PSVR 2's Lack Of Backward Compatibility Is A Necessary Sacrifice

TG: “Sony has confirmed that the upcoming PlayStation VR 2 will not be backward compatible for existing games across the medium. This means that, at least out of the box, none of the existing games available for its predecessor will work with the headset. Not just a case of lacking compatibility or some funny business due to the different technology, none of them will work at all. All of these games you bought and invested time in are now forfeit.

On the surface this really sucks, and is a massive oversight for a space in games that remains difficult for casual audiences to adopt. PlayStation VR was a huge success, and was clearly responsible for so many jumping into this environment for the first time. I threw my parents into Job Simulator and Superhot before watching their little minds get blown because of how much this innovative new frontier is capable of. Until the release of Oculus Quest 2, this was as good as virtual reality got, and now all that hard work has been torn away. But the logical part of me understands why, and knows this move is for the best.”

[SullysCigar]

Some devs are already confirming patches for PSVR2.

PSVR 1 games won't work without them because the technology is too different in too many regards. It's that simple and it's been discussed to death on N4G already.

It's why PSVR1 and Quest versions usually release at different times. There's work to be done to port one to the other.

The good news is PSVR2 levels the playing field, at least from a tracking standpoint, so multiplatform games should release closer together on PSVR2, PC and Quest.

[crazyCoconuts]

It has been discussed to death, and some of us still disagree, but that's ok. It wouldn't be fun if we all agreed, 🙂

[SullysCigar]

It's definitely okay to disagree with each other here, but what I've said isn't my opinion - it's just how it is.

The only counter opinion I can think of is that Sony should patch ALL PSVR games to work with PSVR2. That seems a tad extreme. I do think it's fair to expect them to patch/pay for the top X amount of games though. After they gave us the 'top' 20 PS4 games with PS5, I think something similar might be an option.

Nobody's saying this was good news, but anyone understanding the tech fully expected it and has been saying it here for months now, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to regulars.

I don't think there's much else to be said, outside of speculation, until we get more information.

[shinoff2183]

Are you a developer. Is it easy to port them over to psvr2. Me idk but i doubt it. What exactly dont you agree on. Sony not porting them all or paying to port them all over

[DigitallyAfflicted]

I know nothing about technical difficulties in patching ps4 VR games to PSVR2 but some of those games would definitely gain a lot from psvr2 as well as psvr2 would be released with a bigger library of games and this is a good thing, right?

[crazyCoconuts]

@shinoff, I'm a developer but not in the game industry. So I'm juxtaposing some general design patterns to speculate how games get tracking info, and in short I don't think the differences in tracking have much to do with backwards compatibility. The biggest pain would be building a steam like mapping feature to bridge the gap on the controls, and I could see Sony not wanting to put console gamers through that ordeal possibly. But technically I think it's likely they could give you backwards compatibility without patching, except for some outliers like games that used to track the dualshock controller itself... Just my opinion

[Army_of_Darkness]

I've played enough(3-4x) of my psvr games to no longer care for a replay on a next gen version. After seeing the previews of RE8, horizon, star wars and walking dead games I'm extremely excited for psvr2! Graphics and new technology on that thing is like night and day! Absolute awesomeness!

[RickRoland]

Exactly. This would be like people clamoring for Wii games on the Switch. They’re coded for very different input methods and can’t just “work”

[Petebloodyonion]

"PSVR 1 games won't work without them because the technology is too different in too many regards. It's that simple and it's been discussed to death on N4G already."

The problem is that it's not the reason Sony gave us for not making PSVR2 BC
“PSVR games are not compatible with PSVR 2 because PSVR 2 is designed to deliver a truly next-generation VR experience.”
https://blog.playstation.co...

[shinoff2183]

Thats the same thing sone ofbhas been saying just in company pr speak. Come on

[Petebloodyonion]

Then why don't say it?
Would ppl be mad if the answer was " We would love to have PSVR1 games playable on PSVR2 unfortunately this can't be done due to how both technology are so different"?
instead of giving the exact same reason for why you can't use your DS4 with PS5 games

Heck, I'm pretty sure this topic would already be over.

[Eonjay]

The trick here is that Petebloddyonion isn't giving you the entire quote:

He continues: “PSVR2 has much more advanced features like all-new controllers with haptics feedback and adaptive triggers. [...] This means developing games for PSVR2 requires a whole different approach than the original PSVR."

