Spec Analysis: PlayStationVR 2 - a shot in the arm for high-end virtual reality gaming

From Digital Foundry: "We've known it's coming for some time. Initial press and controller imagery from Sony was swiftly augmented by leaked specifications, now fully fleshed out via an announcement from Jim Ryan himself at CES 2022, along with more details from the PlayStation Blog. PlayStationVR 2 is now official and it's looking hugely exciting. In fact, from our perspective, high-end VR gaming in general needs a shot in the arm in a world where the mobile-based Oculus Quest 2 reigns supreme and the success of PlayStationVR 2 is our best chance of this happening.

The specs reveal a headset that pushes back boundaries in many directions, building significantly upon the successes of the first PSVR, radically improving screen fidelity, boosting immersion and ridding the platform of the complicated set-up that proved so frustrating for PS4 owners. On that latter point, PSVR2 should literally be plug and play: there's no breakout box, no external camera, no mixture of various USB and HDMI cables - everything is routed through USB-C, meaning that PSVR2 should simply plug directly into the front of the console and you're good to go."

[waverider]

Yeah. One of the good things, beside the specs, is that is much easier to start playing. Much less stuff and cables... Lets just wait for the price, how it looks and Games.

[SullysCigar]

I think a lot of people aren't quite realising the potential leap PSVR2 could bring. The specs, controllers and (what we know of) the games all make for a really exciting prospect.

[frostypants]

On paper it's a game changer. Really curious as to the price point though.

[Eonjay]

This is a generational leap and more like two leaps instead of one. The improvement will be greater than the leap from PS4 to PS5. With foveated rendering and improved screen it's gonna be downright staggering. The graphics should be able to rival PS5 games in perceptual fidelity and could potentially pass it.

[Army_of_Darkness]

I'm guessing $499.
I think Sony is gonna go all out with this one! The first psvr was clearly to test out the waters and interest.. Sony sees the potential and I personally can't wait! Hopefully I can get a ps5 soon!

[Neonridr]

for people that have never tried VR or maybe were limited to PSVR1, they are going to be in for a huge awakening.

[Neonridr]

being one simple cable to plug in is huge. No fuss, just pull out the headset and controllers and then away you go. Not that PSVR1 was complicated once you did the initial setup, however this is so much easier

[joaovictorop]

My question is: will the PSVR2 come with a cable with a USB-C connector at both ends OR will the cable be stuck to the PSVR2? Me and everyone else would prefer a cable that could be disconnected and even replaced with a bigger one.

[Neonridr]

@joaovictorop - I wouldn't see the point of having a cable that could undo at the headset end, it's not like a Quest where there is a wireless option. My guess is it will be hardwired in. You can always use an extender cable should you need more length.

[Orbilator]

Yeah I wondered why they stuck that USB c on front of playstation, but guess we know now. Lol

[Brazz]

I think it will look just like PSVR, i mean, it's the most confortable VR headset handsdown.by a long shot! Sony should continue with PSVR desing, it's the best in the market and they created it.

[Neonridr]

I find the construction helmet design a little uncomfortable on the back of my head where it tightens. The original Rift was extremely comfortable to wear for long sessions. I'm totally used to my Index but it doesn't feel as good as that CV1 Rift.

[Einhander1971]

Time for VR to really shine, what with the new Unreal engine, the power of PS5. This headset is going to blow our minds!!

[Magog]

PSVR2 will be remembered as when VR took over the mainstream.

[Pudge102888]

What we really want to know is if its BC. I know a lot of ppl including myself didnt get the first one but have a bunch of games for it.

[Bathyj]

Don't get your hopes up. I think that would be incredibly complicated. The headsets aren't the same at all.

[pietro1212]

Do you think we'll see VR ports and remasters? I'd double for a ps5 VR 2 compatible version of RE7.

[Fishy Fingers]

I cant see why it would be, even if they have to run in a "legacy mode" without any of the new features (unless added).

