Sony goes big on new virtual reality games as PlayStation VR headset tops 4m sales

Sony announced Marvel's Iron Man VR for PS4 - Sony

PlayStation 4 maker Sony had its first ‘State of Play’ livestream, highlighting the console’s upcoming slate of games. Taking a leaf out of Nintendo’s fuss-free ‘Nintendo Direct’ streams, State of Play was a fast, lean look at what is coming to the PS4 in the next few months.

There was nothing particular revelatory or surprising --no new PS5 news or new footage from The Last of Us 2 or Death Stranding-- but we did get glimpses of promising titles like Days Gone, Concrete Genie, multiplayer dungeon-crawler ReadySet Heroes and NoCode’s fabulous looking sci-fi thriller Observation.

But there was a clear focus on PlayStation VR, Sony’s virtual-reality headset that has proved a considerable success for the company -- even if the lack of headlines betray it. Sony announced that as of 3 March 2019, PSVR has sold 4.2m units worldwide. A considerable number bolstered by an impressive 2018 that saw sales of VR headsets jump by 30pc after a slow 2017 for the technology. PSVR lead the way in the last quarter of 2018, with 463,000 PSVR headsets sold, while Facebook's Oculus Rift and HTC's Vive sold an estimated 300,000 and 230,000 headsets respectively.

VR, then, may not have been the overnight success that some of the hype suggested a few years ago, but headsets are making headway and Sony are clearly keeping the faith. It announced a slew of its ‘next wave’ of virtual reality games in its stream.

First up was Iron Man VR, placing you in Tony Stark’s famous suit. Space sim No Man’s Sky is getting a significant update called No Man’s Sky Beyond, which will drop in VR support on both PS4 and Steam. There was also a VR announcement for grotesque horror favourite Five Nights At Freddy’s and a release date for British crime thriller Blood and Truth.

These were just a few of the VR games announced in the stream (along with the news that Concrete Genie and Observation will have their own VR modes), making the headset an area of focus for Sony. PSVR has never garnered the headlines of more high-profile video games, but with a selection of new titles adding to an impressive 2018 --which included Tetris Effect, Astro Bot and From Software’s Deracine-- Sony are looking to keep its quiet momentum going.