Sony’s ready to show interested fans what it’s like to use a PSVR 2. A special post on the PlayStation Blog detailed more about the PSVR 2 User Experience. Written by Senior Staff Product Manager Yasuo Takahashi, the post detailed some of the new features of the headset and controllers. These features bring the PSVR 2’s capabilities more in line with contemporary high-end VR setups.
For starters, the PSVR 2 user experience now allows for viewing one’s surroundings without removing the headset. This “See-Through View” mode is enabled by external cameras mounted on the headset itself. Thus, players can check for their controllers or see if there are obstacles in their way without removing the hardware. Gameplay recording also does not function when using see-through view. This adds an unlisted benefit: You won’t accidentally show audiences the inside of your house if you record a gameplay clip and use the mode to check something.
PSVR 2 users can also record an external view of themselves for broadcast if they have a PS5 HD Camera handy. This allows stream audiences to see you wearing the hardware while still seeing through your viewpoint as you broadcast.
Sony’s blog also confirmed that the PSVR 2 user experience includes “room-scale” VR. Popularized by Valve’s HTC Vive VR hardware, room-scale is a way for players to define an area for use in VR programs. This allows for VR experiences that position a player accurately in a physical space, letting them move as they would normally. It also helps with safety by defining boundaries so players don’t accidentally collide with real-life furniture. Sony calls its implementation the “play area”. Users can define their PSVR 2 play area using the Sense controllers and headset cameras.
Finally, the PS VR 2 user experience blog detailed the system’s “VR mode” and “Cinematic Mode”. VR mode is the “true” virtual reality that takes place in a 360-degree virtual environment. Cinematic Mode displays the PS5 system UI and any non-VR content on a virtual cinema screen. These modes exist on the original PSVR hardware, though at much lower resolution.
PSVR 2 and its user experience are in development, with no specified launch date. In June 2022, Sony detailed more PSVR 2 content, including Horizon: Call of the Wild, and compatibility with Resident Evil: Village.
