Virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and metaverse. They’re all words being thrown around a lot right now.
Whether it’s Facebook trying to trap us all in virtual meeting rooms, Microsoft holograms, or the constant rumors of a mixed reality device from Apple, it’s clear VR is growing and growing fast.
When it comes to gaming, there are only really two options available.
You either need a high-end gaming PC and an expensive headset, or you use a PlayStation 4 combined with Sony’s PSVR headset.
The PC option will give you the best VR experience available today, but the high cost and space required means it’s not going to become the mainstream platform anytime soon.
So, we’re left with the PlayStation VR.
This can offer an awesome experience if you look past the clunky setup and the less-than-perfect controllers.
The good news is that these issues are set to be fixed with Sony’s next-generation headset that’s built specifically for the PS5.
PlayStation VR 2
PlayStation confirmed the existence of a next-gen VR headset in 2021 but we had to wait until January of this year for any concrete information.
During its CES show, PlayStation’s CEO announced the name of the new headset as the PlayStation VR 2.
Remember, this is the same creative mind behind the name of the successor to the PS4; the PS5.
Thankfully we do now know nearly all of the specs and we’ve had a good look at the cool new controllers.
So what makes it better than the old one?
There are actually a lot of upgrades to talk about, but let’s start at the beginning. The first thing to note is that there’s no more external processor to complicate the setup process. The new headset will connect directly to the PS5 with a single USB-C cable.
Another thing that will make for a smoother experience is the lack of any external cameras or sensors.
While the original PlayStation VR relied on a camera sat in front of your TV, the new headset will have 4 built-in cameras to track your movements.
That all sounds very clever, but what about the gameplay experience?
This should be a big upgrade as well thanks to much-improved specs and the power of the PS5. After all, it’s been nearly 6 years since the original PS VR was released.
The most noticeable change will likely be the new display. It’s still an OLED panel but now has a resolution of 2000×2040 pixels per eye, which is nearly double the original headset. There’s also a slightly wider 110º field of view to give you a more true-to-life view of the virtual world.
Another feature to improve immersion is the new eye tracking tech. This works thanks to two IR cameras inside the headset that can track the movements of your eyes. Just imagine being able to simply move your eyes to control the view of an in-game character, very cool indeed if it works as advertised.
There’s also haptic feedback in both the headset and new controllers, so you can feel subtle vibrations to match what’s happening on screen.
All new controllers
They’re officially known as the PS VR Sense Controllers and are a complete redesign compared to the previous generation. While we haven’t held them yet, it appears that these will be much more comfortable than the wand-shaped controllers we had before.
You’ll find all the new features first introduced with the PS5’s DualSense, like adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, as well as some new additions. This includes finger touch detection that will track the position of your fingers without pressing physical buttons.
The position of these new controllers will be tracked with a combination of the included gyroscope, accelerometer, and the cameras built into the headset.
So which games will I be able to play?
There is only one game so far confirmed for the new headset, which is Horizon Call of the Mountain. This will be set in the same world as the recently released Horizon Forbidden West.
We don’t know exactly what to expect, but there’s bound to be some familiar characters from the series and a lot of giant robotic dinosaurs.
When can I buy one?
Unfortunately, there’s still no official word on the price or release date, but we’re hoping they release more details soon.
A release in time for Christmas would be a good bet but with the current chip shortage, we may be waiting until 2023. As for price, the original PlayStation VR cost $399/£349 when it launched in 2016 so we’d expect this new one to be higher than that.