[Petebloodyonion]

@Eonjay
And I don't see anything in the rest of the quote that says we can't convert or allow PSVR1 to work on PSVR2.
As I said, this reminds me a lot of the argument of why DS4 won't work with PS5 games.
"No, we believe that PS5 games should take advantage of the new capabilities and features we’re bringing to the platform, including the features of DualSense wireless controller."
https://blog.playstation.co...

And how many PS5 games (500+) use the Dualsense controller feature?
only 12%
https://www.androidcentral....

So again, if the issue is with porting due to tracking then why don't just say it.
Would this damage Sony if they said" we would love to have PSVR1 games playable on PSVR2 but it's impossible due to how tracking works on both headsets but we're working hard with partners into finding a solution on how they could port them to PSVR2"

Instead, we have nebulous quotes that leave the door open that allow the media into pondering the same thing
"There doesn’t appear to be any technical reason why PSVR games wouldn’t be able to be ported to PSVR 2"
https://www.videogameschron...

[crazyCoconuts]

I agree @pete. It's marketing speak because the call was a business decision. Why would we go through the extra effort and complicate things just to reduce our opportunity for more sales?

[generic-user-name]

They absolutely worded it stupidly but I think he was misunderstood.

"PSVR games are not compatible with PSVR 2 because PSVR 2 is designed to deliver a truly next-generation VR experience"

I think what he's trying to say is that to get native BC in, PSVR2 would have to be kept too similar to PSVR1 and thus, would lessen the experience.

However even if he said the reason was because of incompatible technology, those against this move would still be up in arms and non accepting of that reason either. I know this because of the amount of people saying "Sony should have still found a way" regardless.

[JonTheGod]

Which PSVR1 titles have been confirmed to receive patches to work on PSVR2?

I haven't seen any of that.

[SullysCigar]

Off the top of my head Firewall, No Man's Sky, Alvo, Among Us, The Exorcist, Do Not Open, Cave Digger 2, Firmament, Rec Room, Stride are all confirmed, plus PC ports like Pavlov (and no doubt a ton of Quest ports that never made it due to controller/tracking disparity) are being upgraded for PSVR2.

New announcements are coming all the time at the moment, plus there's a whole bunch of games where development was cancelled for PSVR1 and moved onto PSVR2.

The release schedule should be consistently generous for years, with all that in mind.

[crazyCoconuts]

"But the logical part of me understands why, and knows this move is for the best"
After skimming through paragraphs of drivel I can conclude there is no logical part to this article

[ApocalypseShadow]

Yeah. The article is just a throw away that might have been made after reading N4G comments.

I'm on the side that it really doesn't matter being that PS5 is the hardware making almost all the games playable from PSVR. Sony never promised the new headset would. The point Mark Cerny made with BC is that PS5 would have PS4 support built in. And it does.

Being that the headsets are not similar in tracking, and many games are being updated on PS VR 2, probably in resolution, textures, frame rates, controls, 360 movement, etc, it's just a non issue to me. Plus, I'm keeping my PSVR. Just like I do most game systems and accessories.

If dev makes those updates free like No Man's Sky? Great. If they want $5 or $10 for their work but I get a games like Sairento that looks better than the PC version, I'm fine with that too.

[crazyCoconuts]

I'm a bit miffed ATM about it, but who knows... If there's a good story to tell regarding upgrades at launch I may jump in and buy after all. Not as sure as I was before this news though

[Eonjay]

When devs patch their PSVR games, I hope they upgrade the graphics for PSVR2.

[ABizzel1]

The only thing I see them doing is improving resolution in most cases.....maybe textures and lighting for those who put a little extra work.

Sony, MS, and maybe one day would benefit gaming greatly for consumers by creating their own developer modding tools to add things like graphics filters and Raytracing tiers (Ex: PS5 / PS5 Pro / PS6) for older games like NVIDIA just announced with their RTX tools. It could be a simple way to update older games to look much better than their native versions without a lot of extra work.

However, I don't see this happening anytime soon if at all, and of the three I see MS being the ones to actually want to implement this considering they've put the msot effort into BC support with features like fps boost. But tech like that can be transformative for PS360 games and even PS4/XBO games.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[HeliosHex]

Patch,patched,patches,patchola ,patchatoria,patchkins,patching ton,patchzilla......

[Bladesfist]

Yet VR games work on PC over different headsets with completely different tracking systems and completely different input systems. Maybe it's time to introduce some levels of abstraction so developers can target both and new headsets to come.

