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Demo PlayStation VR at Select Best Buy Stores (Every weekend through December)

Any reason give why they don't just starting putting out demo stations permanently? Why only for a select amount of time?

Because:

1) You need someone to take care of the heaset for hygiene, protection, maintanence and explanation of the system.

2) These Sony employees don't work at BB or GS, they have to go to work back to where they work

3) This is a Not Yet Released Demo Unit, which is easily stealable and can't be left in hands of normal store employees. A no-no for Sony.


Edit:
Also, if the PS VR Finder Website doesn't have your store and it did before, check Best Buy or Gamestop Here:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/clp/playstation-vr/pcmcat748301781160.c?id=pcmcat748301781160&pageType=REDIRECT&issolr=1&searchRedirect=ps+VR

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/pages/events/PSVR-Demo/

These still show dates for this weekend that the PS VR website does not. Plus you can call ahead to the stores and find out that way. My Gamestop which is not on the PS VR website for this weekend is indeed showing it after I called them yesterday.

Thanks, added to OP.
 
Because:

1) You need someone to take care of the heaset for hygiene, protection, maintanence and explanation of the system.

2) These Sony employees don't work at BB or GS, they have to go to work back to where they work

3) This is a Not Yet Released Demo Unit, which is easily stealable and can't be left in hands of normal store employees. A no-no for Sony.

1. Wouldn't any good ol' Lysol alcohol wipe do? I just don't see how it's different than having a PS4 or Xbox One or Wii U demo kiosk at the store. Have the BB employees that are in the games section take care of that.

2. I was assuming it would simply be Best Buy employees who have been simply trained about the system from the start, maybe not.

3. Systems and expensive electronics are usually almost always tethered down to the kiosk and locked aren't they? At least from what I've seen.
 
3. Systems and expensive electronics are usually almost always tethered down to the kiosk and locked aren't they? At least from what I've seen.

How would you tether and lock down the PSVR when you need full 360 movement? and that doesn't prevent people from breaking the headset's adjustment strap or something, I wouldn't want to make people potentially sick for a faulty headset someone broke.
 

pj

Banned
1. Wouldn't any good ol' Lysol alcohol wipe do? I just don't see how it's different than having a PS4 or Xbox One or Wii U demo kiosk at the store. Have the BB employees that are in the games section take care of that.

1. You don't put the ps4 controller on your face
2. In a normal demo kiosk the only piece of equipment at risk of damage is the controller and they are still broken or disabled a lot of the time.
3. I don't know what your best buys are like but at mine, I wandered around the game section for several minutes yesterday looking for steam cards and didn't see a single employee.
4. Having a theft-discouraging tether on the controllers/headset would severely limit mobility
 

theWB27

Member
Tried the head set today and I thought it was impressive for the most part. While in line for a good hour and a half I thought what I was seeing on the tv looked good. I was shocked at the difference once the shark demo started. After a bit I adjusted and thought it was more than fine.

I will say the screen door effect was very noticeable on the cage and background when the shark wasn't around. Once the shark would attack the cage it seemed like it got a boost in depth. Still at the end when the shark tore apart the cage I could feel slight sense of dread. That was the moment it won me over. I knew my senses could be convinced enough that something I knew was fake could still harm me. Hello horror genre!

I'll still be there day one hopefully.
 
Should be hopping into a demo unit in the next few minutes here in Chicago.

No line. Store is a ghost town. Will update with impressions.
 
[Still at the end when the shark tore apart the cage I could feel slight sense of dread. That was the moment it won me over. I knew my senses could be convinced enough that something I knew was fake could still harm me. Hello horror genre!

That's incredible, I wouldn't want to play horror in VR games, especially if I was stab or something.
 

theWB27

Member
That's incredible, I wouldn't want to play horror in VR games, especially if I was stab or something.

There was a lady in front of me that tried it. She was very hesitant to turn and look for the shark. She wasn't jumpy...just tense as can be. She was definitely in it.

VR is the best thing that could happen to horror movies/games.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Planning on checking this out tomorrow. Very excited. My only experiences with VR so far have been a quick National Geographic demo on GearVR and that blew me away. Can't wait to see what this is like.
 
As a Vive owner I am quite impressed with PSVR. The headset was very light and comfortable. The image quality and performance was much better than I thought it would have been as well. I did experience something I never have with Vive. Motion sickness. But maybe that was EVE Valkyrie.
 
