PSVR 2 gets surprise hand tracking update, and Sony should be making a bigger deal of it

At the Siggraph 2024 Asia computer graphics and interactive tech expo in Tokyo, attendees can experience PSVR 2 without using any kind of controller, with a video of the demo (see below) showing a player shooting water jets from their fingers to take out flying monsters. And as long as your hands are in view of the headsets’ cameras it will be able to track them in virtual reality.

[mkis007]

Woah. Ive only experienced this at a business that closed during covid called the VOID. Can't believe this can be done accurately on psvr2.

[Neonridr]

I mean the Quest 2 could do it, so no reason why this shouldn't be able to.

[mkis007]

Didn't know!

[RaidensRising]

AGREED, Hand Tracking is pretty neat when it works well and feels more natural. Although remember Kinect?

[darthv72]

...kinect was actually pretty good hardware, MS just failed at utilizing its potential. I see other uses for it now that exceed what anyone thought it could do.

[Loktai]

You can say its good hardware but... a hardware is WHAT it does. So unfortunately it being KINECT is what made it "bad hardware" - Even if I agree spec-wise- - think of it, its like a ferrari with fuel maps that make it run like ass and make miserable power.... it would not be a good car in reality even if the physical engine was capable of more, UNTIL they fixed it- and they never fixed Kinect.

[S2Killinit]

Kinect was ridiculous. They lied so much that they couldn't possibly deliver.

[Babadook7]

Sony still putting R&D into the device. Now release a freaking game please.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

GT7 is fantastic if you haven’t tried it yet. It is free to play starting this week, I believe…

Metro VR came out within the last month.

Behemoth came out today.

Aliens comes out in a few weeks.

Ghosts of Tabor was delayed to Q1 2025, but it IS coming soon.

Aces of Thunder has been confirmed recently for 2025.

Pavlov also still rocks.

There have been more games for PSVR2 since launch than for PS5 in the same timeframe…

[Lexreborn2]

Truly how you know people ain’t really looking into PSVR2 when they go with the release games pitch

[Loktai]

Lexreborn2

Its just the copium of "I dont have it so its bad" and they go with the old "PLAYSTATION HAS NO GAMMMEEZZZZZ" shit. But yeah I mean it does have even more games coming, I use mine.

[Babadook7]

Agreed. PSVR2 is an amazing product. And Sony is still working on making it better like I alluded to. However it would be even better for Sony to prove the naysayers wrong and come up with another 1st party game.

[Loktai]

Well it has a lot of good games... WAY more good VR games than on XBOX or Nintendo systems and some of the games you're looking for would be third party games- its up to them too. I'll always take more games though the system already has a great racing game, a great flying game, some great shooters and rhythm games and some other stuff out and coming out, I am loving it. I DO wish we'd get another VR astrobot ..for the love of god atl east PORT rescue mission to VR2 LOL

[Babadook7]

I know that it has many good games. I own over 20 of them and finished many. I’ve play GT7 almost entirely in VR and at over 300 hours in just that one game. I don’t really see how what I said came off as the system has no games. I just want Sony to release another one. It’s been over a year without a single 1st party game and despite that the device is well appreciated.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

@Babadook7

I don’t think VR is as much about 1st party games, because the hardware options couldn’t be more varied.

Ps5 and XsX are nearly identical in game performance and price and game library, except for the 1st party games.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

@Babadook7

I more meant to say that from a strategic standpoint, Sony is positioned to not NEED to make a 1st party game, so I doubt they will invest the costly resources to do so.

I say so because what are our alternatives;
1) save a few bucks on a Quest, even though we already own a ps5, and that’ll offer us a few more exclusives, albeit all with worse graphics; albeit also wireless.

2) invest thousands in pc VR for slightly better graphics, exclusives like Alyx, but no haptic head feedback; imo a key immersion tool unique to psvr2.

[MrNinosan]

Just admit you have no idea what games are on PSVR2.
I've been purchasing at least one new great game every month since it was released.

[Babadook7]

Um. You didn’t understand what I said. I said “Sony… release a game”. I’m not talking about 3rd party.

[MrNinosan]

@Babadook7
Why is it so important that Sony release games? 🤔
Is other games non-relevant?

Imagine if PCMR was as stubborn.

[Babadook7]

It’s certainly not the only thing that matters. Doesn’t mean it wouldn't be great which is why I brought it up.

[S2Killinit]

They are releasing games if people pay attention is another thing.

[Babadook7]

Not sure if you’re responding to me. I pay attention. I’ve explained it several times if you just look.

[bigfish]

Glad I purchased the psvr 2 and access to full ps5 games library, and now hand tracking, exciting times ahead

[DivineHand125]

This update is promising. It means Sony hasn't completely abandoned the PSVR2. It would also be great if they can move some of those features to PCVR.

[Loktai]

They havent remotely abandoned it, its recent and getting tons of games, Only someone who doesnt have the thing thinks its abandoned.

[iamtheMitch]

Sony have been selling these at a ~$250 markup until recently and a conservative estimate on sell-through before the recent sale means they've likely recouped R&D costs and are ~$10-30 million in profit on the whole PSVR2 endeavour at this point.

They should revise the unit with a cost-reduced version of the current wired headset and put it out at $299 with an eye to break even and then release a $449 wireless + pancake lens "Edge"/"Pro&quo t; unit which even after additional hardware costs would produce a larger profit.

Holding this lower volume, very high cost (read, excessive mark up) and subpar support approach for longer than 2yrs will not serve the VR format well. If they wanna help foster the market and get units into peoples' hands and on their heads (the only way to truly capture people for VR), they need to shift up. More units also means more software sales.

It's time to start thinking longer term.

By 2030 their should be a standard and a premium set of PSVR3 headsets for PS6 with a significant step up in specs; coming in at $299 & $399 and a more comprehensive library - with an eye to cost reduce to $199 and $299 over the gen. If they want this to happen they need to court the customers with a long term strategy and show them what VR can do.

This half-arsed, dumping it out at $550 strategy is horribly flawed. Just because the nervous money men are thinking short term and want to recoup costs fast.

[Petebloodyonion]

Welcome to 2020 :)
Better late than never I guess
And it is funny that it has been called (till recently) a gimmick that no one uses on Quest2/3.

[S2Killinit]

Now if xbox could one day have the option of a VR headset it would be great.

[Petebloodyonion]

What does Xbox have to do with this?
Quest 2 has been doing it since 2020 and I remember how the usual crowd responded when I talked about Hand tracking 2.0 in 2022.
https://youtu.be/j77tfU5jfg...

[Babadook7]

@Pete

I think he points out the irony of how you (an Xbox guy) are attempting to downplay Sonys efforts when Xbox is infinitely further behind.

As for Quest vs PSVR, Quest copied more from Sony. Sony started the whole current VR push.

[Neonridr]

@Babadook7 - what did the Quest copy from PSVR? The Quest used inside out tracking and was a standalone headset

[S2Killinit]

@Petebloody
Well we are talking about being “better late than never”, so I think MS could finally give xbox gamers a VR headset. It would be better late than never. Don't you agree?

@Neonridr
Does Quest have eye tracking yet?

[Babadook7]

@neonridr

Hand and head tracking were copied from project Morpheus which became psvr. I don’t mean the specific tech I mean just tracking anything in vr in real 3d space.