Given that it doesn’t offer roomscale user tracking, you might think that Sony’s PlayStation VR wouldn’t require much free space to use. As it turns out, this isn’t the case.
A new brochure for the upcoming VR headset, recently shared over on Reddit, finally reveals the required tracking space for usage. It comes in at around 9.8 feet by 6.2 feet. The image pits the user squarely in the center of the PlayStation Camera’s cone of vision, which you’ll also need some extra space away from. That camera is used to track PS VR itself along with any other position-tracked devices like the PlayStation Move motion controllers or the standard DualShock 4. The player area is also expected to be kept clear of other objects.
That’s a surprisingly large area, then, but we doubt this space is absolutely necessary to actually use PS VR. Sony is more than likely making sure it’s covering itself when it comes to the health and safety requirements of using the kit. The company doesn’t want you accidentally leaning into your lamp and knocking it over, or head-butting innocent bystanders with a lump of plastic. It even recommends that you stay seated “whenever possible” and, when you absolutely have to stand, you “maintain awareness of your surroundings.”
The space still falls short of the maximum tracking area for the HTC Vive, a generous 15 feet by 15 feet, but that can be scaled down. At the end of the day, we don’t expect this to cause much issue for people when PlayStation VR finally starts to roll out across the globe on October 13. The device is set to cost $399 on its own, though there’s also a bundle that offers the Camera, two Moves, and a copy of VR minigame compilation, PlayStation VR Worlds for $499. Pre-orders in the US are sold out for the time being, however.
Late last week we got a glimpse of 13 brand new games coming to PS VR out of the Asia region. Overall there are going to be more than 50 games launching between October and December, so maybe start clearing that space soon.
