Want to demo PlayStation VR at this U.K. retailer? It might cost you

By Gabe Gurwin October 24, 2016

PlayStation VR — Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Sony has been offering demonstrations of PlayStation VR across North America for the last several weeks, giving prospective buyers a chance to try out a selection of its games at stores like Best Buy and GameStop, but if you’re in the U.K. and plan to demo the device at the retailer Game, you might need to bring some cash.

Some Game locations have begun posting advertisements offering 10 minutes of playtime for 5 pounds (about $6) and 30 minutes for 15 pounds (about $18). Given the current exchange rate between the pound and the dollar, if you were to demo a PlayStation VR headset at a Game store for an hour, it would almost cost the same as purchasing a new PlayStation VR game.

As Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett has noted, another location pointed out that if players opt to purchase PlayStation VR once the demonstration is finished, they won’t be charged for the time. The store’s tweet on the subject appears to have been removed, but no apology or clarification was posted in its place. The Game Brighton location still appears to have their advertisement live — it’s even pinned to the top of the page — and the store is also offering pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch console before a price has been revealed.

It’s worth noting that the advertisements in question both came from individual GAME locations. The company’s official “HQ” Twitter account doesn’t make mention of any such “pay for play” promotion, nor has it mentioned PlayStation VR at all since it launched on October 13.

PlayStation VR is now available for $400 (500 pounds in the U.K.) and a “launch bundle” is also available, packing in two PlayStation Move controllers, a PlayStation Camera, and the game PlayStation VR Worlds. Both versions also come with a demo disc: it’s free.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

I was a PlayStation Portal hater. Now it’s one of my go-to gaming devices

A PlayStation Portal plays Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

In November, I reviewed the PlayStation Portal. I was mixed on Sony’s streaming handheld at the time, frustrated with a corner-cutting execution of a good idea. It seemed like a poor value compared to simply slapping a cheaper Backbone controller on a phone. As is often the case with tech reviews, though, I only had a short window to test it out where I was more focused on the more objective side of what the Portal does and doesn’t do. Would my feelings change when I was using it naturally?

I’ve gotten the answer to that question over the past few months. While I barely touched my Portal after reviewing it in 2023, it’s quickly become a go-to device in my home as of January. I’m now breaking it out at least once a week, finding some practical use cases for it. Though my overall assessment of it hasn’t changed, I have a more tangible understanding of where it can be a useful -- if superfluous -- PS5 companion. It’s a needless luxury, but one that I’m finding that I'm happy to indulge in.
Second screen
The PlayStation Portal’s launch just so happened to come right before a major life change that would shift my perspective. After living alone for three years, my girlfriend moved into my apartment last December. It’s been a natural change that’s working great so far. That shift does come with some lifestyle changes, though. We’re both crammed into a one-bedroom apartment, which means we’re sharing a tight space. We remotely do our jobs feet apart in the same room, and most evenings are spent lounging on the couch.

Gaming

PlayStation Spring Sale: best deals, how long is the sale, and more

With the rise of all-digital consoles, more and more people are doing a majority of their game shopping on digital storefronts. For PlayStation 5 owners, whether you have a disk drive or not, you more than likely have at least a couple of games purchased from the PlayStation Store. The convenience of simply downloading a game and not having to worry about the disk is great, but you also can catch some amazing deals. The biggest sales events come seasonally, and the current Spring Sale is offering deep discounts of up to 90% on some of the biggest games on the platform. If you've been waiting to pick up one of the great games you missed earlier this year or in years past, now might be the best time to snag it for cheap!
When is the PlayStation Spring Sale 2024?
The PlayStation Spring Sale started on March 27, 2024, but new deals were added on April 10 that will last until April 24.

If any deal is exclusively for a PS5 version of a game that is also on PS4, we will note that beside the title. Since all PS4 games run on PS5, we won't mark PS4 games.
Best deals for the PlayStation Spring Sale
God of War Ragnarök Sony Interactive Entertainment

Gaming

PlayStation VR2 production reportedly paused by Sony

PlayStation VR2 headset on blue background.

Sony is reportedly pausing production of the PlayStation VR2 headsets because it has a backlog of unsold headsets.

This report comes from Bloomberg, which claims that PSVR2 sales have slowed every quarter since its February 2023 release, causing stocks of the device to build up. It says Sony has produced 2 million headsets but reportedly hasn't sold through them yet. As a result, it's apparently pausing the production on new units until it works through some of that backlog, according to Bloomberg's anonymous sources.