Sony Previews the PlayStation VR2

[TheLostSwede]

After a long wait, Sony has finally released the first pictures of its upcoming PlayStation VR2 headset and it clearly follows the design of the original, but looks sleeker, possibly due to the use of a lot more white plastic. The most obvious change is the inclusion of four cameras in the headset itself, much like what we've seen in VR headsets from other manufacturers, which are used for tracking. The PS VR2 should also feature eye tracking, although it seems like Sony is still negotiating with it suppliers as to which technology will be used. It still connects via a cable to the PS5 console, but it seems like Sony has upgraded the displays significantly, as the company claims 4K HDR support, without going into any further details.

Sony talked a lot about the design of the hardware and about how the new headset and controllers were designed to "become an attractive part of your living room decor" while also keeping the gamer immersed in the VR games they're playing, "to the point where you almost forget you are using a headset or controller". As such, ergonomics have apparently played a key role in developing the PlayStation VR2, to make sure it's comfortable to use, no matter the shape or size of the player's head. The only new hardware features mentioned include a lens adjustment dial and a new motor for haptic feedback. For those in hotter climates, Sony has also added a new air vent, which might also be handy for those wearing glasses. Unlike HTC, it doesn't seem like Sony has gone for a fan assisted vent. Sony also announced that PS VR2 headsets are already with game developers and that the company will be sharing more details about the hardware in the future.



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[catulitechup]

seems rare ancestor of wall-e eve

 

[Dux]

Here's hoping for much better supply situation than with PS5. I still can't find it anywhere in stores. Just scalpers and used ones. But in the end, I need to see at least half a dozen "must play" games for it before buying.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

This is the headset that could finally kick start the mass appeal of VR...it'll be interesting to see how well it runs on the Zen2/RDNA2 hardware, but I think it should be a pleasurable experience if the resolution of the HMD is good enough.

 

[Valantar]

This looks reasonably nice - I wonder if it's PC compatible with VirtualLink connections. That would be a very nice value-add, for sure.

Also, this explains why the PS5 has that odd USB-C connector on the front. Some smart planning ahead there.

 

[trsttte]

This looks reasonably nice - I wonder if it's PC compatible with VirtualLink connections. That would be a very nice value-add, for sure.

Also, this explains why the PS5 has that odd USB-C connector on the front. Some smart planning ahead there.

The original PS VR was compatible-ish with PC (through 3rd party hackery as far as I know), the new one will likely follow a similar path. Let's see what the price comes to, with the specs they're touting with 4k HDR and 120hz it might be very expensive

For me the USB-C wasn't odd at all, what was odd was the USB-A on the front and including a USB-A cable instead of type C

 

[Valantar]

The original PS VR was compatible-ish with PC (through 3rd party hackery as far as I know), the new one will likely follow a similar path. Let's see what the price comes to, with the specs they're touting with 4k HDR and 120hz it might be very expensive

It might be, but that would render it as niche as any other high end VR headset. Either they're pushing prices way down through scale, or this is bound to be another also-ran in the VR space. The problem with drawing lines from the original PSVR is that that used more or less fixed-function connectors, while USB-C is very configurable. I certainly wouldn't put it past Sony to have implemented a non-standard USB-C alt mode for this just to break compatibility with anything else. Or maybe they're just using some dead-in-the-water standard like HDMI over USB-C. The ideal situation would of course be that they are using DP alt mode, standard USB HID stuff for input, and less than 5V3A of power, as that would make it potentially PC compatible.

For me the USB-C wasn't odd at all, what was odd was the USB-A on the front and including a USB-A cable instead of type C

In a way, sure. It's more the combination of the two on a console that's weird - given that you're only really going to be plugging in accessories made for that use case, splitting that across two connector standards always seemed odd. Though I guess they were trying to leave the door open for cheaper accessories, charging cables, older headsets, etc.

 

[NC37]

The only thing it really needs is the ability to natively run on PC and other platforms. That was the biggest problem with the original VR.

 

[Valantar]

The only thing it really needs is the ability to natively run on PC and other platforms. That was the biggest problem with the original VR.

It's very unlikely that Sony will produce the necessary drivers for that, but it's possible that people are able to hack together something working on their own, as with the previous generation.

Why? Getting you to buy into the Playstation ecosystem. For all the arguments of "they would sell much more hardware if they made these PC compatible", hardware isn't where Sony's Playstation division makes their money - that's on software. And they don't earn anything from PC software (outside of Playstation Studios games, I guess - but those aren't VR). This, like the PS5, will likely be sold at or below cost in order to drive software sales. And there's no way Sony wants to give you money so that you can play third party VR games on your PC with zero involvement from them.