[Deathdeliverer]

I think it will be backwards compatible. Think about it. You really think it makes good business sense to force people to hold on to TWO different headsets? Then on top of that have people buy the PSVR2 and have the talks about how you “expect to have at least 15 titles by Christmas”? Or do you think they’d rather say “we have over 200 titles available today ready to be played in the best quality ever with 15 next gen VR titles being available by Christmas.”
It will undoubtedly be backwards compatible.

[RauLeCreuset]

People are saying the differences in tracking and controllers won't allow for BC, but is that an insurmountable obstacle if PSVR2 tracking and controllers can't be used as a substitute for older games? The Move controllers are not native to PSVR. What would prevent enabling PSVR backward compatibility by using Move controllers with a camera hooked up to the PS5 for external tracking?

[Babadook7]

In terms of translating head tracking every original psvr game should work just fine. Move wand control also will work with the vr2 senses. As for a game that needs the DualShock 4 motion, that’s the only real challenge. Maybe ps vr2 will be able to take in the old camera (it does have an adapter) for these legacy games and use a dual shock 4? Or maybe the in out tracking on the new headset can see the dualsense?

[Yang_kai]

@bathy
Hopefully all the psvr games need to run on psvr2 is a controller patch also you got games that gives you the option to use remote controller 🤷🏿

[Neonridr]

headsets are glorified monitors. The headset positions and controller positions are reported in X, Y, Z. Doesn't matter if it's using move lights or IR emitters. Still sends back the same information.

Outside of adapting new controls and allowing for roomscale, I don't see why it would be too hard. At the bare minimum it could just be a straight translation with zero enhancements. If the devs want to go the extra mile they can add in extra functionality.

[Petebloodyonion]

I strongly hope for BC but the article makes a valid point about why it won't.
Mainly the move controllers are so different compared to the new VR controller just in terms of buttons layout
The move doesn't have an analog stick and features 6 buttons on each controller while the new controller only has 4 buttons with an analog stick so there's already a problem for button layout unless the game is patched.

[Rhythmattic]

I believe it will be BC compatible..... Already is... Right?
Ive got the adaptor for PSVR1 to connect to a PS5, which , of course , a PS5 I don't have.....

Point is... I bought PSVR games for my PS4 that will work on a PS5...

To think it'll be just as simple as cut and paste, lets hope so..... But... its just like to be upset when a PS3 game work run natively on a PS4.. if you get my drift.

[waverider]

Nope. Bc isnt a thing. What gamers want are games that take advantage of new tech of the PSVR 2 and not old games. If it play ok, but if it doesnt its barely an incovinience. What gamers what is to play the new GT on VR, Horizon VR and new games powered by the ps5.

[pietro1212]

I skipped VR1, but Im interested in the PS VR2. I just wonder what the price will be set at. Anyone think that the device can cost as much as a ps5?

[lonewolf10]

That price point will be interesting to see, it does have a lot of tech/specs.

[Outlawzz]

I'm just hoping it's not too expensive and that I can purchase a ps5 normally by the time it releases. Those are my main concerns, and from the specs I can already tell it's a winner.

Sony is generally good when it comes to quality so I don't have much doubt they'll pull off a high quality experience. Psvr was a great start and they did what they could with the tech so they already won me on that front.

[masterfox]

This will cost 399 bucks no matter what others are saying, cause this is aimed for the general consumer.

[pietro1212]

Im actually fine with that price. I hope that’s the case

[z2g]

"a shot in the arm". This implies that the space isn't doing well to begin with... and its not. I'm honestly surprised Sony is making another headset. The last one barely achieved 10% of the ps4 install base... which is a huge, industry leading base, mind you. Not hating - I just don't understand it from a business perspective. I am someone who personally has worked on vr content professionally. People keep trying to inject (keeping with the metaphor here) new life into this with new accessible gear, like say the Oculus Quest for example, but if you compare sales numbers and attachment rates to something like a an xbox, playstion or Nintendo console, they are abysmal. Sony has some of the most "loyal" (to put it lightly) fan base around and even they aren't buying up the headsets so.... I dunno. I'm a ps5 owner, and I owned a ps4 pro with a PSVR, I currently also own a Quest 2. I can say I sold my PSVR unit and I haven't turned on the Quest in literally 6 months.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Let's talk about it.

