Playstation VR was launched in Singapore on 13th October 2016. As a tech nerd who believed in virtual reality, I went to pre-ordered and bought the PSVR. Sony has announced the next generation PSVR and I thought that I would

Playstation VR cost approximately $649 SGD and this was slightly cheaper than an HTC Vive at that point in time. Additionally, the HTC Vive required an additional high-end laptop that has at least a GTX 1070. As an owner of PS4, it made more sense to purchase a PSVR due to the ease and convenience that it made.

Fast forward 5 years, I do still have the PSVR. However, it is usually kept in a separate corner and I used it once in a while. My TV console does not have enough space for the PSVR to have a permanent spot. As such, I tend to assemble and dissemble the device if I need to play with it.

My messy setup for the PSVR

Software

Google shows that there is only 665 PSVR games. However, many of them are usually tech demo that you only play once. I have spent additional few hundred just to buy the games. I have bought most of the launch titles like Wayward sky, batman, battle tanks and others. I find that many of the games have low replay value.

Surprisingly scary and I am too scared to complete

Sony has done an “ok” job in introducing games to keep the platform alive. They have even introduced compatibility with PS5 even though it requires an adaptor. This could be a possibility of how Sony tries to ensure that the future platform doesn’t start from a brand new library. Ironically, there are not many applications built for it. I find it a missed opportunity as I do believe that the PS4 is fully capable of running more applications.

End of the day, Sony still needs to put more emphasis on the game library. After the initial launch, the PSVR was not really a key focus by Sony as they weren’t really a lot of games built by major developers. Occasionally, there would be 1 or 2 games like Doom and Skyrim.

Additionally, many of the games were limited by the PS4 hardware as the graphical capability of the PS4 isn’t exactly top-notch.

When the next generation PSVR was announced, Sony seemed to suddenly remember that they had a PSVR and launched 6 games in March 2021.

Hardware

The hardware is definitely the thing that did not age well. The PSVR integrates with the PS4 awkwardly and it even looked rather messy. Once connected, you will need to turn on both the power to use the PS4 even if you do not need to use the headset.

The headset uses fake leather on the areas that touch your head. However, the leather has totally peeled after 2-3 years. I decided to remove the leather by rubbing it with a cloth and some water as the leather. If I don’t remove the leader, the leather would drop everywhere.

The leather with some bits left behind. It still peels occasionally and this made me keep it inside a plastic bag

As a result, I would keep the headset in a separate plastic bag so that the black leather scraps would not drop onto the floor.

Additionally, the cables also turned moldy, perhaps, due to my lack of cleaning.

My white moldy wires

The controllers are almost like an antique. As a device from PS3, the PS Move controller charges via mini USB. Sony did not even try to make changes to the hardware before reselling the same device at a premium price.

Mini USB. What Era are we in?

Not only does the PSMove controllers charges via mini USB, but you also can’t charge it via a normal charger.

The PS Move controller doesn’t charge if plug into a normal charging port

Conclusion

Would I buy a PSVR again? I am really not sure. The cost of the original PSVR is almost another PS4 and there wasn’t anything that is particularly exciting. Games like SuperHot are not even in the Asia game store.

As a VR platform, the PSVR headset is good enough. I even manage to get motion sickness while playing battle tank and get frightened when playing resident evil. I think the headset is good enough to introduce people to the world of virtual reality.

Ultimately I would think that price would be the most important factor. With the existing PSVR working on PS5, there is a lesser chance for me to buy the next PSVR. Oculus Quest seemed to be available at a good price and doesn’t need to be tethered to a machine. I would say that I would consider the next generation PSVR only if it has a wireless dongle that allows an untethered experience at a price similar(or slightly higher) to the Oculus Quest.