As for hacking together PC compatibility for this, I'm pessimistic. This has a ton of features that the original PSVR lacked, and getting drivers for these to work on a PC will be very non-trivial. The built-in eye tracking for foveated rendering will essentially be a no-go (unless they can hack a Tobii driver to accept its input) - and is there even any support for VR eye tracking and foveated rendering outside of tech demos? The inside-out tracking system might output something workable, but that's quite non-trivial - especially for controller tracking. I don't know anything about driver development, but this sounds a lot more complicated than getting the original PSVR to work on a PC. I guess it might be possible to get it to work as just a dumb headset (no or very basic tracking, no eye tracking, just a HMD) with third party controllers, but that's giving up quite a lot of its unique features.

 

[trsttte]

It's very unlikely that Sony will produce the necessary drivers for that, but it's possible that people are able to hack together something working on their own, as with the previous generation.

Why? Getting you to buy into the Playstation ecosystem. For all the arguments of "they would sell much more hardware if they made these PC compatible", hardware isn't where Sony's Playstation division makes their money - that's on software. And they don't earn anything from PC software (outside of Playstation Studios games, I guess - but those aren't VR). This, like the PS5, will likely be sold at or below cost in order to drive software sales. And there's no way Sony wants to give you money so that you can play third party VR games on your PC with zero involvement from them.

As for hacking together PC compatibility for this, I'm pessimistic. This has a ton of features that the original PSVR lacked, and getting drivers for these to work on a PC will be very non-trivial. The built-in eye tracking for foveated rendering will essentially be a no-go (unless they can hack a Tobii driver to accept its input) - and is there even any support for VR eye tracking and foveated rendering outside of tech demos? The inside-out tracking system might output something workable, but that's quite non-trivial - especially for controller tracking. I don't know anything about driver development, but this sounds a lot more complicated than getting the original PSVR to work on a PC. I guess it might be possible to get it to work as just a dumb headset (no or very basic tracking, no eye tracking, just a HMD) with third party controllers, but that's giving up quite a lot of its unique features.

They did release support for the dualshock controller eventually (but they also profit from remote play...)

I'm a bit optimistic. The original PSVR used an HDMI connection and that strange processor box to convert stuff to the head set, this one will just connect through USB-C.

IF they do things right, it could be much simpler than the original one was (not considering eye tracking, just pure output, which a PC can drive). With a USB connection it would be logical to just use a display alt mode to drive the image and usb up/downstream for the eye tracking and any haptics or sensors they might include in the headset it self. And although they make their money with software, they don't really have much incentive to go out of their way to lock the thing down (it's a niche product and the amount of people who'd try to use it on a different platform is an even smaller niche)

They could even implement (and maybe revive) the USB-C VirtualLink thing although that's pretty much dead and as such asking for a bit much

 

[Valantar]

They did release support for the dualshock controller eventually (but they also profit from remote play...)

I'm a bit optimistic. The original PSVR used an HDMI connection and that strange processor box to convert stuff to the head set, this one will just connect through USB-C.

IF they do things right, it could be much simpler than the original one was (not considering eye tracking, just pure output, which a PC can drive). With a USB connection it would be logical to just use a display alt mode to drive the image and usb up/downstream for the eye tracking and any haptics or sensors they might include in the headset it self. And although they make their money with software, they don't really have much incentive to go out of their way to lock the thing down (it's a niche product and the amount of people who'd try to use it on a different platform is an even smaller niche)

They could even implement (and maybe revive) the USB-C VirtualLink thing although that's pretty much dead and as such asking for a bit much

Virtuallink is just USB-C 3.2G ...1?2? whatever, with a guaranteed 15W (5V3A) power output and DP Alt Mode, so it's only a standard inasmuch as it bundles a bunch of optional features together under a name that guarantees that they're all there. There's no difference between a VirtualLink port and a USB-C port with DP alt mode and 15W power output support beyond that.

You're right that they could stick to DP alt mode and make this somewhat usable as a display, but the USB part is trickier than you're making it out to be - USB input devices need drivers, and that's the issue. Modern PC hardware has the luxury of an OS with a massive built-in driver library, but that doesn't help for hardware that literally doesn't have PC drivers. Plug it in and you'll get a bunch of "Unknown device" entries in Device Manager (or at best some borderline recognized HID devices with severe driver issues). And again, there is no way Sony will make PC drivers for this. It's just not worth the effort for them.

As for incentive towards locking it down: this is a zero-effort thing, due to the non-existence of drivers. Not locking it down is what would require work. They could of course do more in order to prevent third party drivers making it work, and on that I agree that this would seem like a wasted effort on their part. But they have zero incentive to do all the work of providing functional Windows drivers for this, which renders it unusable by default. A DP display is a DP display and will be recognized by any compliant DP source regardless of drivers, but a USB device without drivers is a paperweight.