PSVR was sold at a profit DAY ONE. Sony didn't take a loss. Selling games and their add-ons, selling 10 year old Moves and selling Aim controllers were easy profit. That's money.

Why wouldn't they make another headset?

Are you getting a clear picture? Even though others have said VR doesn't make money. It DOES. Sony proved that.

When gamers compare a higher priced accessory to PS4 run away success, it's an unfair comparison. It's like saying why do GT wheels and flight sticks not sell one to one? And they're half the price of PSVR. Why do hot games not sell one to one at $60? PS4 was around 50 to 60 million when PSVR launched. And PSVR complete with Moves was $500. Highly unlikely to sell bucket loads.

If it sells well with higher fidelity, that means it could get just as many games or more than PSVR 1. And that's 600+ games and experiences. And PSVR had big games like Skyrim, Hitman 3, Blood and Truth, Iron Man and Astrobot. Just think what this new one will get. And, more first party support than the first headset.

The funny thing is gamers hoping it goes mass market like Kinect and Wii. But what happened to those products? They're dead. Because Grandma, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Joe didn't buy games or stay around. They moved on to cellphones and tablets. Sony targets gamers. Just like PS1 through PS5. If the casuals show up, great. If not, who cares about them. It's core gamers that are more important anyway. If there's a market that makes money, and PSVR owners bought a lot of games with a high attachment rate, why not?

PSVR2 is going to being bigger games beyond mobile that helps PC and even Quest/PC users. That's only a good thing.

[Petebloodyonion]

" But what happened to those products? They're dead. Because Grandma, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Joe didn't buy games or stay around. They moved on to cellphones and tablets. Sony targets gamers."
Coming from thy guy that is praising the PS5 for dual sense and haptic trigger this is rich :)
But sorry to remind you that Wii's longevity in terms of game support ended in 2019 with Ubisoft just dance 2020 (13 years)
Or I could point out that Nintendo has been using motion controllers since then (just like Playstation)
And Last I checked Switch was selling quite well.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Pete. You KNOW the Wii fad is dead. There is no rush to buy motion control games like Wii because Nintendo no longer supports it as well as most developers at a level where anyone cares. It's dead. Nintendo are perfectly fine with it as they're selling portables like they always have with the market to themselves. Or being the market leader. But their home console dominance is dead. They couldn't keep up so they built a portable that hooks up to a TV. They're not fooling anybody.

Kinect is dead. All that nonsense marketing Microsoft spent to sell it blew up in their face because it had no notable games. Just dancing. That wasn't going to last just like DDR and Rock Band as fun as they are. That's not enough. You just don't like that what I'm saying is the truth. Kinect is dead. Get over it. PSVR and PS Move still live on and work on PS5. That's Sony laughing in your face and all those during 360 and Xbox one blabbing about, "it detects heart beats." Obviously, Kinect didn't detect its own as it headed into the trash bin.

"Coming from the guy that is praising Dual Sense and haptics."

Of course. Because they work and add to immersion. Even in flat games. No one is talking about Microsoft's rumble triggers. No developer. No gamer. No one cares. Because Microsoft does nothing with it.

It's like saying, "You support Sony because they do their best with first party games and get awards, make great hardware and try to be a game company that benefits gamers. Lol. Why wouldn't I?

You made no sense with that.

[Neonridr]

not to mention all the extra PC VR games that should show up to help bolster the library even more.

[Petebloodyonion]

I guess that by Wii Fad you mean the abundance of causal games that flooded Wii right?
Well just spend a couple of min on Nintendo Eshop and you will see that they are still alive ( Just dance 2021, Mario Kart live, Zelda Skyward sword, Fitness boxing 2, etc) but I could also point out the majority of PSVR best selling games as well.
So I fail to see your point regarding the genre of game.

