Sony announces PlayStation VR2 during CES 2022 keynote
A new VR experience for PS5 consoles is on the way, according to Sony's CES 2022 keynote presentation.
Many in the video game world were wondering when we might get some new clues about Sony future plans for VR. As it turns out, that time came today when Sony took the stage at CES 2022 for its keynote presentation. During the show, Sony officially announced the new PlayStation VR2 system for PS5.
Packing all-new hardware that includes new controllers, the PlayStation VR2 system has been designed from the ground up to make use of the PS5’s hardware power to push V experiences into the next generation. Along with the new headset, PSVR2 will feature new control devices that will be known as PSV Sense controllers.
The new VR system brings the potential for higher visual quality, including resolutions up to 4K and support for HDR output. This will be the first time that HDR output has been widely available with a consumer VR headset. Sony also confirmed that PSVR2 will make use of foveated rendering, which tracks the user’s vision to dynamically adjust which in-game elements are rendered at the highest quality. Objects not in the direct vision of the user can be rendered at a lower quality, increasing overall performance.
On the official Sony blog post for the announcement, a detailed list of features is offered:
- Visual Fidelity: For a high-fidelity visual experience, PS VR2 offers 4K HDR, 110-degree field of view, and foveated rendering. With an OLED display, players can expect a display resolution of 2000×2040 per eye and smooth frame rates of 90/120Hz.
- Headset-based Controller Tracking: With inside-out tracking, PS VR2 tracks you and your controller through integrated cameras embedded in the VR headset. Your movements and the direction you look at are reflected in-game without the need for an external camera.
- New Sensory Features: PS VR2 Sense Technology combines eye tracking, headset feedback, 3D Audio, and the innovative PS VR2 Sense controller to create an incredibly deep feeling of immersion. Headset feedback is a new sensory feature that amplifies the sensations of in-game actions from the player. It’s created by a single built-in motor with vibrations that add an intelligent tactile element, bringing players closer to the gameplay experience. For example, gamers can feel a character’s elevated pulse during tense moments, the rush of objects passing close to the character’s head, or the thrust of a vehicle as the character speeds forward. Additionally, PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech makes sounds in the player’s surroundings come alive, adding to this new level of immersion.
- Eye Tracking: With eye tracking, PS VR2 detects the motion of your eyes, so a simple look in a specific direction can create an additional input for the game character. This allows players to interact more intuitively in new and lifelike ways, allowing for a heightened emotional response and enhanced expression that provide a new level of realism in gaming.
New hardware is worthless without software, so Sony also brought along the folks at Guerilla Games to show off Horizon: Call of the Mountain, a brand-new VR-exclusive experience set in the Horizon universe. No release date has been mentioned for PSVR2, but we’ll likely find out more later this year as Sony will offer more presentations for all things PlayStation.
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replyChris Jarrard posted a new article, Sony announces PlayStation VR 2 during CES 2022 keynote
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I’m all in. This thing is gonna be like 600 bucks.
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Good to get official confirmation on foveated rendering. That's not even a thing in PC VR yet, right?
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I can’t see a wireless solution that doesn’t have any noticeable trade offs from wired being feasible for a few more years, and maybe using a “why hasn’t anyone thought of that before!” solution, maybe not existing wireless tech.
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I use my Quest wirelessly from my PC all the time and it's fine and 100% worth not having to deal with wires.
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That said, you need a decent router, so it should be an option.
But I'm never going back. Wired VR is not great. -
I'm generally of the same mindset, but I can totally understand why Sony is sticking with wired; it's the method that is guaranteed to "just work" for 99.9% of consumers regardless up the rest of their electronics setup. I imagine the Quest 2 might have overtaken them by now, but for many years the PSVR was (surprisingly, imho) still the most successful consumer VR product on the market. Given how the market has changed since that initial release, I can't blame Sony for wanting to make sure the consumer experience on the PSVR2 is the absolute best showcase for the power/graphical fidelity of the hardware, and for now that's only really possible with a wired connection.
