GamesBeat: It was during a conversation at the recent Game Developers Conference that eye tracking and mind control came back to haunt me. I was being pitched to check out a demo for Stillalive Studios’ Son of Nor. The game supports the Oculus Rift VR headset, the Tobii EyeX Tracker, and the Emotiv EPOC mind-reading device.
Fifteen years ago, this would’ve garnered a not-this-shit-again eye roll. Yet, if virtual reality can mature to its current state, maybe eye tracking and mind control have made strides as well?
Confirmed: PSVR 2 will use eye tracking from Tobii.
I remember hearing that they were having dealings with Tobii, but it's awesome to get confirmation.
I think many gamers that have less experience with VR won't necessarily understand the impact eye tracking will bring. This is a huge moment for VR and a literal game changer. Arguably more so than the move from HDD to SSD.
Excited to see it in action!
my hope is that i don't notice it. My fear is that, like logically you would think when you look somewhere there will some lag before movement is detected and the next frame can be rendered with the new "center", so I'm really hoping it's so fast I don't notice it
Agreed but I kinda think it'll be no different than someone who should where glasses but doesn't if you know what I mean ?
@Everton, i think if it were too slow it could be distracting... like you look somewhere and it's a little fuzzy and then all of a sudden becomes sharper. Like texture loading issues in some games. I'm thinking if it were bad, it wouldn't be making it this far in the development process so i'm optimistic that it'll be good
"I think many gamers that have less experience with VR won't necessarily understand the impact eye tracking will bring."
Agreed. Someone complained in the last PSVR article that Sony prioritized eye tracking over being wireless. I would take eye tracking and the PSVR1 wire setup over a wireless PSVR2 if forced to choose.
Ya it's those people who talk and don't know enough of why wired is going to be best for now for Sony to guarantee stable experience for all users regardless of environment
A game changer it is. And I think you’re right when you said “I think many gamers that have less experience with VR won’t necessarily understand the impact eye tracking will bring”
For real, this isn’t just a small thing.
Not only is it exciting to hear about, but knowing impressions will come out in the distant future about it, getting us prepared ourselves…that’s thrilling.
Reminds me of the DualSense controller. Many praised it, with its “Haptic Feedback” before release, and many (just haters and those who hadn’t touched the thing) said “It’s just another cheap gimmick inside of a gaming controller” yet as many expressed in their hands on time “You have to experience these games, with the controller in your hand to fully understand and comprehend how it changes, enhances and puts you there, deeper into the gaming world, in the experience all the more. And they weren’t lying. DualSense controller is better than I couldn’t ever imagined!
I’m ready to see more of this VR Sony’s hard at work on!
Checked out the company and they have a 20 year track record in eye tracking. Everything from games to cars, smart move on Sonys part.
Thats cool. Although I have no idea what they needed eye tracking for back then, it could be huge for VR games.
I’d have to check more into it but as I recall back in 2000-2002 timeframe I’m pretty sure eye scanning was becoming a thing for security. Also, a lot of experiments with controlling your computer with your eyes for the handicap. I’ll have to read up on it when I get the chance.
@ rlow1:There is a big difference between eye scanning and eye tracking. Eye scanning is a security feature for identification and eye tracking follow your eyes so the picture shown follows what you are looking at.
@SoonDeadByOldAge
I was speculating without diving deeper on their website. That said, a lot of companies start in one thing and end up in something different but similar or a completely different venture.
Just look at Nintendo, they started out making playing cards. Just saying one can lead into the other. But again I’ll read up on their history. Have a great weekend.
I believe they had quite a bit to do with fatigue monitoring for long haul freight drivers.
This is a great get for Sony (who will be working with the best in the business) as well as Tobii who is speculating that the deal will represent 10% of their total revenue in 2022 (FY I assume). This is leading some to speculate a Q1 '23 launch for PSVR 2.
I'm gonna be pissed if it's not sold in stores and is an online only thing like the fucking PS5 still is.
I'm hoping the issues that plague the PS5 availability aren't so much an issue for PS VR2, because the processing is done by the PS5.
Now we've seen one in the wild - and looking like a production model - they should have time to meet demand. This, of course, assuming they have correctly anticipated what the demand actually looks like.
I'll preorder this through Sony at the first chance though, to be sure.
It's mind boggling how it's 2022 and they're still only selling them online. Ridiculous!! Only scalpers with boys get a real chance at getting them. They're stockpiled in their warehouses while real gamers have to pay a premium to get one. How the Fu** is this consumer friendly?
The cool thing about it is that it's future proof. Eye tracking can be used on any future update of PS5 if Sony chooses to make a mid gen refresh.
It's also ready for a PS6 console as the headset will be using the power of the console and not some limited mobile processor.
If streaming gets fast enough some time in the future, Eye tracking is ready for that as only where you are looking is where processing is necessary.
PS VR 2 is ready for awesomeness against the naysayers wishes. But the eye tracking guarantees long life of the headset even if Sony moves on to a future, smaller headset.
It’ll be exciting to see how VR developers adopt this tech into their games, as we can see it improving numerous genres. From aiming in first-person shooters to party games like Job Simulator, plenty can be done with eye-tracking. The sky is the limit for Tobii and it’s exciting to see where the tech goes.
I hope this technology gets cheaper as soon as possible. We need this and 5G. These two technologies will change the VR completely.
Michael at Skewed and Reviewed had the opportunity to meet with the Vice President of Media and Influencers from Tobii. For those not familiar with Tobii, they are the world leader in eye tracking technology, and already have several eye tracking devices on the market.
That device looks ... painful.
I don't think that controller will work through my hair.
Welcome to the future, I guess.
That shit looks insane.
How about a multiplayer game where you run around blowing people's head off with your mind like Scanners!