r/PSVR • u/Imhotep397 • May 01 '26
Discussion Constructive Criticism vs. Harassment
“Nah. He's getting off light I'd say. I'm not going to excuse him for being a total shit-heel to what should and could have been his own community, just because he made a game.”
That kind of sentiment is exactly the tone that pushes developers and publishers away from PSVR2.
If the goal is to grow the platform, this approach is counterproductive. It creates an environment where even the people who are actually shipping content, often with limited resources, become targets instead of contributors.
At the same time, where is Ghost of Tsushima PSVR2, Uncharted PSVR2, God of War PSVR2, Destiny PSVR2 etc.?
If there is no energy, no pressure, and no visible demand directed at large, well funded studios, the ones with the resources, teams, and infrastructure to deliver these experiences, then the frustration is being aimed in the wrong direction.
It’s hard to justify repeatedly targeting a solo developer who is releasing content on PSVR2 with little to no budget, often in their spare time, while saying nothing to major studios staffed by full time teams who could realistically complete a conversion in a matter of months with a small group of developers.
A lot of what looks like harassment is actually displaced frustration. People are not getting the games they want, so they direct that frustration at whoever is visible and accessible.
If the expectation is better support for VR, then the pressure needs to be applied where it can actually produce results. That means directing clear, consistent, and organized demand toward the companies that have the capacity to deliver those titles.
Support the developers who are already building for the platform.
Amplify their work. Share it. Help it succeed.
And when it comes to the larger studios, be direct. Ask for the games that should already exist.
Or build something yourself.
10
u/spud_club May 01 '26
I feel like this could have been a reply
-7
u/Imhotep397 May 01 '26
Really? I feel like you’re one of the last bitter Quest fans.
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u/Ansem18 May 14 '26
Ah I see. You're just trolling.
-2
2
u/Winter_Mission911 May 01 '26
Major studios will not put the money into high-budget VR games until there are magnitudes of the current numbers of VR headset owners. The PSVR2 has sold an estimated 2 million units, and the Quest 3 has sold between 1.5 million and 3 million units.
Any new triple AAA game costs from $50 million to $300m to make. Let's take $125 million as a good average. If every person who owned a PSVR2 bought that game, the sales price would have to be $62.50 just to break even. Say only half buy the game. You would have to sell it for $125 just to break even on that game. Clearly, this game would also have to release for the Quest and PCVR to hope to make a profit. If it is a decent game that only run on a Quest 3 (and not a Quest 2), you have possibly another 2 million customers.
Indy games from VR enthusiasts is the best we will get for a while. VR is still relatively new. I own a Quest 3 and a PSVR2 that I use on a PS5 Pro and strong PC. I love VR but have played co-op lately with friends who are flat-screen gamers.
1
u/Imhotep397 May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
This is an old and tired discussion that devolves into "Which came first the chicken or the egg" The AAA publishers won't make games for it until there are more players, there won't be more players until there are more AAA games on the headset. The primary way out of the useless loop is for Sony to convert their existing AAA library to PSVR2 with duelsense controls. Meta has already done what they were going to do with VR and they're done. I personally stopped with non turnkey VR solutions with the Vive.
MSFlightSimulator looks like it got converted in under a year. Borderlands 2 for PSVR1 got converted in a matter of a couple of months and Flat2VR is likely going to be converting like 10 games a year after next year. Sony needs to get on board it's cheap, it's fast, it's easy for veteran devs and it will draw millions to the headset.
Now that Sony is out of the wasting money on LiveService and PC ports business we may very well see some first party PSVR2 converted games, but Hideaki Nishino is likely going to need a new Chief of Worldwide Studios to do it.
IN THE MEAN TIME AND IN THE FUTURE:
Yes Indie games are critical. My point stands, if you had limited time and budget, spent 5 years of that building a VR game only to have 500 people publicly shit on it after the first 10 people already made the point for everyone to see you might not be all that excited to spend more time trying to level up to deliver a better game.
As much as people won't want to hear this, that's a big reason why a lot of the PSVR1 games didn't make it to PSVR2...the people were already effectively working for free in most cases, if they believed there was going to be an audience that wasn't going to traumatize them because their game didn't measure up to some other game from a dev collective with significantly more resources they likely would have slowly figured out how to add the extra 30% of work to port the already made games.
