Board 8 > PSVR2 will not play PSVR1 games

(+) Yeah! (+)

I am beyond caring about VR at this point, but this is just so stupid that I'm in awe.

https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1570826219196944385

It's not like this is abnormal either, look at the whole Occulus 2 situation.

I don't know how people use these things tolerate it!

PSVoneR of the day

I know nothing about VR technology or the systems and games however I would think if they are upgrading software and hardware and ways to trace eye movement and sensors and all that crap then to expect it to be compatible with games that weren't designed with those specifics involved is foolish.

Wait, the SNES won't play my NES cartridges?!?!?!

VR is something I have ignored and will continue to ignore.

Yeah I figured

The way PSVR2 works is fundamentally different than the original that it would be impossible unless every PSVR game was individually patched to support PSVR2

Stop trying to make VR happen. It's not going to happen.

Mewtwo59 posted...

Stop trying to make VR happen. It's not going to happen.

VR is pretty awesome in specific use cases. Half Life Alyx was amazing until it started hurting my neck too much to keep playing

still waiting for actual VR that jacks into my nervous system and simulates sensations

this 'vr' is just fancy 3D visuals

Shame people are so closed minded about VR. VR games have been some of my most memorable gaming experiences in the past few years. Games like Superhot VR and Beat Saber feel so good in it.

It's a bummer people seem to hate VR so much. The first time I tried the vive was one of the most intense gaming experiences I've had.

It was basically a requirement if you visited our apartment that you had to try VR if you hadn't.

Maybe more people would care about VR if they didn't make you upgrade to new hardware every 1-2 years.

It makes sense if PSVR2 is really changing up a lot on how it works, so what really matters is if Sony is still going to make PSVR1 be readily available to purchase and not just cut off supply, and also the price point be justifiable. Because it's like what, $350 or so? I suppose that's in the realm of understandable to buy if you wanted to play PSVR1 games, but it's still a bit high when there's gonna be a PSVR2 out. Which I'm sure is gonna be like $500+ or something of course but still

VR never really took off and this is not exactly a step in the right direction either
If they really want VR to succeed they should make it as simple as possible

I dunno, raising the price of the Oculus and now this...it's like telling people to keep away from VR >_>

MacArrowny posted...

still waiting for actual VR that jacks into my nervous system and simulates sensations

this 'vr' is just fancy 3D visuals

Full Dive

Obellisk posted...

I know nothing about VR technology or the systems and games however I would think if they are upgrading software and hardware and ways to trace eye movement and sensors and all that crap then to expect it to be compatible with games that weren't designed with those specifics involved is foolish.

Wait, the SNES won't play my NES cartridges?!?!?!

Generally backwards compatibility is achieved by emulating the thing you're backwards compatible with. Speaking in general programming terms there are absolutely ways to "dumb down" more advanced sensor tracking to the format the less advanced hardware would expect and send that to the games.

The question is whether the complexity of doing that would compromise the VR experience. The answer to that question could be "yes" or it could be "it wouldn't but it's too much work and/or extra cost so we're not" or it could be "we can do it but we're choosing not to because we can milk more money off the VR crowd by not doing so"

So you could be right but it's not as simple as "why snes no play nes games" either necessarily.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

This PSVR thing is actually not that bad compared to the open market stuff, at least there was actually a generation of time between them.

I am fairly certain the Vive/Index has been the best in this regard. As far as I can tell, the old Vive headset is still supported on everything (mine is...6? years old) and you can also mix/match between the two (I have Index controllers with a Vive headset/tracking towers)

Of course, it's tied to your PC and not an all-in-one, so that makes things easier

Lopen posted...

Generally backwards compatibility is achieved by emulating the thing you're backwards compatible with. Speaking in general programming terms there are absolutely ways to "dumb down" more advanced sensor tracking to the format the less advanced hardware would expect and send that to the games.

The question is whether the complexity of doing that would compromise the VR experience. The answer to that question could be "yes" or it could be "it wouldn't but it's too much work and/or extra cost so we're not" or it could be "we can do it but we're choosing not to because we can milk more money off the VR crowd by not doing so"

So you could be right but it's not as simple as "why snes no play nes games" either necessarily.

I mean of course the consumer is being milked, but the consumer expecting the convenience of having all their vr experiences in one place is unfair.

Depends on the age of the first VR platform that's being obsoleted to be honest and the cost.

Like if you're putting out a new platform every 2 years, you'd better believe I want some backwards compatibility. If it's every 5-6 like it looks like PS VR is doing, I'm maybe a bit more lenient, but if it costs a lot and has a very limited library that's a bit irritating too. I don't own a PS VR so I can't really say anything about anything with respect to the library but yeah, there are a lot of factors.

I'm just saying it's different than the days of the SNES though. Newer hardware makes emulation more viable and reasonable to expect. The PS5 is backwards compatible, why can't the PS2 VR be? It's not unfair at all, but there could be some wrinkle specific to VR that would introduce too much latency in the input that would ruin immersion, or make the hardware cost go way up-- we really can't know. An explanation would be nice to get, to be sure.

Obellisk posted...

I mean of course the consumer is being milked, but the consumer expecting the convenience of having all their vr experiences in one place is unfair.

I'd agree if we were talking about a standalone console, but we're talking about a peripheral...a 400 one at that. I can't pretend to know anything about how VR is made, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect and/or hope to be able to play older games on the new version

Cavedweller2000 posted...

I'd agree if we were talking about a standalone console, but we're talking about a peripheral...a 400 one at that. I can't pretend to know anything about how VR is made, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect and/or hope to be able to play older games on the new version

Bolded the main point. I think it's fair to hope for it to be backwards compatible, but to expect it is not feasible. It's the same reason console controllers generally aren't fully backwards compatible. If you try to make something support everything from the past you quickly paint yourself in a corner where you're spending more time making backwards compatibility work than actually making a good product. I've seen numerous software companies do this and it just leads to stagnant products where it takes years to get anything done

The controller analogy doesn't work at all! That be like saying that you can't use a PS5 controller to play your PS4 games ON your PS5!

UshiromiyaEva posted...

The controller analogy doesn't work at all! That be like saying that you can't use a PS5 controller to play your PS4 games ON your PS5!

First of all the fact that you nitpick something like this shows you have no actual counterargument.

Second why are you treating the headset like the controller and not the console in this case.

For your example though i'm almost positive nintendo has some cases where that exact scenario is true.

...It's a peripheral, and YOU brought up the controller.

Of course the PSVR is equivilant to a peripheral and not a console. It's the same category of product as PS Move or the Eye Toy. Just because it's way more expensive than those doesn't mean it's an entirely different category.

It's an accessory, not a platform.

This topic has also reminded me that I need to get back to playing Beat Saber now that the weather has cooled down

I think "absolutely miserable in the summer without a strong AC" is probably the biggest downside to VR

UshiromiyaEva posted...

It's an accessory, not a platform.

It's an accessory that should be held to the same standards of platforms due to the price point and the complexity of what's under the hood.

Like technically you're right but you're winning a meaningless argument no one is making.

I don't know much about VR tech beyond a brief history and a few brand names. Are the VR1 and the VR2 so different that a developer couldn't reasonably patch their software without considerable effort?

Lopen posted...

Like technically you're right but you're winning a meaningless argument no one is making.

Isn't that like the theme of B8?