Compared to traditional screen-based media, virtual reality (VR) generally leads to stronger feelings of presence. The current study aimed to investigate whether playing games in VR resulted in a stronger sense of presence than playing on a TV, and whether these feelings of presence affected players’ emotional and physiological responses to the games. Two experiments were conducted among 128 students, comparing the effects of playing either a survival horror game (N = 59) or a first-person shooter (N = 69) on a TV or in VR on physiological and subjective fear, hostility and enjoyment. Results showed that playing games in VR resulted in a stronger sense of presence, lower heart rate variability and a stronger subjective sense of fear. The feeling of presence thereby mediated the effects of VR on fear. The effects of playing a first-person shooter in VR on hostility were mixed, and gaming in VR was not more enjoyable than on TV. Regardless of the type of game or display medium, hostility increased significantly post-play. This study provides evidence that commercial VR games can affect feelings of presence and the physiological and emotional state of players.

与传统的基于屏幕的媒体相比，虚拟现实 (VR) 通常会带来更强的临场感。目前的研究旨在调查在 VR 中玩游戏是否比在电视上玩游戏产生更强的存在感，以及这些存在感是否会影响玩家对游戏的情绪和生理反应。在 128 名学生中进行了两项实验，比较玩生存恐怖游戏 ( N  = 59) 或第一人称射击游戏 ( N = 69）在电视或 VR 中关于生理和主观恐惧、敌意和享受。结果表明，在 VR 中玩游戏会导致更强的存在感、更低的心率变异性和更强的主观恐惧感。因此，存在感调节了 VR 对恐惧的影响。在 VR 中玩第一人称射击游戏对敌意的影响是混合的，VR 游戏并不比电视更有趣。无论游戏类型或显示媒体如何，游戏后敌意都显着增加。这项研究提供的证据表明，商业 VR 游戏可以影响玩家的临场感以及生理和情绪状态。