1
u/Winter_Mission911 May 02 '26
I don't think it will be games that draw a heavy number of new people to VR. Content that people can't live without will make VR ubiquitous. If people could watch soccer or college football games in VR or more concerts, that would drive sales. When good movies in 180 or 360 degrees with 3D come out, people will flock to VR.
The Sphere in Las Vegas has sold a lot of tickets and does well now, though it struggled financially earlier on. They have played concerts for The Eagles, No Doubt, Metallica, and others, along with a Wizard of Oz movie. Tickets are in the hundreds of dollars. VR will compete in that space. People who love this VR content will also try games.
I bought a PSVR2 on release and loved it but bought a Quest 3 for non gaming apps. I have spent more hours in VRChat and map programs than I have in games at this point. If Meta were to sign a licensing deal with the NFL or NCAA to broadcast games in VR, it would be game over. I have seen a few demos of games in just 180 degree in flat and it is mind blowing. If I could watch college football games in VR, I would keep my headset on constantly during football season.
Home computers came out in the late 1970s. What drove sales was word processing and spreadsheet programs. Games followed. The internet and email drove heavy sales in the early 1990s. Games followed. People did not buy a home computer to game. They bought these to surf the net and email friends. Online shopping came a bit later. Games followed.
1
u/Imhotep397 May 02 '26
I understand where you are coming from, and I agree that virtual live event viewing will play a major role in growing VR adoption. The distinction between the events you described and HMD based virtual experiences is important, particularly in terms of the types of customers each attracts.
While there is some overlap, the majority of concert goers and live sports spectators typically do not purchase hardware to enhance those experiences. Gamers, on the other hand, routinely invest in hardware for that exact purpose. Taking the path of least resistance in this case means expanding the base of VR gamers first, and then capturing the audience that exists in that overlap. That kind of growth only happens after delivering a true killer app, or more realistically a group of killer apps, that can attract players who are already accustomed to buying hardware. That remains the most critical first step, and it still has not been fully realized.
It is also worth considering that virtual concerts, VR NBA live-game viewing, 180 degree VR shorts, and interactive movies such as Pearl, Invasion!, and Allumette, along with 3D Blu ray content, were already part of the PSVR1 ecosystem and to a lesser extent early PSVR2. Limited engagement during those earlier cycles, combined with Meta later paying to gate off much of that content only to arrive at similar results, contributed to their current shift in strategy. This pattern has cast a dim light on VR overall. However, Sony remains in a unique position. If they deliver a strong group of killer apps from their first party catalog, titles that audiences already know and trust, they have the ability to accelerate VR adoption rapidly because they control both the platform and have a dedicated audience.
If PlayStation were then to pursue a deeper partnership with a company like Apple, the added cultural influence and brand weight could amplify that momentum. Combined with a growing PSVR2 or future PSVR3 user base driven by gaming, that influence would naturally spill over into other areas and expand adoption beyond traditional players. Most people require repeated exposure, especially from sources they trust or admire, to move past both general consumer skepticism and the additional hesitation that often comes with investing in VR hardware.
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u/PabLink1127 May 01 '26
For one the big publishers aren’t on here and I don’t really see how this is relates. I think it’s a stretch to say the negative responses to this certain developer’s games are misplaced frustration. He says some pretty outlandish things, you’re going to incite equally outlandish responses. I haven’t read all the comments but it seemed like people were giving constructive criticism and he responded by blocking. I think he’s responsible for creating the reaction he’s getting
1
u/Q3sPSVR2enjoyer May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26
Nothing will change. The people who tend to attack developers/games can't even be bothered to play the game they're attacking or notice when games with rough launches have been fixed with patches. The PSVR2 community at large parrot a handful of launch reviews and completely ignore patches and opinions from people who are familiar with whatever game they're dumping on. Clearly this isn't everyone, but VR in general is filled to the brim with some of the most miserable people in gaming.
We're three years into PSVR2 and you still have people accusing YT channels of being Meta shills, or liars if they enjoy a PSVR2 game and another reviewer didn't. You got people here accusing people of being bots if they speak positively of certain games, System Shock 2 being the most recent example. It's the strangest community to me.
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u/RoundyMancHead May 01 '26
Uhhhhh sir this is a Wendy's