Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 439: Virtual Impressions

Featuring an interview with SVP of Platform Experience, Hideaki Nishino on PS VR2

[darthv72]

PSVR games are not compatible with PSVR2 (Around 29:10). This is sad to hear but understandable. I will just keep my current PSVR hooked to my Pro.

[Orchard]

I wonder if we'll see paid PSVR2 upgrades and/or remasters.

I guess the upgrades part depends on how much work it is to recompile the game w/ the new SDK, and does everything 'just work' or do you need substantial rewrites - my guess is you do need substantial rewrites or they would've just added back compat.

[crazyCoconuts]

This is a huge mistake imo. No technical reason not to enable backwards compatibility. I bought a lot of games for PSVR that would be useless to me. Ridiculous.

[Phlacky]

There are plenty of technical reasons. Different tracking methods and controls being two of them. If you purchased PSVR titles with the assumption that they would work on PSVR2 then that's on you. If you got them to use on PSVR as advertised than you still can. It seemed obvious that the difference in tracking and controls wouldn't lend to backwards compatibility without each developer patching thier games to run, which was never going to happen.

[VenomUK]

@CrazyCoconuts said "No technical reason not to enable backwards compatibility." Sorry my friend, but this is incorrect as Yes, there is a technical reason.

VR positional tracking is how a VR system detects the movements and head position of the player. PSVR1's headset emits light, as do the Move controllers, as do the DualShock 4s - this is tracked by the PS4's PlayStation camera. PSVR2 doesn’t use that system, it uses inside-out tracking which is tiny camera-sensors built on to the headset. So even if we assume PSVR2 could easily upscale images, the mechanism for detecting positioning is completely different. How could PSVR2 run a PSVR1 game that has been programmed to work with PSVR1’s input system when it doesn't have it?

This is not to say that it will be impossible for developers to easily upgrade their games to use the PSVR2 technology, behind the scenes Sony will likely help with this with its PSVR2 SDK. The question is will developers release a free update (effectively a second version for PSVR2 in the same way Spider-Man Miles Morales has a PS4 & PS5 version) or will developers choose to make a brand new PS5 version and charge for it?

[crazyCoconuts]

@phlacky and @venom, I'd bet money the tracking is completely abstracted from the game. So the underlying libraries would provide the location of the user and controllers along with the direction they're pointing, without exposing the game to the nitty gritty of how that position is ascertained. So the tracking technology, while differing in accuracy, should have no impact to the game in my estimation.

[Knushwood Butt]

What venom said.

The tech is different.