Sony announces PS5 PSVR headset & controller is coming, but not in 2021
Sony has dropped new details for its PlayStation 5 VR system.
One of the looming questions surrounding the PS5’s launch was if and how Sony would support PSVR on the next-gen console. With PSVR being a financial and commercial success on the PS4, it felt inevitable that the system would get a proper next-gen upgrade. We’ve now got some official word, as Sony has announced a new PSVR system for PS5 is in development.
A post was made to PlayStation Blog on February 23 by Senior Vice President Hideaki Nishino announcing the new PSVR system. “Today I’m pleased to share that our next-generation VR system will be coming to PlayStation 5, enabling the ultimate entertainment experience with dramatic leaps in performance and interactivity. Players will feel an even greater sense of presence and become even more immersed in their game worlds once they put on the new headset,” the post reads.
Sony touts that the new PSVR system will feature better resolution, field of view, tracking, and input. What’s more, the new headset will only use a single cord to connect to the PS5 console, offering a much cleaner setup than its predecessor. Sony shares that the new PSVR controller will “incorporate some of the key features found in the DualSense wireless controller.” There will also be a strong emphasis on ergonomics in the controller’s design.
In the post, Sony states that the new PSVR system is still in early development, and will not be launching in 2021. Sony doesn’t commit to a release window, outside of confirming it won’t release this calendar year. The company also confirms that brand new PSVR titles are currently in development. It will likely be a bit of a wait before we get a proper look at the new PS5 PSVR, but when we do, you’ll be able to read about it right here on Shacknews.
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replyDonovan Erskine posted a new article, Sony announces PS5 PSVR headset & controller is coming, but not in 2021
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Sony has confirmed new PlayStation VR hardware is coming for the PS5, just not in 2021.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/23/22296998/sony-ps5-next-gen-vr-headset-virtual-reality-features-
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It makes sense as does the delayed launch. They want people to get their systems before dropping another $400+ on a headset. And, with next gen tech they can port in a ton of titles at launch from the oculus platform. It gives them a talking point over the series X. And, fits a really nice consumer market space that can slot inbetween Oculus’s lower powered stand alone device and PC quality VR experiences that a lot of consumers either can’t afford or do not engage with due to needing a medium to high spec PC on top of headset costs.
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Yup, as expected. Given how long they’ve been working on this based on patents:
I’d say fall 2022
It uses one cable no breakout box. So probably usb c port on front of system
Sony just filed a patent for proximity sensors in a controller. Based off earlier prototypes shown by Sony, I’d expect VR controllers with dualsense haptics, index style finger tracking, and proximity sensors to know when you are gripping the controller.
I’d expect 1440p resolution minimum with larger field of view and inside out tracking.
And the fact last month Mizuguchi announced he’s started a next gen game that rez infinite area x serves as a prolog for, I’d bet on a Rez sequel as a launch title. Which excites me given what mizuguchi would probably do given that suite of features.
Also, if they do have finger tracking, wouldn’t be surprised to see a port of half life Alyx as well for PS5.-
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I was really hoping it would be wireless.
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Still possible it could be and the cable is purely used for power. In which case you could hook to a battery pack.
I suspect it will require the cable for video though. My theory is even with wifi6 onboard, Sony feels the throughput cost of doing it wirelessly is too high if someone also tried to use online functionality without using an Ethernet cable.
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PSVR 1 was my first real foray into VR. It was very cool given the time when it launched, but was definitely hampered by the lower resolution and reliance on frame doubling that could cause swimmy feelings and tracking issues due to reliance on very outdated PS3 era camera tracking tech.
But, it was easily the most comfortable and easy to share headset I’ve ever worn and had fantastic optics. A next gen version with inside out tracking and the horsepower and data streaming capabilities of the PS5 would be extremely good.
My only bummer is the fact that it is stated to still be wired(although just a single cable). I suspect it will be necessary but it would be awesome if they had a tetherless option that hooks to a battery pack instead. Given any controllers and headset will all sync directly to the PS5 as is, in theory they could use the wifi 6 capabilities of PS5 to direct stream video and just need wire for power. But, I imagine they have concerns about being able to do that and still allow for online play for people who can’t use Ethernet to hardwire their PS5.
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This is great news. Sony pumped a lot of money into VR development last generation. The news from Jim Ryan that they will be releasing more PlayStation games on PC potentially makes this news even better for VR.
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Curious why this took so long to announce. Seems like it should have been part of the launch. I guess they knew the software wasn't far enough along so they decided to spread it out to extend the hype. But, missing the 2021 holiday? I guess it's probably pandemic and supply strain related.
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They probably wanted to keep it quiet as long as possible to prevent moves from Oculus or keep MS from positioning otherwise prior to system launch.
Reason they are talking now is they are about to send out dev kits to developers so they couldn’t keep it quiet any longer.
Besides, you are going to need a PS5 for it and people still can’t just buy one right now. From a PR standpoint what they have done so far makes more sense.
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Time to sell my first gen and cross my fingers on getting a hold of the new hotness.
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Yeah, especially with Flight Sim and them owning several VR experienced studios.
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How are they behind Nintendo and Sony on their gamepad? How is the only thing going for the Xbox their services?
They’re extremely conservative when it comes to hardware. They’ve done a good job with performance and noise on the Xbox Series but anything mildly forward looking like VR or controller gyros is something they avoid? Perhaps they think they’re already taking on too much trying to upright the boat as it is? -
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It didn’t miss at all, it’s an enterprise-only thing and they are successful there.
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With what, the Minecraft thing on a phone? That was more PoC than anything, they have made next to no serious effort at all to bring the same features to Hololens and sell it. Again, because it’s an enterprise-only device.
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they announced at some E3s ago, are listed as a platform on steam (under mixed reality which is HoloLens + other companies). There was a genuine attempt at making it a gaming peripheral. It has found success in enterprise but the push in gaming didn't work out. That's the route they chose instead of hard VR and why they're behind the competition.
I'll die on many hills for MSFT but that's not one of them.-
There has never been a serious attempt at a consumer version of the Hololens, the thing costs $3k ffs.
Windows Mixed Reality has been a platform on Steam for ages but that has only ever been VR-only, nothing to do with the Hololens.
Everything AR related you have might have seen on Steam were Valve efforts and they gave up on that ages ago to fully focus on VR and create Steam VR, lighthouse tracking and the Vive with HTC (and the Index on their own later on).
A genuine attempt is either putting consumer AR hardware or software on sale and they haven’t done either of those. Not even that Minecraft AR thing on the phone, it never left beta.
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The Windows Mixed Reality headsets are great (I have one) but are essentially the BetaMax of VR, as far as consumer awareness is concerned. I don't know why they internally dropped the ball, but they really bungled it. Honestly, they fucked up from the start with the name. I mean they are VR headsets. Trying to brand it as "Mixed Reality" and somehow muddy it along with their expensive enterprise AR offering (HoloLens) made no sense to casual buyers.
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I think a large part is it’s easier for Sony to build out hardware for VR because, by nature of the other arms of the company they can make the panels and they can make the optics and the have the years of experience in gaming peripherals. The don’t have to make a ton of deals and outsource as much to build out a set.
It’s a much bigger risk for MS as, outside of surfaces and Xbox they are primarily software and services based.
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