And now for something completely different. :)
If you've never tried Virtual Reality (VR) before and happen to be visiting Amsterdam next week, then I highly recommend taking advantage of the PlayStation VR Tour. It's free, unique, and potentially mind-blowing, it's like nothing you've ever done before, and I think VR is something that everyone should experience at least once, even if you have no interest in videogames.

I realise this isn't the kind of thing people here are usually looking for, but since I expect most people on the forum probably haven't heard of this, I thought it may be worth sharing.

(Mods: If this thread is considered too far off-topic, or inappropriate advertising/promotional, then I won't be upset if the thread is closed/deleted. FWIW, I have no affiliation with Sony; I'm just a gamer and VR enthusiast who has been waiting for this technology to reach consumers for 25 years)



What is The PlayStation VR Tour?
Sony are currently doing a tour of the Netherlands to promote their upcoming PlayStation VR headset for the PlayStation 4 games console. The tour is scheduled to visit Amsterdam next week from Monday 19th September until Saturday 25th (Saturday is already fully booked, Monday to Friday are still available).

In order to take advantage of this tour, you need to register at the Try PSVR website, selecting "Nederland" as your country, and complete a survey. The survey is in Dutch, but it's easy to complete using Google Translate, or you can just select answers at random (it doesn't matter what answers you give). Once you've registered, you can select a date and time for your appointment (time slots appear to be 30 minutes). Once your appointment is confirmed, you receive a booking reference by email, which you bring to the appointment on your selected date/time.



So What is Virtual Reality?
For the benefit of those who have no idea what I'm talking about:

VR is a technology that creates the illusion of being in another place, which can be real or fictional. The user wears a Head Mounted stereoscopic 3D Display (HMD) over his eyes, which uses low-latency rotational and positional head-tracking to allow the user to look around computer generated 3D worlds in 360 degrees, as if he is inside those worlds. The HMD gives a very wide field of view through special lenses, as well as very realistic 3D sound to complement the visual illusion. A VR user may experience "presence", or the feeling that they actually exist within a virtual world. A range of different controller types enable the user to interact within VR worlds.

VR enables a range of new content, including 360 degree videos, games, simulations, educational apps, virtual tourism and creativity tools. It is also capable of displaying traditional TV content in the form of a "virtual cinema" or "virtual living room", which creates the illusion of sitting in your very own personal cinema, where you can watch TV shows, movies, online videos, or play games on a virtual big screen.

VR has also created a new market for adult content, which allows the user to see "through the eyes" of one of the participants, which creates a visual illusion of having sex with a porn star. Having tried several VR porn videos myself, I can say that it's hard to go back to traditional porn once you've tried porn in VR.

Of course, there's a ton of information on the Internet about VR, and I can't say everything about it here, so if you're interested in knowing more, then Google is your friend. :)



Some Tips for attending the PlayStation VR Tour
For the benefit of those not familiar with PlayStation VR in particular, I have given some tips below:

• The HMD must be properly adjusted for the best experience, otherwise the image may appear blurry or unfocused, or outside light may leak into the headset (the Sony rep should be able to help you with the adjustment).
• If you need to wear glasses in real life, you should also wear glasses in VR too (the HMD is big enough to fit around most glasses).
• If you are given a choice of VR demo and you are not familiar with the titles, I recommend choosing "The London Heist". This game uses controllers that allow you to pick up and interact with objects inside the virtual world by moving your hands, giving an even greater sense of immersion.
• Another good choice is "Battlezone". You sit inside a virtual tank in a Tron-like environment, which you drive using a traditional game controller. I tried Battlezone myself back in August 2015 in Germany and it was very cool.

Finally
If you attend this tour, please share your impressions of VR here! I'm attending the tour myself - hopefully playing The London Heist - so I will also be able to share my own impressions if anyone is interested.