Sony’s official PSVR 2 trailer invites viewers to “Feel a New Real”. It focuses heavily on the new bells and whistles being incorporated into the PlayStation VR 2 in its pairing with the PS5.
Check out the trailer below. It includes looks at a number of planned games for the platform, such as Horizon: Call of the Mountain, Firewall Ultra, and Resident Evil Village‘s VR mode.
For average viewers and those who weren’t physically present at this year’s Tokyo Game Show (where the PSVR 2 was playable) or during preview sessions held for press and influencers, this PSVR 2 trailer is one of the more detailed looks available. It focuses on some of the new features being introduced to bring Sony’s VR solution into line with (or ahead of) top-end PC-based VR setups.
Of particular note in the headset is the addition of eye tracking, which uses internal sensors to detect and follow the wearer’s focus. In Firewall Ultra, the feature is used to make switching weapons easier. Eye-tracking also enables Foveated Rendering, a feature that allocates system resources to selectively enhance the parts of the game that the player is actually looking at, improving the graphics without unnecessarily burdening the hardware. The setup also allows force feedback in the headset itself, and the same Tempest 3D audio technology used in the PS5 console for better 3D soundscapes when wearing headphones.
The PSVR 2 trailer also highlights features used in the two included hand controllers. For the PSVR 1, hand controllers were an optional purchase and were based on the PS3-era PS Move wands. The new controllers, however, have the same haptic feedback and adaptive trigger features used in the PS5’s DualSense controller. They also have finger touch detection, allowing for a simulation of a player’s grip without needing to hold a button.
The PSVR 2 releases in “early 2023”. Sony hasn’t unveiled details about the hardware’s pricing or distribution. Earlier last week, it confirmed that the setup would not be compatible with games for the PSVR 1, meaning that players who own the previous-gen headset will need to keep it around to play the games bought for it.