Me and my brother both tried it. He wore glasses and it was completely fine. Both of us could see through the bottom although I didn’t really pay attention to it. Compared to the GearVR, the screen door effect was almost nonexistent, which was a wonderful surprise. The sense of immersion was so great that I didn’t even notice what the FOV felt like, in GearVR, I immediately noticed the FOV and how it felt like I was wearing Scuba goggles, here I did not notice that, so I can’t comment on whether that exists or not.We both played the Battlezone demo, I believe that’s what it was called, where you sit in a tank thing and shoot other tanks, flying things, and turrets. I could see the controller in game which was cool and everything was in sync including the analog sticks. I got sick towards the end of the demo but stuck it out. I get motion sickness from certain games so this wasn’t very surprising. It probably didn’t help that I was controlling reticle with the controller, so that probably messed with my mind/balance.

Overall, I’m not going to buy it, I wasn’t super hyped to begin with, but if I bought it, I can definitely imagine myself playing RE7, and then having it collect dust. I’m going to wait until the technology is improved, but I think it’s pretty damn awesome that this a real consumer product that many many people will buy in just a few months. My biggest revelation with trying the demo is definitely the fact that the screen door effect isn’t there.

Oh and about comfort, the headset is super comfortable. Also, my local Sony rep said that she will be at gamestop on the 28th with the London Heist demo and PS Move, which is what I really wanted to try. She said that she couldn’t show it at best buy because they wouldn’t allow that sort of violence. Anyway, $400 is a hell of lot of money for this, seems like an investment; however, having played PSVR, I now have the opinion that VR is the future of gaming; this is just the beginning, maybe like the iPod to the iPhone.
 
I was first in line so they gave me a lanyard, a pin, a pen and I got to play two demos instead of just one, the Shark cage and Battle Zone.

Impressions: The entire time I felt like I was living it. it tracks your head movement perfectly, when you look into the sky and turn, you actually feel the motion sensation. I've done some Google Cardboard stuff, but this was revolutionary. The screen door effect is there a bit but goes away once you're sucked in. The feeling of being in a tank, spinning around and dodging fire or literally jerking my body reflexively when a shark charged through my cage sold me on VR being the real future of games.

For me it worked 100% and my brain played along and tricked me into believing I was there. Hell, taking it off, I was having trouble believing I wasn't in there the whole time.

I've never felt anything like it. Words literally can't do it justice. I'm so bitter that I had cancelled my pre-order now but if the option pops up anywhere before launch, I'm going for it.

It's the real deal.
 

CSX

Member
First person in line to try out at local best buy.

First time ever using VR so I was just surprised that the technology worked.

I was told only one demo so I asked the rep to pick the best game that wasn't an "observation" demo. He chose eve valkyrie for me lol.

It was cool tracking enemies with my head and seeing it actually work.

Did i felt immersed? Not really.

Did I like the headset during my short time with the demo? yes

Don't know if I'll take the $400 plunge but definitely it's a good product and hopefully the big cool games start coming out soon
 
I was thinking of going with EVE but more and more I think I wan't to do the shark demo.

what do you guys recommend?

I have done tons of cardboard VR and stuff but never a true gaming headset.
 

DOWN

Banned
I was thinking of going with EVE but more and more I think I wan't to do the shark demo.

what do you guys recommend?

I have done tons of cardboard VR and stuff but never a true gaming headset.
The guy said most people pick EVE since it is pretty interactive and is a good example of a real game experience
 

Crumpo

Member
I was first in line so they gave me a lanyard, a pin, a pen and I got to play two demos instead of just one, the Shark cage and Battle Zone.

Impressions: The entire time I felt like I was living it. it tracks your head movement perfectly, when you look into the sky and turn, you actually feel the motion sensation. I've done some Google Cardboard stuff, but this was revolutionary. The screen door effect is there a bit but goes away once you're sucked in. The feeling of being in a tank, spinning around and dodging fire or literally jerking my body reflexively when a shark charged through my cage sold me on VR being the real future of games.

For me it worked 100% and my brain played along and tricked me into believing I was there. Hell, taking it off, I was having trouble believing I wasn't in there the whole time.

I've never felt anything like it. Words literally can't do it justice. I'm so bitter that I had cancelled my pre-order now but if the option pops up anywhere before launch, I'm going for it.

It's the real deal.

Sounds great,thanks for writing your impressions!

Pumped for PSVR...just waiting for demo stations to appear in the uk now.
 

Tansut

Member
So did the 300 location thing go into effect for the site? Because if so it didn't add any for my neck of the woods.
 
Call your Best Buys that had them at one point on the website. I called mine and it will be tomorrow from Noon to 6PM, and that isn't on the PS VR website. Saved me a trip going out tonight.
 