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I guess, but I'd be curious how well wireless streaming would hold up at this resolution.
Since when I do it with my laptop, I actually just set it up as its own wifi hotspot and connect direct to that. So I imagine something similar could have been possible. That way you skip the whole router part.
I just really hate the wire :) Especially if you're ever going to actually turn or anything.
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Yeah, I must. I honestly don't even notice the difference in latency between wired and wireless with my router. It's very very low.
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Also I'm pretty sure they do a thing on the Quest where if you move your head it still moves the view (it won't translate it obviously, but rotations work). I'm sure there's some fancy term for that. Makes a big difference I think.
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Have you seen the wiring situation with the original PSVR?
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/mqMAAOSwAiBhtxhV/s-l1600.png
Its not great! -
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hopefully a superlight thin cable too, the 3rd party one i got for oculus quest is thick and heavy and annoying. i hear the official link cable is nice and light
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The official link cable is probably overpriced, but it's long, feels well built, and is pretty flexible. I don't feel bad about having bought it.
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I wonder if thats something third-party accessories might try and tackle (if Sony releases the data protocol info). It would get a bit pricy though - A battery pack on the PSVR, an external antenna since some people have the PS5 in an entertainment center cabinet (assuming theres any big enough for the PS5), realtime video encoder/decoder hardware (+licensing costs) etc.
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Great. The only reason I still have a PS4 hooked up is for PSVR.
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Wireless?
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Oh damn, never mind
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This is good news. The main reason I grabbed a PS5 is for future PSVR2 support, and I'm liking everything I'm reading here.
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I have my PSVR away for as a Christmas gift to my buddy this year. He was super stoked. I guess I could have sold it but whatever. He’ll get some joy out of it, and I get to save up for PSVR2 :D
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It’s interesting how Kinect was largely panned for requiring a space but people are willing to make room for VR. Vr is pretty cool
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110 has been the standard since the original Rift days I believe. I don't know, it's too early to tell but all the specs listed here makes it seem on par or better than the Index which is 3 years old at this point. I was just hoping FOV would be priority going forward since it's still the most noticeable thing when I put my headset on, even with the ~130deg of the Index.
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The dualsense triggers are going to be fun with this - swinging your arm while holding a sword and feeling the resistance increase when you stop, giving a sense of momentum etc. I haven't looked at the controllers closely but it would be cool if they had both grips and triggers with the haptics; I've seen research that shows even 2 points is enough to give the impression of torsion, with enough range of motion from the user.
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He feedback in the headset feature is interesting. Not sure how much it'll get used for something like feeling your character's pulse, like mentioned, but I wonder if a very slight vibration based on character activity might actually help immersion or even spacial awareness.
Buuuuut, more likely it'll be like the camera on the joycon that seemed cook, but no dev ever figures out a reason to use it. Same about the camera in the joycon too. Hopefully they decide to pull it and save on cost.-
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I'm assuming it's based off of this research or something similar, and I think it could have the potential to be the killer feature that keeps Sony relevant and competitive in the consumer VR space:
WalkingVibe: Reducing Virtual Reality Sickness and Improving Realism while Walking in VR using Unobtrusive Head-mounted Vibrotactile Feedback https://www.yihaopeng.tw/pdf/CHI20_WalkingVibe.pdf
TLDR: https://www.roadtovr.com/researchers-head-mounted-haptics-combat-vr-discomfort-walkingvibe/
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This woman worked on it
https://twitter.com/jasminezroberts/status/1478605268304891906-
Thanks for the link! She's followed by 40 others I follow, so I'm guessing she's someone I should be paying attention to.
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I'll be a bit surprised if this is ready for PSVR2. I feel like this sort of stuff has been notably absent from Facebook and Valve's VR presentations on future VR headsets even though it's obviously a huge problem for the types of games we all want (and which Valve very specifically is interested in).
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I'm super excited for that, the haptics on the PS5 controller are already next level shit. I can't imagine what kind of awesome stuff they can pull off with headset haptics.
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This sounds like a dog vibration collar.
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