Now if you mean the controller by itself the Wii-remote and function then, as I said, Nintendo's Joycon are the designed around the Wii-remote But I couldn't resist pointing out the irony of you always bashing Xbox about how they don't evolve their controllers yet praise Sony for repackaging old move technology to save money with PSVR.
I could easily point to you the many complains about lack of analog stick and how it now create the problem of how Sony will address PSVR BC due to how sense and move controller totally differ in terms of button mapping.

As for Kinect goes I don't see your point of bringing it in several conversations when the topic is not related to Xbox or Microsoft
but I will use Kinect as the perfect metaphor about my fear for PSVR2.
Kinect for Xbox 360 is one of the most successful add-ons (have the record Guinness for most sold unit in a day with 8 million) But Kinect 2 for Xbox 1 is probably one of the biggest flops that was quickly discarded by MS

PSVR is successful add-on to PS4 mainly because of casual gaming on the platform and it was sold as a low-cost VR entry machine versus PC gaming.
Now PSVR2 seems to be aimed for the high-end cutting-edge market just like Vita was when it was announced.
And don't be mistaken that the Vita was way ahead of its time (it still has a better screen compared to Switch lite) but we all know what happened to Vita, how Sony left the portable scene, and how the Vita actually became the perfect platform for small indy games, the complete opposite of Sony's vision for the console.

Thus my point, Sony will probably secure a port of Half-life Helix for the launch but after that will Sony step up to the plate with real AAA games to interest the Diehard crowd into investing in it? Or will they do like usual and wait until there's an actual userbase before announcing keys project?
And believe me if they are using the usual wait-and-see approach then I can already predict that PSVR2 will be the next Kinect or Vita and that PSVR2 future will probably be a wonderful PC headset (if they go with that route).
Now I sincerely hope that they do push the envelope (simply because ill probably have one on day one lol). for the sake of having real VR game instead of small experience or indy budget title.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Wrong Pete. PSVR was not casual. It was a niche but backed by core gamers looking into more Immersion in gaming that they have been waiting years for beyond a flat screen. I've been waiting for VR for over 30 years. Casuals wouldn't be waiting for this. Core gamers would. The hardest of core gamers willing to spend money on a PS4 or Pro and a $500 PSVR(I spent that at launch for the complete kit.) Casuals don't buy lots of games. Core gamers do. The attach rate of PSVR is through the roof. While most Wii fad casual gamers were fine with Wii Sports or Wii Fit. They weren't buying games like core gamers.

Yes. Sony is not only going to get PC VR games, they'll have their own in-house exclusives and timed or locked in third party exclusives. It will have the graphics, the sound and the haptics. If it all works in that headset from the eye tracking, it's like Sony jumping from PS1 to PS4 or better easily. No one will deny PSVR 2 this time. Move might not have had the full chops. But It's still sought after for full immersion for PSVR 1. And Iron Man proved PSVR could do 360. It still worked because Move was more than capable of a fun experience on PS3 with Killzone support. Now it did VR. And lives on with PS5 support well into 2030 for those that keep PSVR on it.

[Petebloodyonion]

"PSVR was not casual. It was a niche but backed by core gamers looking into more Immersion in gaming that they have been waiting years for beyond a flat screen."

I have to admit, you do have convincing arguments about PSVR games and target audience but I'm still trying to find who said that because it sure ain't from Shuhei Yoshida (Sony's president at the time).
https://www.polygon.com/201...

" The biggest advantage for Sony is our headset works with PS4. It’s more for everyday use, so it has to be easy to use and it has to be affordable. This is not for the person who uses a high-end PC. It’s for the mass market."

But Ok I guess that you could still target the PLaystation core audience with a cheaper headset
So again it's all about the game and Sony desire to produce top notch games right?

"At this point, VR is about creating new experiences, and we don’t need as much content — asset creation," says Yoshida. "That’s where it takes the largest number of resources."

Yoshida says that at the moment, Sony doesn’t have any teams of more than 100 people working on a single VR game, on the scale of something like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Internally, Sony is taking what Marks refers to as a "shotgun approach" to software, investing in a broad group of small experiments rather than placing big bets on a few key titles.

And again quite ironic that you have been bashing Quest2 on a regular basis on N4G due to mobile kind of game or Wii experience but just pointing out that you should have a look at the best selling games on PSVR.

