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PlayStation VR Needs External Processing Unit

CGM Writes: There has been a lot of talk about the power needing to power VR, it seems PlayStation VR has the same issue.PlayStation VR will need an external box to enable the unit to display all the content in VR. This Processing Unit will do much of the heavy lifting for the PlayStation 4, ensuring everyone will get a smooth experience.

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TLG19913851d ago

What it NEEDS is a price and release date.

Genuine-User3851d ago

£350-400 given the technology behind it.

TLG19913851d ago

Yes that what im thinking, but they suprised us with the PS4 price, fingers crossed they do the same.

i would be happy paying up to £400 though. more than that there will have to be some amazing games at launch

Genuine-User3851d ago

I'll be surprised if it's anything below £300.

That said, I would happily pay between £350-400 as well.

lelo2play3851d ago

"£350-400 given..."

That's 500-550€. Way too much for me...

TheCommentator3851d ago

With this new information raising the overall price by some margin, it makes a lot more sense now that some people have stated that Morpheus looks better than Oculus Rift. Conversely, this makes the value of Oculus Rift go up since it functions with more devices and will be more competitively priced as a result of this news. The higher price will also put Morpheus out of reach of more PS4 owners and make it's potential for success even more debateable. I wonder why we weren't told about this until now though? It's a wierd thing to keep a secret for so long given the impact it has on price/performance.

kenwonobi3851d ago

Dude @the commentor. That's a huge stretching of a positive headline merely mentioning the pu unit in more detail we already knew of. This isn't anything but another positive hardware strength article. Not a price article.

SolidStoner3851d ago

well lets be real here.. in case SONY reads all this, they could think we will give 300-500$ anyway.. :D no, no.. at least play along and say cheaper is better, so nobody gets greedy.. sony will never use cheaper plastic or other cheap thingy's for gaming gadgets, so expect it to be good quality, the only question remains that how will they use playstation VR, for commercial and sale boost purpose, or to gain more money!?!
so....

I would happily pay 200$!
I would pay without a doubt 300$!
I would pay with some little thinking 400$!
and I would really make some research and lots of thinking for 500-600$, still could get it, if its worth it!
I would run like a happy dog to a store and give them my money ASAP for a juicy 100$! so lets hope for that! :D everyone win!

PreAtaric3851d ago

"With this new information raising the overall price by some margin…"

With this huge leap having been taken...

S2Killinit3851d ago

350-400 pounds would translate to something like 400-450 dollars. I would like a $350 unit but I know that might not be possible. either way its a day one for me.

TheCommentator3851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

Hey, I'd never heard it required an additional processing unit before. I'd always assumed it was self contained and more limited in capability to keep cost reasonable. To me, this new (to me) info will make it more expensive than I'd assumed, meaning less adopters than I'd expected.

As far as the price comment, Genuine specifically mentioned price and my comment is a direct reply to him, so this part of the thread is actually about price which is still unknown.

I'm sorry my opinion is not always entirely accurate nor the same as everyone elses, but it does no good be rude about it in response either. Educate, debate, but don't berate.

G20WLY3851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

^Commenter, that it will do some of the work outside of the PS4 is definitely not new information to anyone who was interested enough to follow it this far. They have also stated it will cost 'new console' money. Oculus will reportedly cost more (I forget the 'between X and X' figures, but remember thinking it was dear, maybe 550).

PSVR will come in cheaper, I reckon - still expensive, but worth it to anyone with a genuine interest in VR and who isn't too broke.

bmf73643851d ago

Sony says that they want to advertise PSVR as its own separate system so $400 for the headset/external compute for it to work with PS4 doesn't seem to far off.

Fluke_Skywalker3851d ago

Having been lucky enough to play with a dev kit Occulus, I'd say VR is worth whatever they charge for it. It absolutely blew my mind!

TheCommentator3851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

@g20

You're absolutely right, I don't have time to research everything thoroughly. I thought processing was in the headset itself, TBH. What research I had done obviously fell short of disclosing all the necessary info, hence the apology. I just wish people could be more constructive when they comment, like your post is. Some of these other posts were not helpful at all, so thank you.

MRMagoo1233851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

350 to 400 pounds ???? That's like 900 Australian dollars lmao there is no chance in hell it's gonna be that much. The ps3 was 1000 here at launch and I paid that but 900 for VR would be taking the piss

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 3851d ago
Godmars2903851d ago

Well, this isn't a good sign that a price is going to be all that accessible. Especially when considering the cost of the PS4 besides.

kenwonobi3851d ago

It'll be accessable enough as long as it's not 500 on up. I think it's great once you see what VR offers to pay only 400 dollars on down for it.

medman3851d ago

This is not news...it's had this processing unit attached for every demo that Sony has shown, and they've discussed the unit previously.

Dfooster3851d ago

This was mentioned since day 1. Probably the most important thing and everyone dismissed it and started claiming the PS4 couldn't handle VR.

UnholyLight3851d ago

I was really pumped for this tech until I realized how much money it will likely cost in the early stages of release.

May just have to sit it out for a while until the price of this tech comes down assuming it releases for OVER $300 Canadian $

MikleDemi3850d ago

Thinking about $400. Going to be a tough sell though, since the PS4 is only $299 with a bunch of games thrown in.

UnholyLight3849d ago (Edited 3849d ago )

It's really tough to see where the price is going to come in on this device and have them still remain profitable without demanding lots of money. Maybe they'll have that all figured by the time the device releases. Earlier I said I'd have to wait it out but lets be real, I bought both the Xbox One and PS4 day one...id probably be willing to pay up to $500 if this tech is really as amazing as I think it will be. I wouldnt LIKE to pay that much, but if I had to I would.

