143 SUNDAY: PLAY IN VIRTUAL REALITY

BY IQMAL TUGIMAN

WHAT IS PLAYSTATION VR?

Sony has joined the world of virtual reality with PlayStation VR. Sony’s headset represents the cheapest of the “big three” on the market right now, and is the only one currently available to console gamers.

Priced at £349.99, it’s significantly cheaper than the Oculus Rift (£549) and HTC Vive (£759). However, players will also need to invest in a PlayStation Camera priced at £44.99, and, to enjoy the “full” experience, a couple of PlayStation Move controllers, with a twin pack costing £69 (although you could probably find them for less). This brings the total cost to £464, still cheaper than the Rift headset, with Oculus also charging £189 for its own controllers.

PLAYSTATION VR – DESIGN AND COMFORT

The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets aren’t the snazziest bits of kit. The first consumer models look like glorified prototypes. The PlayStation VR, on the other hand, looks like an expensive bit of tech that you’d be happy to have on your shelf.

Everything about it looks gorgeous: the sleek white edging, the black fascia and the cool lights to allow for motion tracking.

The headset is pretty sizeable, with a cable coming out of the back, trailing down to a small adaptor with controls to turn the volume up and down on your headphones (which plug into the adaptor), as well as a power button to turn the headset on or off. Putting the headset on, I immediately noticed how comfortable it is.

Unlike other VR headsets, PSVR doesn’t fasten to your face with Velcro. Instead you press a button at the back of the headset to extend the plastic band, place it over your head and then it automatically adjusts to fit, kind of like a vice – a cuddly vice.