I guess core audience are more interested into Beat Saber, Moss, Super Hot, Job simulator and Batman VR.

[Pyrofire95]

It's Playstation VR2 not PlaystationVR 2. :P

[sourOG]

“everything is routed through USB-C, meaning that PSVR2 should simply plug directly into the front of the console and you're good to go”

Sold. That little box thing and the cables were atrocious.

[Petebloodyonion]

"Looking back, we had hoped to see Half-Life Alyx kick off a new era of cutting-edge VR experiences - but it never quite happened. Perhaps the eventual arrival of PSVR2 combined with a reasonably-sized PS5 installed base could make all the difference."

That basically sums up my real concern for PSVR2

The original PSVR was aimed as a low-level entry point for VR users versus more expensive solutions like the Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and Vive but now that space is filled by Oculus with the popular Quest 2.
So it leaves Sony with filling the space of cutting-edge Vr experience.
So my concern is about Sony really willing to create AAA experience (like Nintendo do when they push out a new product) to really interest ppl into buying the PSVR2 thus creating that reasonably-sized Ps5 install base or will we still see the same old Sony that will create some low-cost entry game and hope for the best before really committing at making big games.
If sony's really serious with PSvr2 (as an addon system to Ps5) then they should be ready to lose some money on initial games (like Nintendo does) and produce some key AAA titles made with Vr in mind like a real new Uncharted game starting Sam Lake, Syphon Filter (that would great for Vr), Twisted Metal, etc.
If not then I'm sorry to say that the PSvr 2 will meet the same fate as Vita, a great system barely supported by Sony that never actually achieved the potential it could have.

[Eonjay]

Sony already made some of the best experiences on VR to date. And they bought insomniac and FireSprite. With nothing else changing Sony is probably the best equiped VR content producer full stop. It's hard to ignore that.

[Petebloodyonion]

I agree that Sony is well equipped for Vr gaming and was quite happy when Firepsite joined Sony studio because I loved The Persistence (Great survival horror roguelike) but even then Sony has yet to commit to actually making a real AAA game for the device instead of experience
Astrobot rescue mission (one of the best PSVr games) was basically made with spare change money after the reception of the free Astrobot minigame.

The same could be said about Persistence... It's not like there's a shortage of similar indie games on PSVR and Quest (Here they Lies, Cosmodread, In death, Kona, Saint, and sinner, etc.)

My point is Sony will have to do more than rely on small projects with 1 or 2 AAA games made by 3rd party studios (with some Vr mode) to attract a sizeable userbase thus enticing other studios into creating games that are not on Quest 2 etc.

Heck here's a solution that could work, how about simply making the top Ps4 games in VR, The last of us 2, God of war, etc...

[Eonjay]

So like no one is out there busting out these AAA VR experiences because there is not a sizable market of high-end VR devices to justify the costs that come with AAA development. It's a chicken and egg situation but we see Sony not only continuing supporting but also elevating the platform with new innovations.

Sony stated that their plan was to release AAA VR releases in tandem with their AAA flat titles. This is smart because it helps to mitigate the risk of investing squarely in VR titles. This allows them to give us bigger VR games. Just as you I want to see more from them and their intent seems to be to do just that.

They are most certainly contributing the most of any AAA publisher

[Petebloodyonion]

You basically sum up everything with the chicken and egg scenario.
Let's hope that Sony is serious and if the case there's a good chance that PSVR 2 will succeed.

[Goozex]

Hopefully it has backwards compatability
Bring on half life!

[joaovictorop]

My question is: will the PSVR2 come with a cable with a USB-C connector at both ends OR will the cable be stuck to the PSVR2? Me and everyone else would prefer a cable that could be disconnected and even replaced with a bigger one. Would be bad a stucked cable.

[QuePasa87]

I just want it to work with pc also so I only have to buy one headset

[raiden_188]

I hope this will be ok for glasses users like myself who need to wear them all the time. I heard that you could scratch the lens on the first psvr which would be costly. I hope they accommodate for this problem in the new one.