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PlayStation VR Requires External Processing Unit

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Not to make fun of consoles (again) but VR on the PC doesn't require an "external processing unit." Your computer is the only processing unit you need. ;)

According to a presentation by Sony's Ram Madhavan the Unite 2015 Developer Conference in Boston, U.S., the format holder's upcoming PlayStation VR gaming headset will require an external processing unit to ensure a smooth virtual reality gaming experience for players.
 
This is good news! We all know consoles can't push high resolution VR on current hardware. As someone who had Oculus Rift DK2, I can attest to the importance of very high frame rates and imperceivable lag. If a VR solution misses either of those targets, it's barf city.

PS VR might be acceptable with extra processing power.
 
My guess is that the break-out box will house another Radeon 7850-class GPU, and it'll crossfire with the one in the PS4 already, to increase the performance to the point where VR is feasible on the platform.
 
Considering the PS4 is using a 4-year old torn-down Pitcairn (somewhere between a 7850 an 7870), and a 4-year old low-end CPU, this is not surprising in the least.
 
I'm surprised someone hasn't said it...

So the Playstation 4 requires an external processing unit for VR
The Xbox One requires a PC capable of pushing the graphics "Is this still true or did it change recently?"

If you're into good VR gaming why are you even trying to do it on a current generation console other than to be a bleeding edge early adopter?

However I'm beyond happy that it's progressed greatly since the time I last played a VR game in the early 90s.

Now what I'm really wondering, is can either console pull off Augmented Reality without additional processing to power it.
 
Bet all those brogamers on console can't wait to pay $400 to play games that look like minecaft in 3d! This thing is going to sell like hotcakes!
 
Rauelius said:
My guess is that the break-out box will house another Radeon 7850-class GPU, and it'll crossfire with the one in the PS4 already, to increase the performance to the point where VR is feasible on the platform.
Click to expand...

This would be my guess as well. Devs on the PS4 are really starting to make good use of the ACE units which would work very well in Crossfire as AMD is pushing with their Liquid VR SDK.

We have to also keep note that apparently Sony is able to keep the resolution lower while maintaining image quality on their VR units with some clever integration of their display technology.

Async Code + Crossfire + improved displays = potentially very good platform for VR.
 
Really? I figured you would just have to duct-tape a few PS4s together.

At this point they might as well just make a separate console. It's going to cost to much it might as well be one. This is the Sega 32X all over again.
 
Well, for those that say its not surprising... I'm surprised.

While you're absolutely right, the PS4 can only handle many games at 30FPS @ 900p, which is completely unacceptable for VR, I assumed they were going to be making VR specific titles.

A PS4 with a "lightweight" Nintendo graphics style game could certainly push 4K @ 60FPS, which makes VR ideal, and I was sure that was the route they were going to go. Some light games that have simple skins and shapes and lighting so the PS4 could keep up, rather than hobbling together some kind of PS4 duck taped to a PS4 in crossfire to try and run a VR headset on regular games.
 
It's another accessory for Sony to profit from so it does work from that perspective. And the gamers get a plus too. This is fine with me but illustrates a deeper point.

The fact is, no consoles in their current form will be able to push games for 4+ years. I bet we'll see physically modular game consoles before long. As in launched at a specific configuration, then a year later have a new CPU option. A year after that, here's a new GPU you can upgrade to. After that, try this new memory module for double the bandwidth. And so on.

For consoles to stay relevant for a longer length of time they have to pick up some of the upgradability of the PC. With the updates we're seeing to buses, etc., it wouldn't surprise me if we saw this in the next 10 years or so.
 
http://ps4daily.com/2015/09/playstation-vr-box/

That's a picture of the unit itself. With no heatsinking, I doubt it will do any crossfiring or house another GPU. It is supposedly an interpolator. People I have spoken to whom have tried it, said it was smooth and pretty immersive. But console people don't always have the same standards as us.

I really don't see it being a big hit, given the usual target console market, isn't exactly rolling around in cash for a 400usd VR unit.
 
It's not an additional GPU or anything that improves processing power for VR games. All the external box does probably is handle video splitting, reprojection and 3D spacial audio processing.

It hooks up via USB, it's not like the PS4 has a high bandwidth connection expansion port.
 
I've used Playstation VR for a demo of The Walk done by Sony and it was pretty good, but they had to have dynamic lighting and everything else disabled just to maintain the frame rate. I'm not overly optimistic that bleeding edge games will do VR without gimping IQ.
 
So, this is essentially an external GPU?

If they can do an external GPU for VR, I wonder if it can be used for other things... Like true 1080p 60fps rendering?
 
naticus said:
Bet all those brogamers on console can't wait to pay $400 to play games that look like minecaft in 3d! This thing is going to sell like hotcakes!
Click to expand...

VR is just a fad, 4k gaming on the computer is where it is at for computer gaming. However, console gaming works great on my XBox One, 360 and original. Wow, someone plays games regardless of the platform, I guess the world is about to implode. :D
 
I'm not sure why this is news as the breakout box isn't anything new. Sony talked about it in their presentation at GDC 2014 when they unveiled Project Morpheus.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041950235 said:
So, this is essentially an external GPU?

If they can do an external GPU for VR, I wonder if it can be used for other things... Like true 1080p 60fps rendering?
Click to expand...

No.
 
VR will fail on consoles without expensive add-ons
VR will not be a fad given the extreme benefit of presence.

To break it down simply, more information, and greater mental integration, especially in an instinctually spatial fashion, are things that will not be overlooked by the educated
 
This is just another reason why PC gaming is way better than console gaming and another piece of evidence that proves that console gaming can't compete with average consumer PC hardware.
 
