Sony gives a glimpse of its VR headset design

PlayStation VR. © Sony Interactive Entertainment..

Just about a year ago, Sony unveiled its upcoming PlayStation VR2 system’s new controllers for PS5. Today, the company finally revealed the next-gen headset design that goes along with these controllers. The overall design is close to that of the original PSVR released over five years ago, but the new model brings several welcome improvements, including a lens adjustment dial, a new air vent system, and a slight weight loss. The new headset supports haptic feedback, eye tracking, 4K HDR, 90/120Hz frame rates, foveated rendering, a 110-degree field of view, and it connects to the PS5 with a single USB-C cable. The colors of the headset — white and black — match the PS5. Sony hopes to ship millions of PSVR2 headsets by the end of 2022, but neither price nor release date have been officially confirmed. Sony also announced the development of a game designed specifically for the PSVR2: Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Sony sold over 5 million units of the original PlayStation VR. At 400-500 USD, it was the first affordable VR headset and it didn’t need tethering to a beefy PC. Along with the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, it made up part of the first wave of consumer VR headsets, but it was never updated, unlike the other devices. Today, Sony competes with headsets such as the Oculus Quest 2, which doesn’t require a computer, the Valve Index with its finger movement tracking, and the high-resolution capabilities of the HP Reverb G2.

⇨ Ars Technica, Kyle Orland, “Sony offers a first look at the orb-like PSVR2 headset.”

2022-02-22