The existence of an upgraded PlayStation 4 console, codenamed Neo, has cast doubt over how PlayStation VR will perform on the traditional unit, but Sony itself isn’t worried.
Speaking to MCV, Sony Interactive Entertainment global head of marketing and sales Jim Ryan stated that the original PS4 still offers a “first class VR experience.” He noted that the company was “completely confident” in the line-up of 50 games that would be launching between the kit’s release on October 13th and the end of the year. That includes games that were announced this week like Batman Arkham VR as well as long-anticipated titles like RIGS: Mechanized Combat League and EVE: Valkyrie.
“What we can say is that we have a fertile ground of 40m PS4s, all of which will run PlayStation VR,” Ryan concluded.
Sony confirmed Neo just ahead of E3 this week, revealing that it would not debut at the show in Los Angeles. Asked on multiple occasions about this decision, Sony executives have explained that the publisher wants to have the right line-up of games to display on the kit. You’d think visually stunning titles like God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Days Gone would fit that bill, but they were all shown running on standard PS4s this week.
Of course, Sony isn’t the only one taking a risk with an upgraded console; Microsoft also teased its new and improved Xbox One console, codenamed Project Scorpio, this week. The kit is designed to run games in 4K as well as support VR titles, but a possible integrated headset is yet to be announced. Scorpio won’t be launching until Holiday 2017 and it’s thought that Neo could be here as soon as this year.
We certainly look forward to seeing what the latter means for PlayStation VR titles. In theory we could see greater visual fidelity within games as well as improved framerates, though Sony has set a strict 90fps minimum for all games running on PS VR, so titles running on the original system will still have to keep up.
