First, a word of forewarning: the PlayStation VR demo disc was revealed on the European PlayStation blog and has not yet been mentioned for North America. That could mean that Sony is waiting for tomorrow’s PlayStation meeting to reveal it, or that North America won’t receive the demo disc at all. Odds are the demo disc won’t change any minds, but it’s worth a warning here just in case.
As far as the PlayStation VR packages in Europe, here are the 8 demos included:
Battlezone - Tank battle shooter. DriveClub VR - Driving sim. EVE Valkyrie - Space flight and battle sim. Headmaster - Football/soccer ball heading sim. PlayStation VR Worlds - Undersea exploration. RIGS Mechanized Combat League - Multiplayer arena combat. Tumble VR - 3D block stacking puzzle game. Wayward Sky - Flying adventure platformer.
As of right now there is no official word on which demos are playable vs. cinematic, or whether they are full-game demos or short experiences pulled from the game. Either way, the hope on the part of the publishers is that the demo will help encourage sales of the full games.
Many have been curious whether or not PlayStation VR would include a bundle-in game, like how the Oculus Rift bundled in EVE Valkyrie and Lucky’s Tale. Some thought that perhaps PlayStation VR Worlds, which has been compared to the Wii’s Wii Sports, would be that game – until it popped up at retailers for $39.99. A demo disc would fill that launch day gap, giving players a VR experience straight out of the box.
It may not be a full game, which obviously holds a lot of value with a new platform, but there’s much to be said about the value of a selection of demos too. Being able to open the PlayStation VR box, plug in the headset and start up a short demo that can easily be shown to and shared with friends and family is invaluable. Nothing replaces that sense of wonder that comes from those first experiences in VR; hopefully the free demo disc bundled with PlayStation VR impresses.
PlayStation VR launches on October 13 and requires a PlayStation 4. It’s currently sold out for the foreseeable future. Expect more information on Sony’s debut VR headset at tomorrow’s PlayStation Meeting event.
Source: PlayStation Blog EU