DOWN

Banned
The rep said they will demo a lot more times through December so don't get down if you miss the June/July demoes
 
Definitely call your Best Buy or Gamestop to make sure they actually have it before heading out, folks.

I was gonna go to my local Best Buy tomorrow with my friend, but he stopped in tonight to confirm that it was gonna be there and he said they told him, "Sony cancelled on us".

So I checked the locator again and it said a Gamestop near me would have it. So I gave them a call and they said that they weren't doing it either.

Finally I called another Best Buy near me that's supposed to have it on Sunday and luckily they will indeed have it on Sunday.
 

Coolluck

Member
Just tried it out. Pixels were really noticeable at first. Decently cool experience. Not mindblowing but then again I haven't done the heist demo so I'll wait for that one. Played EVE for reference.
 

hitme

Member
My BB didnt have the game installed on the ps4. Reps told me that it is Gamestop only

Yeah you were right.

First time trying any kind of VR and right off the bat the headset was very comfortable and no sense of pressure on your head/face whatsoever. I took a little time adjusting the headset to correct my vision since I had contacts on.

Played Battlezone and it was okay. Feels a bit weird using the controller with VR. Not sure why. Controls are pretty basic and got the hang of it within the first few seconds of gameplay.

My PS rep friend did try out Rez and RE7 VR demos and said those two would really show what the PSVR can do.
 

Skatterd

Member
This was the experience I had at best buy

-They didn't start setting up until an hour after they were supposed to.
-They spent at least an hour or more setting up the console/headset. It looked for a while that it was going to be a bust but they discovered they hadn't plugged something in.
-Once set up the guy giving the demo sat on the VR Worlds screen for 20 minutes dicking around. I have no clue what he was doing
-The only game they seemed to be letting anyone play was the deep. They claimed all they had was it and heist but they wouldnt let anyone play heist.
-The guy also wouldn't let anyone touch the controller except him. Move controllers were in plain sight on the table but seemed to be just for show and were never turned on.
-This whole experience took around 3 hours? I was 2nd in line.

Great first VR experience Sony.
That said the headset is quite nice and everything looked pretty rad.
 
Just got back there was only only a small line so I got to try out EVE, Battlezone, and Ocean Decent. EVE is definitely the best demo but I tried Ocean Decent first because it was my first time using VR. The only time I started to get motion sick was with the Battlezone demo because it was a bit blurry. I don't have a lot of money right now so I don't know if I will get it at launch but definitely getting one in the future.
 
Attendant: How did you like Headmaster?!
Surfer: I dug it. ^.^ It was kinda hard! lol
Attendant: *confused* Really?
Surfer: Well, I mean, it was easy to play, but it was hard to get the balls to go exactly where I wanted. I need practice!! lol
Attendant: But didn't you make it all the way to the end? I don't think I've had anybody do that yet…
Surfer: Well, yeah. I mean, I got four stars (out of 15, maybe?)…
Attendant: Four!! o_O
Surfer: Yup. So, uh, yeah… apparently I thought it was pretty easy! lol


must.. mansplain..
She found a Best Buy Kid to help her. ;p

Thanks gaf now I'm in line and this is taking for ever.
Should be worth the wait. ^.^
 
I just came back. Tried it after a 45 minute or so wait. I thought it looked meh during the wait and my friend thought so too.

Well after we both tried it we want to buy it day one.

The IQ was fine, the graphics didn't look PS4 quality but honestly once you're strapped in you're not even thinking about it. The immersion felt real like you were really there. If I could've gotten rumble chairs or w/e it'd ramp it up even more. The screendoor effect was something I did NOT notice at all during my play time. Maybe for other games it's noticeable but for Battlezone I did not notice it.

I want it day one now. Provided this has amazing launch games and future support, this thing is the future of gaming imo.
 

AlwaysTriumph

Neo Member
I went today during lunch. I was the first to try it out. It appeared I was the only person who knew of it although by the time I finished my demo a line began to form.

This is the second time I've used VR. Once at a demo for Oculus which I believe was a DK1 or DK 2, I don't know which but it was pretty underwhelming because of the screen door effect. The demo I played also wasn't the best either. So now I played PS VR. It fit very comfortably on my head. As for the demo I played Super Hyper Cube. It was an entertaining experience. The game itself is fun but what I was most interested was just exploring the space around me. There was one time where I got a bit disoriented but it subsided quickly. The disorientation was due to feeling like I was moving when I wasn't. The neat thing with the PS VR is with the light tracker on the controller the controller shows up in game. With buttons mapped and labeled.

