Resident Evil 7 doubled the amount of time gamers spent in PSVR

It’s been a year since virtual reality hit the mainstream via Sony’s PlayStation VR headset, and we’re all quite pleased that the news from this landmark has been positive. No moratoriums here. In fact, we’ve been looking at the legacy the headset as had on the industry and the future of the VR medium now its out there.

Speaking to Engadget, who are also taking a look back at the PSVR, a Sony spokesperson has said some interesting things about the impact of the headset and how people have engaged with it.

Firstly, there’s proof that big triple-A games work well in VR and engage players, as Resident Evil 7 apparently doubled the time players spent playing a game in VR compared to other titles. While most games and apps kept players around for 25 minutes, Resident Evil 7 kept players in for around an hour.

"Different users enjoy different experiences, and it’s hard to pinpoint a particular app or experience that is most popular, but we’ve found that certain genres work very well with VR, and horror is one example," the spokesperson told Engadget. "When Resident Evil 7: Biohazard launched earlier this year, the average amount of time PSVR users spent playing doubled."

Other good news is that the sales of PSVR titles have hit 9.97 million. There are over 100 games and experiences available for the device with more coming and more triple-A titles coming with Bethesda’s Skyrim VR and Doom VFR. So, could we see another bump in playing time with these titles? Maybe.

The market is actually looking very healthy right now. The PSVR has sold over 1 million units since its launch. The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have all had price cuts, the PSVR headset has already been updated and released in Japan and the market, according to Superdata, is predicted to be worth $2.2 billion in 2017.