[Kaze88]

not quite. almost all VR's on PC use beacons and infrareds to pin point the headset and controllers. Quest seems to have some kind of trickery behind the software for it to make PCVR titles to recognize the play area from the Quest system since it does not use beacons, only headset cameras and infrareds. PS VR1 did not use infrared at all, just those move and headset colored balls, which in hindsight was a really bad idea. It's not 1 to 1 to translate that stuff to another VR set. Though many of the 3rd ps vr titles are already on QUEST/PCVR so for them it's an easy port. Let's see if sonys 1st party VR titles will be ported in any way, since those only exist on PS VR1.

[Lexreborn2]

I’m cool with that, psvr1 was a great get a feel for vr but honestly the games were a bit cumbersome at times. My most played were beat sabers, resident evil 8 and Arizona sunshine.

I loved testing out a lot of the vr games but most I got from ps plus. I’m okay with transitioning and still having my old headset, as long as I still have the old hardware I still have the games even if I don’t really use them. I forever have the option.

[preciousdeath]

I was hoping Sony would have developed the PSVR2 to automatically translate VR1 inputs so games would automatically work. Maybe that was hopeful thinking on my part. I also hoped Sony provided tools to the devs to create patches quickly and easily. Maybe they did? No one knows.

Honestly though, many of the games I bought for PSVR were kinda trash or just lost their novelty really fast. There are some standouts though that I'm praying get patched. Beat Saber, Skyrim, Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator, Tetris Effect, Moss. Unfortunately, I don't think Astrobot could work without a complete re-design.

I'm stoked for this new headset and the controllers look incredible. But it would be nice to not leave the VR1 legacy behind, so I'll take what I can get from the devs willing to put in the effort.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

They should at least patch the most popular existing games, or commission remakes from those devs. You need games for any hardware, otherwise it might as well be a calculator.

[Petebloodyonion]

Don't worry by judging Sony's track record with PS5 remasters (Uncharted4, Death Stranding, Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel’s Spiderman Remastered, Tlou part 1) we can fully expect Sony to give us remasters of these PSVR games
Astrobots Remaster, Blood & truth remaster, A complete Dreams Ps5 remaster, and a 10$ Vr mode for the PS5 version of the Persistence.

[ROCKY28]

Can't play WipEout Omega at launch in 4KVR - No thank you
I will wait for a new WipEout VR & will buy at that point 😊

[Neonridr]

This is a little sad, only because that means the library is that much smaller at launch. VR needs games to succeed, and good ones. I hope some of the devs opt to patch their titles, because it would allow a lot of the really popular PSVR games a second shot at life with better tracking, visuals, performance, etc.

[Petebloodyonion]

I fail to see the point of the article regarding why it's a necessary sacrifice
"I want a VR headset on console that can play games like Half-Life Alyx, No Man’s Sky, Tetris Effect, Beat Saber, Moss, The Walking Dead, and countless others without being rendered like a 360p YouTube video."
And I prefer having the possibility to play my game like a 360P instead of not playing them at all!
I fail to see how allowing BC would prevent futures titles or reworked titles from using all the PSVR2 potential.

[northpaws]

The needs of a patch to work on PSVR2 can be a good thing, meaning we will most certainly see some sort of improvements, instead of PS4 graphic but just run a little smoother.

[BABY-JEDI]

If Sony want to build a compelling library of PSVR2 games. They NEED the best PSVR1 games on PSVR2. Sony got to respect it’s customers more, & build up its VR catalogue for new users & PSVR2

[ApocalypseShadow]

It's not all on Sony to do this. Even if they somehow got BC with the old games on the new headset, those games still need updating. The controllers aren't the same. The tracking isn't the same. How do you program for buttons that don't exist on the new controllers?

See this:

Bethesda, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Inxile, Compulsion, Mojang

Wolfenstein Cyber Pilot
Doom VFR
Doom 3 BFG Edition
Skyrim
Psyconauts
We Happy Few
Dexed
Mage's Tale
Minecraft

This is a list of developers Microsoft purchased and the VR games they made for PSVR. Do you really think Microsoft is going to tell their developers to go back into their games and update them or improve them for PS VR 2? For Sony? Nope.

Being that all those games work right now on PS5 with an adapter and PSVR, that's the best you're going to get. Any developer updating their games to the new one should be appreciated and a blessing for their extra work. But I'm not expecting a lot of developers to do that. Only the ones that want their games to find a new audience will do it. Or to please the fans with new improvements.

[BABY-JEDI]

Ideally I would want all (at least all Sony) VR games to be able to be played on Sony’s PSVR2. Not only for convenience. But also to have a more robust library of games for those buying into this. I personally won’t be day 1. I will wait until a group of compelling games are established.