GameStop CEO Paul Raines shared some of his thoughts during the ICR Conference 2016 in Orlando regarding the virtual reality landscape for the rest of the year. According to Raines, Sony is showing early strength when it comes to lining up a strong list of titles to supporting its PlayStation VR compared to the rest of the virtual reality market that is slated to arrive this year.
“The more important thing will be the title count at launch," said Raines via Gamespot. "I think that’s going to be big. And from what we can see at this point, Sony seems to have the strongest title count.”
When we compared the PlayStation VR alongside the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the PS4-dedicated Sony device seemed slightly inferior to the Oculus and HTC, which were designed for exceptional high-end PC rigs. For instance, the Sony PlayStation VR offers a slightly lower 960 x 1080 resolution per eye compared to the sharp 1080 x 1200 resolution that the Rift and Vive provide.
Other metrics the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have over the PlayStation VR is an earlier arrival to the marketplace. Despite the unfavorable signals, Sony's more dedicated investment in gaming could be enough for Sony to take the VR crown in the long run. Last week, the BBC reported Sony is emphasizing its devotion with VR gaming and promised to deliver more than 100 gaming titles made for the PlayStation VR.
"I think the fact that we have more than 200 developers signed up for the PlayStation VR program, who are working on probably about 100 or more titles that will play on PlayStation VR, is a testament to the kind of support we are getting from the content creation community on the PlayStation VR," said Sony president and CEO Kaz Hirai in an interview with BBC at CES 2016.
During the BBC interview, Hirai also acknowledged the need to win the gamers first before acquiring a broader audience: "Once we have a lot of people who are really into virtual reality through games, I think we will really be able to expand beyond gaming, especially because we have a lot of content that we create ourselves through Sony Pictures Entertainment."
Meanwhile, a recent AMA on Reddit with Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey offered a different perspective.
“Somewhat surprisingly, the majority of time spent right in Gear VR is video and experiences, not games," answered Luckey during the AMA session. “Oculus Video has a paid video store that features full-length films from our content partners. It also supports sideloaded video playback. You can expect similar features to come to Rift over time."
It's too early to tell whether the PlayStation VR or Oculus Rift will have the better product and service in the end, but sustained title support will no doubt make or break a brand new device, regardless of its technical specs. Just think back to the Sony PlayStation 2 Vs. Sega Dreamcast, or BluRay Vs. HD-DVD.
Will you be standing behind the PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, or Oculus Rift? Let us know which one is your favorite VR device in the comment section below!