ManofGod said:
VR is just a fad, 4k gaming on the computer is where it is at for computer gaming. However, console gaming works great on my XBox One, 360 and original. Wow, someone plays games regardless of the platform, I guess the world is about to implode. :D
Click to expand...

I think as VR gets more streamlined it won't be just a fad. Being able to interact virtually with your environment is literally game changing.
 
IMHO 3D on it's own is a complete and total fad, and really adds nothing to the experience, either in movies or games.

I have yet to try any of the VR systems out there, but reportedly once head movements are correlated to in world movements using accelerometers, it can have a rather profound effect of sucking you in to the world.

Time will tell if it takes off.
 
I haven't used VR yet, but I feel for certain titles, i.e. vehicle simulation/racing it is going to be a leap forward in immersion.

Other titles I can see it being a steep uphill climb in terms of adoption.
 
Rauelius said:
My guess is that the break-out box will house another Radeon 7850-class GPU, and it'll crossfire with the one in the PS4 already, to increase the performance to the point where VR is feasible on the platform.
Click to expand...

Or, as opposed to crossfire, each renders to one eye.
 
So that box hanging out the back of my PC for Oculus is a figment of my imagination?
 
UnholyCarcass said:
I think as VR gets more streamlined it won't be just a fad. Being able to interact virtually with your environment is literally game changing.
Click to expand...

I've got to play a lot with the HTC Vive and it is an absolute game changer. People don't realize how immersive it is and how well it works.

I totally understand everyone's hesitation with VR because of the ridiculous flop that 3D gaming was, but this is the real deal. I've been in in PC games for 10 years, and I wasn't a believer until I got to try it for myself.
 
Kalabalana said:
VR will fail on consoles without expensive add-ons
VR will not be a fad given the extreme benefit of presence.

To break it down simply, more information, and greater mental integration, especially in an instinctually spatial fashion, are things that will not be overlooked by the educated
Click to expand...

Smoked whaaaat?
 
Ducman69 said:
Well, for those that say its not surprising... I'm surprised.

While you're absolutely right, the PS4 can only handle many games at 30FPS @ 900p, which is completely unacceptable for VR, I assumed they were going to be making VR specific titles.

A PS4 with a "lightweight" Nintendo graphics style game could certainly push 4K @ 60FPS, which makes VR ideal, and I was sure that was the route they were going to go. Some light games that have simple skins and shapes and lighting so the PS4 could keep up, rather than hobbling together some kind of PS4 duck taped to a PS4 in crossfire to try and run a VR headset on regular games.
Click to expand...

Ugh, this is a horrible theme. The PS4 can run just about ANY game in 1080p/60fps. Why dont all games do this? Because DEVELOPERS choose fancy eye candy (advanced lighting, shadows, particle effects) over resolution and frame rate!

PSVR is completely different. Here, the main focus is on high frame rates, to avoid nausea and other issues. You simply dial down the graphics (early developers were told to shoot for "PS3 level graphics", and prioritize the frame rate over the bells and whistles.

As to the "co-processor"...It is there to

1) help with the 2nd screen. PSVR will let you either mirror an UNDISTORTED view of what the headset wearer is looking at to a TV, or, optionally, provide a 2nd screen experience for a 2nd player, where his or her actions will affect the game world that the other person who is wearing the VR headset is experiencing.

2) help with the processing required to "reproject" the image at a higher framerate. Think of the "natural motion" that you see in TVs...where it "up samples" a 60fps signal to 120fps...except in this case, it's accounting for the headsets motion IN BETWEEN FRAMES.

Sony had a recent developer conference where they stated that 60fps with "reprojection" to 120fps was the bare minimum acceptable frame rate for PSVR. They also said developers would have the option of developing 120fps native games with or without reprojection, as well as 90fps native with or without reprojection.

They also said that the latency of the system was about 18ms currently, and they are looking at improving the hardware to take this number down even lower.

Instead of chiding Sony for adding an additional co-processor for VR, you should be praising their decision to have an application specific processor added to keep the quality of the experience higher!
 
Polish said:
I've got to play a lot with the HTC Vive and it is an absolute game changer. People don't realize how immersive it is and how well it works.

I totally understand everyone's hesitation with VR because of the ridiculous flop that 3D gaming was, but this is the real deal. I've been in in PC games for 10 years, and I wasn't a believer until I got to try it for myself.
Click to expand...

Best comment yet. The doomsaying from the troll gallery is intense, and yet NONE of them have tried ANY of the VR systems being discussed!
 
Silentbob343 said:
I haven't used VR yet, but I feel for certain titles, i.e. vehicle simulation/racing it is going to be a leap forward in immersion.

Other titles I can see it being a steep uphill climb in terms of adoption.
Click to expand...

Well, the big thing here is that the games have to be developed FROM THE GROUND UP for VR. Some have tried to "port" over existing games...and they have been total failures.

Games and simulators which have you in a cockpit or cabin work the best, from what I have been hearing. First person shooter games are the worst for inducing nausea and motion sickness.

Personally, I am looking forward the most to games like "Elite Dangerous" and "No Man's Sky" in VR!
 
KxJ0WtM.png
 
^
Why did the console peasant cross the road?
To render the buildings on the other side.

:D
 
Polish said:
I've got to play a lot with the HTC Vive and it is an absolute game changer. People don't realize how immersive it is and how well it works.

I totally understand everyone's hesitation with VR because of the ridiculous flop that 3D gaming was, but this is the real deal. I've been in in PC games for 10 years, and I wasn't a believer until I got to try it for myself.
Click to expand...

I agree. I had a chance to try it when the HTC Vive World Tour came to Portland, OR at MusicfestNW.
 
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