PlayStation VR price drop makes the peripheral even harder to pass up

By Gabe Gurwin March 28, 2018

PlayStation VR — Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

More than a year after the PlayStation VR released, the peripheral has finally begun to come into its own with a great library of games. Initially, its $400 price tag was a pretty big ask for an unproven piece of hardware, but the latest price drop finally makes it an essential addition to any PlayStation fan’s game room.

Beginning on March 29, the PlayStation VR will be priced starting at $300, and it comes with everything you need to get started playing games in virtual reality. In addition to the headset, the PlayStation VR Doom VFR bundle comes with a PlayStation Camera — required to use the headset — as well as a new demo disc and the Doom VFR game. The game isn’t a VR version of 2016’s Doom, but an entirely different game that was designed from the ground up for VR play.

If you’re looking to pick up The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, instead, that bundle has also received a price drop. For $350 you’ll get the headset and camera, as well as the demo disc, Skyrim VR game, and two PlayStation Move controllers. Though not required for many PSVR games, the Move controllers do add a bit more realism to your games, particularly when you’re engaging in combat.

There are plenty of other games worth checking out on PlayStation VR right now, as well. The adventure game Moss might be the best title on the whole system, with an innovative control scheme that makes use of a traditional gamepad as well as VR motion controls. Farpoint makes use of the brilliant PSVR Aim Controller for first-person shooting. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is also even more terrifying in virtual reality, and the mode is included free with the standard PS4 version of the game. Should it be too terrifying for you, you can always go back to using the normal television display — we won’t judge.

In the future, we’ll be getting a full-scale follow-up to the PlayStation VR Worlds game “London Heist,” called Blood & Truth. Ace Combat 7 will also support PlayStation VR play, though we’d recommend trying out some gentler games before strapping yourself into the pilot’s seat and engaging in dogfights.

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

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PlayStation Plus is getting a major price hike following Game Pass changes

PlayStation Plus art highlighting the essential, extra, and premium tiers.

Sony confirmed that 12-month subscriptions for PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium will all see price increases alongside the reveal of September's new Essential games on the PlayStation Blog.
Starting on September 6, 12 months of PS Plus Essential goes up in price from $60 to $80, PS Plus Extra's yearly price increases from $100 to $135, and an annual subscription to PS Plus Premium will rise from $120 to $160.

Sony says it needs to increase the price of all three versions of PlayStation Plus "to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service" and that buying a 12-month subscription is still cheaper than subscribing to any of the shorter-term plans over the same period of time. The price hikes comes just a couple of months after Microsoft raised the price of Xbox Game Pass.
When it comes to the games PS Plus Essential subscribers can expect this month, first up is Saints Row, a 2022 reboot of an open-world crime franchise that garnered mixed reviews upon its release. Next is Generation Zero, an open-world sci-fi shooter where players fight evil machines. Finally, those who have not already purchased a version of the MMO Black Desert on PS4 can redeem Black Desert - Traveler Edition, which comes with some additional items; if you have bought a version of Black Desert, you can just redeem the Traveler Item Pack.

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PlayStation VR2 just got 2 fun shooters, but I’m still waiting to be wowed

Key art for Firewall Ultra.

For the past six months, PlayStation VR2 players like myself have been yearning for new reasons to boot up our headsets. And after a long wait, the VR platform is getting a much-needed infusion with two brand-new titles. It’s a cause for celebration, but a mild one; neither of PSVR2's latest titles does much to revitalize my shock and awe for the platform six months into its life span.

The two games in question are the exclusive, Sony-published Firewall Ultra from First Contact Entertainment and Crossfire Sierra Squad from Smilegate. Both are realistic-looking military shooters, although they are different in execution. Firewall Ultra is a Rainbow Six Siege-style, squad-based multiplayer game, while Crossfire Sierra Squad taps more into the genre’s arcade roots to create VR shooting galleries.

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Sony’s cloud handheld, the PlayStation Portal, will only stream certain games

Astro's Playroom booting up on the PlayStation Portal.

Sony has unveiled the price for its upcoming cloud gaming handheld, as well as an official name for the device: PlayStation Portal. However, one significant caveat to its functionality might sour people's interest in the handheld: It only supports PS4 and PS5 native games that the owner purchased.
PlayStation VR2 games can't be streamed to PlayStation Portal, which does make sense. More bafflingly, though, is the fact that the PlayStation Blog post states that "games that are streamed through PlayStation Plus Premium’s cloud streaming are not supported." That means you shouldn't pick up PlayStation Portal expecting to stream some PS3 and PS4 games available through PlayStation Plus Premium to the device. That's certainly an odd omission when it's currently PlayStation's most notable cloud gaming effort.
Although Microsoft is more closely associated with cloud gaming, Sony beat it to releasing a dedicated cloud gaming device. PlayStation Portal was first teased as Project Q during May's PlayStation showcase, but now, a PlayStation Blog post more clearly explains what we can actually expect from the handheld. Most importantly, we learned that PlayStation Portal will cost $200, which puts it underneath the cost of a Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S, and other cloud gaming devices like the Logitech G Cloud Handheld.
As for what you're getting for that price tag, it's essentially a decent screen attached to two halves of a DualSense controller. The controllers on each side share all the functionality of the DualSense, including things like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. In-between is an 8-inch LCD screen that streams games over Wi-Fi at up to a 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. All in all, that's fairly solid for a cloud gaming handheld that is this cheap.
Sony confirmed that the PlayStation Portal will have a 3.5mm audio jack, but also used the same blog post to unveil two new wireless audio options. There's the Pulse Elite wireless headset that features a retractable boom mic and a charging hanger and Pulse Explore wireless earbuds that offer similar audio quality in earbud form.
None of these products are available for preorder or have a specific release date just yet, but they are all expected to launch before the end of the year.