Pretty hard to sell something that is an extension to the PS4 when the PS4 price is like what, $400 right now? What will make more sense is if people see the price of a 1TB PS4 next to the VR tech price when it comes out.

In Canadian $ anyways

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3849d ago
Neonridr3851d ago

Great idea to take the load off the PS4, which to be honest, in terms of VR power, isn't exactly ideal. My only concern is where will this box be located and how big will it be?

Unfortunately being tied down with a bunch of wires is going to make this experience less than ideal.

Genuine-User3851d ago

It's smaller than an Apple TV. I'll place it next to the PS4.

Neonridr3851d ago

I wonder if a power cable can be tied into that line running to the Processing Unit or if we are going to need two separate ones..

Genuine-User3851d ago

Probably two separate ones.

k2d3851d ago

Hopefully one banded cable, with audio also

k2d3851d ago

Solution: ceiling mounted cables.

Wireless isnt an option with todays technology.

I guess you just won't be into VR then..

Neonridr3851d ago

I understand the physical limitations associated with technology of this nature, but the more cables we have leading from the headset, the more situations are going to arise where they get in the way.

k2d3851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

Let's pray theyre long then, so as to be able to manage them better.

Edit: people are quick to press disagree, lol. I'm actually advocating for PSVR, not against it. Please feel free to show me the errors in my ways^^

SpinalRemains1383851d ago

Everyone today afraid of cables? What is this, 2015?

Seriously. Cables are not a deal breaker. The deciding factor is the quality and experience of the games.

I grew up with Atari like most of you all, and wires bother me not.

PreAtaric3851d ago

"Unfortunately being tied down with a bunch of wires is going to make this experience less than ideal."

Depends on what sort of game you're playing. I'm primarily interested in VR experiences that will immerse me in the world and track my head movements while I use the controller, simply sitting on the couch in my normal gaming spot.

The only PSVR experience I've seen so far that this puts a damper on for me is The Walk.

Neonridr3850d ago

yeah I can agree with that. But even turning your head can become an issue if a couple of cables become tangled together. Here's hoping Sony is thinking about all of this when coming up with the final design.

I have faith in them.

kenwonobi3851d ago

Very interesting read. So it is confirmed that this unit boosts the PS4 abilities for VR. In fact it sounds like it's quite powerful and does most the lifting

"According to Madhavan, the processing unit will do “most of the heavy lifting for the VR it’s self.” They also have “made it much more powerful, and are improving as they go to the launch.” This PU should ensure that people developing on the PlayStation platform should have the power they need to make the games

k2d3851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

External box will probably just handle 360 degrees sound. The rest is splitting up hdmi and forwarding USB.

So 'needs it' probably just makes for a good headline.

Think about it.. You need a much faster means of datatransfer than USB to help out with the graphics processing. Can't do much with it when the signal is leaving the ps4. Post processing, i.e. AA, AF, perhaps.

kenwonobi3851d ago

That's not all. It said heavy lifting. Heavy lifting probably means much more than just sound. From what I heard it also helps resolution.

k2d3851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

@nirwanda: Youre right. Maybe even some basic AA.

Probably won't work on AF or resolution though (typo in first post).

kstuffs3851d ago

The box probably handles:

-3D positional audio
-3D spatial environmental scanning
-120 Hz reprojection
-Video splitting for two eyes

All of these takes a lot of power. Even audio takes a lot of CPU power hence audio is often offloaded to dedicated hardware.

slate913851d ago

Its unfortunate youll need some cables attached to it. But like they say its good so you know it will be a stable experience.

kenwonobi3851d ago

I see this as a very positive thing. Added power to PS4 and its VR machine is music to my ears.

Volkama3851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

I'm gonna make an FPS game with a boss that just flies round you in circles. See how many people I can strangle in the name of Darwinism.

nirwanda3851d ago

With an evil voice taunting you to spin faster

PreAtaric3851d ago

The reviews of that game will be worth reading. I'd expect pretty low scores though if I were you.

GribbleGrunger3851d ago (Edited 3851d ago )

LOL. These articles never fail to amuse me. I can actually now tell whether a site is pro Sony or pro MS based purely and simply on how they approach their headline and which words they choose to use in association with a certain point.

It's getting pathetic folks.

Death3851d ago

Wow. You can get all that just from a headline? Just imagine what you could do if you read the story.

Corpser3851d ago

Yeah that factual headline is so biased

christian hour3851d ago

He's referring to the use of language. Had the headline said "PSVR Has external processing unit" it would be fine, but it says it "needs" one, as if to imply this is a fault on the ps4's or psvr's capabilities, they make it sound like it needs a crutch, if you follow me. That's the issue GribbleGrunger is making and the part he's picking up on.

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1Victor24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

Can’t be a good list without astro bot and moss and moss book 2 they are the cream of the crop.
If his choices are as good as those 3 games then I gotta try the rest of his list

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Fishy Fingers37d ago

Are a bunch of games, some of which are nearly 10 years old not one being from 2026. Barely one from 2025.

I do like the irony of the closing paragraph though, "Why VR Adventure Games are Thriving". Really buddy?

mooreneco2137d ago

That’s because it’s his favourite VR adventure games thus far, a great game always a great game regardless of age - Half life 2/ Ocarina of time - are old but still among the greatest games of all time. The irony of it is several are from last year, depending on platform, have you even played VR?

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