This is how much space you need for PlayStation VR

PlayStation VR uses the PS4 Camera (not included) to track your movements, so it was always clear that it would need a little bit of room to work. It turns out the answer varies based on what you want to do, though a guide uploaded by PlayStation Asia has a handy little that shows what sort of space you might want to carve out of your living room.

That's a roughly 3x1.9m (10x6ft) play area that starts about a half meter beyond the PlayStation camera. Before you break out the measuring tape, the guide also recommends that "users sit while using VR headsets". In other words, while Sony has confirmed that PlayStation VR will support "room-scale" experiences that let you walk around within the play area, it won't be the norm.

If you only play the seated kind of VR, then you'll just need to worry about having a comfy, unobstructed chair somewhere in that 5-ish square meter (60 square feet) area. And even if you do get up and walk around, most games will probably allow for a more modestly sized play area. For reference, Valve's HTC Vive headset requires a minimum area of 2x1.5 m for "room-scale" play, though that may be more "walk-in closet scale" depending on where you live. Like Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, Vive supports seated play in a much smaller area.

Sony's guide also reconfirms that PlayStation VR is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 12. I remember when the Virtual Boy came out and I was so mad that the warning stickers said I wasn't old enough to use it yet. Virtual Boy was kinda crappy, though, and modern VR isn't, so kids these days have a better reason to be upset.

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Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.