planet’s secrets. Your only hope of escape is to keep moving and discover the fate of your team.
Created in partnership with indie developer studio Impulse Gear, Sony gave a sneak peek of their PS VR Aim controller. The controller is a gun-like VR controller, letting you aim in Farpoint just as you would in real life. How you hold and where you point the controller are directly matched in the game. This allows you to do things in Farpoint that just are not possible in a standard FPS game and gives you that added sense of presence in VR.
Final Fantasy XV
Although we demoed this during E3, it was a short experience that had us aiming a move controller to shoot and teleport around the world. The first person element adds a whole new way in experiencing Final Fantasy 15 though, where in the VR version, you will be able to play as Prompto, one of protagonist Noctis’ three companions. The game is slated to launch on September 30.
Resident Evil 7 biohazard
An entire new Resident Evil game will be fully playable in VR, thanks to Capcom. The announced Resident Evil 7 biohazard, the next major entry in the famed Resident Evil series, will pull from the series’ roots of atmospheric survival horror, but delivering to a whole new level.
You thought sneaking around doors in a first-person view on a flat screen was creepy, wait until you experience Resident Evil 7 in virtual reality. Thanks to Capcom’s new and “fully VR compatible proprietary in-house RE Engine,” you will able to see detail up close and personal, escalating the unsettling feeling of presence to a level that horror fans have never experienced. Remember last year when we put Carly through Capcom’s “Kitchen” demo and the whole internet found themselves quite amused. Yeah that’s the same game engine. The game releases for PS4 on January 24, 2017.
