With over a million units sold and plenty of great games, PlayStation VR has had a surprisingly solid eight months so far. The platform just got a second wind with the release of the Aim Controller, and there’s plenty to look forward to coming up. But the broken promises of the Vita, 3D TVs, and PlayStation Move still linger in the backs of our minds, and that’s why this E3 is so crucial for the platform.
Will PlayStation knock it out of the park? Let’s take a look.
What We Know
Sony holds its press conference at 6PM PT on Monday, June 12th. Up until yesterday we had very little idea of what the company had planned on the VR side, but we do at least now know it’s set to talk about some new games at its conference. PSVR stole the show last year with reveals of Resident Evil 7, Batman: Arkham VR, Star Wars: Battlefront’s X-Wing VR Mission and Farpoint, so we have high expectations for this year’s show too.
Over the past few weeks a number of promising new PSVR games have been revealed. A port of Arizona Sunshine is on the way later this month, Theseus is coming to consoles as is Smash Box Arena, ROM: Extraction, Bloody Zombies, and Tiny Trax. With so many games announced before the show we can’t wait to see what Sony has in store for the big week. The company has a lot of booth space in the West Hall, too.
What We Expect At E3
Now that we know Microsoft isn’t showing VR on Project Scorpio this year, Sony has an open goal on the PSVR side. We’re expecting the company to go big on games; if it can do even half as well as its showing last year then we’ll be happy, but we’re also expecting the company to floor us with at least one big announcement akin to last year’s Resident Evil surprise. Maybe it’s Star Wars: Battleforont 2 that takes that honor?
Developers like Vertigo Games are proving PC VR titles can move to PSVR quite comfortably, so expect to see some more ports announced. We’d welcome Onward with PSVR’s Aim Controller, for example, or Superhot VR using two Move controllers.
E3 Crystal Ball
It might sound overly ambitious, but Sony’s big announcement for the show could be bringing Fallout 4 VR to PSVR. You might scoff at the very thought of trying to fit the game onto the headset, but if I was Sony I’d have spent the last year with Bethesda doing all I could to optimize the experience enough to get it on the headset.
As for the prediction I’d most like to come true? I’d love to see an inexpensive solution to PSVR’s tracking issues. A second wireless camera, for example to help with drifting and occlusion would be welcomed with open arms by the community. Either that or perhaps some updated Move controllers that finally integrate analog sticks.