Overall it was a neat experience but it was just that. It seems to need more fleshed out games and not these type of experiences (I do realize it was just a demo). After the demo I felt like I got the idea of game and realized I would have been done with it after an hour or two. Bring Fallout 4 to PS VR and you got me but as for the experiences, no thanks.
 
Got in line Orem, UT at around 5:30pm but didn't make it. She said that they fit about 6 people per hour and there was 9 in line. Going to try tomorrow.
 

Soi-Fong

Member
Tried it out and I am stunned. Honestly stunned...

After having devved on both Vive and Rift and Gear VR for a year now, I am surprised by what Sony has put out.

It is WAY MORE comfy than the Vive and even comfier than the Rift. It's literally floating in front of your face and that's big for me. Honestly, as a dev it's fucking refreshing to see a headset that's not putting all it's weight on my face.

It's refreshing that I can focus on the content in front of me without the headset getting in the way. What Sony has done with this headset is made it in a way that the headset disappears and you don't even realize you're wearing one. At most, you just feel like you're wearing a crown. The crown design that Sony went with is genius. You can tell out of the 3 manufacturers who has the most experience with hardware. And another thing, I can wear it with my glasses and not have to worry about it!

Screenwise, I can honestly say what Sony has is on-par with both the Vive and the Rift which really surprised me. Here you have a 1080p screen and I don't know what wizardry Sony is doing that I barely noticed the screen-door effect. The screen itself is also way better than Gear VR which you can tell immediately has SDE. I think it goes to show resolution isn't the only factor.

I played Battlezone and the VR Worlds and loved both. The PS4 can seriously push some impressive graphics. Framerate wise, I had no issues and I couldn't tell a difference from the Rift and Vive.

Tried out the Move controllers and while they're not as comfy as the Oculus Touch controllers we have at the studio, tracking wise they work really well. I'd say they compare pretty well to Vive controllers as well.

If Sony can get the messaging out right and get people to try these out which they are already doing a better job at than Oculus and Vive which I haven't seen demo'd anywhere in my area, they're definitely in for a good holiday.

Edit: Here's the Touch we have at work.

pGTb.jpg
 

Apoc87

Banned
Did anyone else think the battle tank demo was a bit grainy in terms of graphics? I thought it would be much more crisp.
 
Tried it out and I am stunned. Honestly stunned...

After having devved on both Vive and Rift and Gear VR for a year now, I am surprised by what Sony has put out.

It is WAY MORE comfy than the Vive and even comfier than the Rift. It's literally floating in front of your face and that's big for me. Honestly, as a dev it's fucking refreshing to see a headset that's not putting all it's weight on my face. .

Thanks for the impressions, I own the Vive, and good as it is in some areas, I can use it for about as long as I like to snorkel without a break, which isn't very long at all.
If PSVR has increased the comfort factor dramatically then that goes a long way. Given that neither the Oculus or Vive have stepped dramatically ahead with panel resolution + optics, there is a real possibility that picking a PSVR (if you can have but one) is not gonna be the poor mans choice.
 
Tried it out and I am stunned. Honestly stunned...

After having devved on both Vive and Rift and Gear VR for a year now, I am surprised by what Sony has put out.

It is WAY MORE comfy than the Vive and even comfier than the Rift. It's literally floating in front of your face and that's big for me. Honestly, as a dev it's fucking refreshing to see a headset that's not putting all it's weight on my face.

It's refreshing that I can focus on the content in front of me without the headset getting in the way. What Sony has done with this headset is made it in a way that the headset disappears and you don't even realize you're wearing one. At most, you just feel like you're wearing a crown. The crown design that Sony went with is genius. You can tell out of the 3 manufacturers who has the most experience with hardware. And another thing, I can wear it with my glasses and not have to worry about it!

Screenwise, I can honestly say what Sony has is on-par with both the Vive and the Rift which really surprised me. Here you have a 1080p screen and I don't know what wizardry Sony is doing that I barely noticed the screen-door effect. The screen itself is also way better than Gear VR which you can tell immediately has SDE. I think it goes to show resolution isn't the only factor.

I played Battlezone and the VR Worlds and loved both. The PS4 can seriously push some impressive graphics. Framerate wise, I had no issues and I couldn't tell a difference from the Rift and Vive.

Tried out the Move controllers and while they're not as comfy as the Oculus Touch controllers we have at the studio, tracking wise they work really well. I'd say they compare pretty well to Vive controllers as well.

If Sony can get the messaging out right and get people to try these out which they are already doing a better job at than Oculus and Vive which I haven't seen demo'd anywhere in my area, they're definitely in for a good holiday.

Edit: Here's the Touch we have at work.

thanks for the impressions. look forward to trying it out tomorrow
 
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