PlayStation VR2 Launches Globally With Dozens of Stunning Virtual Reality Games Available

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"Building upon key innovations from PlayStation 5 (PS5), PlayStation VR2 ushers in a new generation of virtual reality experiences that will captivate players' senses.

New Sensory Features with PlayStation VR2 Sense Technology: The combination of PlayStation VR2 Sense controller, PlayStation VR2 headset feedback, 3D Audio, and eye tracking brings emotion and immersion to life.
  • PlayStation VR2 Sense controller with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers that enable players to feel and interact with games in a much more visceral way - whether it's adding tension to the pull of a bow string or vibration effects during an epic boss battle. With finger touch detection, the PS VR2 Sense controller can also detect the approximate location of your fingers, enabling you to make more natural gestures with your hands during gameplay.
  • Headset feedback is a new sensory feature that amplifies the sensations of in-game actions from the player. It's created by a single built-in motor with vibrations that add an intelligent tactile element, bringing players closer to the gameplay experience. For example, gamers can feel a character's elevated pulse during tense moments, the rush of objects passing close to the character's head, or the thrust of a vehicle as the character speeds forward.
  • 3D Audio leverages PS5's Tempest 3D AudioTech to make sounds in the PS VR2 player's surroundings come alive, adding to this new level of immersion.
  • Eye Tracking detects the motion of the player's eyes, so a simple look in a specific direction can create an additional input for the game character. This allows players to interact more intuitively in new and lifelike ways.
Visual Fidelity: For a high-fidelity visual experience, PlayStation VR2 offers an OLED display with 4K HDR video format (2000 x 2040 per eye), smooth frame rates of 90 Hz/120 Hz, 110-degree field of view, and foveated rendering.

Headset-based Controller Tracking: With inside-out tracking, PlayStation VR2 tracks the player and the controller through integrated cameras embedded in the VR headset. The player's movements and the direction they look at are reflected in-game without the need for an external camera.

Designed for Comfort: The PlayStation VR2 headset was designed with comfort in mind - it's slightly lighter compared to the first PlayStation VR headset, even with the addition of new features. Also included is an integrated vent for extra air flow while playing, and a lens adjustment dial so users have an additional option to match the lens distance between their eyes to optimize their view. PlayStation VR2 will also have a simple setup process—with a single cable connected directly to PS5, players can immediately jump into the VR experience.

With more than 100 titles currently in development, PlayStation VR2 will launch alongside a diverse portfolio of games from PlayStation Studios and third-party partners, including Horizon Call of the Mountain, Gran Turismo 7, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge Enhanced Edition, and Resident Evil Village. Beyond the initial launch date, additional titles set to launch for PlayStation VR2 include The Walking Dead Saints and Sinners Chapter 2: Retribution, Creed Rise to Glory: Undisputed Edition, Tetris Effect, Firewall Ultra, and more.

The breadth of the PlayStation VR2 game portfolio showcases the strength of support from the industry's leading game developers, who are committed to creating exceptional experiences for players in this new generation of virtual reality gaming."

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Source: https://www.techpowerup.com/305079/...s-of-stunning-virtual-reality-games-available
 
I love the tech for the headset, but I don't think PSVR2 will take off until it's priced below the console and has more games that aren't just ports of existing VR titles.
 
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As tempting as the PSVR2 is (and it's something I felt that the PSVR1 should've been to begin with), there are two big strikes I have against it already:

-You can't play PSVR1 games with it. (Understandable for a lot of technical reasons, but mark my words: there will be PSVR1 content that never gets PSVR2 updates.)
-You can't use it as a PCVR set for the time being. (Also understandable in that Sony wants to sell PS5s and get VR gamers locked into their ecosystem.)

By comparison, all those PCVR games I got when I had my Oculus Rift CV1 back in 2016 will still work on my Valve Index in 2023, for the most part (barring some Oculus-exclusive stuff that needs Revive to work through SteamVR, and even then, I can't get Robo Recall to stop crashing shortly after launch, which didn't happen before). I don't have to worry too much about keeping a dated HMD (and matching controllers/trackers/etc.) just for specific titles. (Imagine having to keep a Forte VFX1 around, along with a computer that can support the required ISA card to run it, because you really want to play System Shock 1 in VR...)

That said, there's a lot of people who haven't already sunk $1,000+ into high-end gaming VR, and for those people, the PS5 + PSVR2 route is by far the most cost-effective entry point when the Quest 2 doesn't have enough processing power on tap.

I think this is what Sony's banking on, because let's face it - good PCVR in more unoptimized titles (DCS, NMS, MSFS2020, etc.) requires at least an RTX 4080, ideally a 4090. That's at least $1,200 worth of GPU alone, and you still need a good CPU to back it up. Suddenly, a $400-500 PS5 looks like one hell of a value proposition so long as you don't care about DCS, MSFS2020, Half-Life: Alyx or anything else PC-exclusive right now.
 
VR is still very, very niche for gaming...something tells me we won't be seeing a PSVR3
 
polonyc2 said:
VR is still very, very niche for gaming...something tells me we won't be seeing a PSVR3
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Pretty sure we will. VR isn't niche anymore. Quest 2 sold over 10 million units. It outsold the new Xbox.

Apple is even working on a headset.
 
I don’t get enough use out of my psvr1 (partly because I couldn’t fine tune the focal length to not be uncomfortable for longer amounts of use). So I’ll probably wait till something releases that I’m really interested in with the psvr2 before buying one. (It’s supposed to have better focal fine tuning which would be good for me.)
 
NamelessPFG said:
-You can't use it as a PCVR set for the time being. (Also understandable in that Sony wants to sell PS5s and get VR gamers locked into their ecosystem.)
Click to expand...

They would be smart to, seeing that they release their games on PC. Pushing to make PS5 controllers have default profiles for all games (like Xbox controllers have been for over a decade) would help them sell hardware. Allowing PSVR2 to be used on a PC will allow them to sell more hardware.

Some else I have put much thought into, but I assume console makers sell a lot less controllers these days. Back in the N64 days it was common to get 1-3 extra controllers for split screen. I can't imagine Sony or Microsoft sell many extra controllers these days with split screen not being so common anymore. I know more PC games natively support PS controllers now, but Sony should have jumped onboard with that a decade ago. They probably would have sold millions of extra controllers.
 
lostinseganet said:
You get a lot for the price but the price is still a lot for the whole shebang. They need a killer app to complete with PC.
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ND40oz said:
It launched with GT7 and Horizon Call of the Mountain.
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Not to mention Resident Evil Village VR mode launched recently for free for anyone who has RE Village. I never played RE7 on VR but heard it was great. Village should be good too.
 
polonyc2 said:
price is crazy...higher than the price of the base PS5
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Your perspective may be skewed by the Quest 2 which was sold very much at a loss and Facebook planned to make up the difference from the data they collect from people. But also made it very hard for other companies to compete with them. In realistic, not undercut prices of VR tech PSVR2 is NOT expensive. I mean, sure the 600 is a lot of money, but as far as what VR features it comes with it is incredible value compared to competition. If only it supported PCVR...
 
MaZa said:
Your perspective may be skewed by the Quest 2 which was sold very much at a loss and Facebook planned to make up the difference from the data they collect from people. But also made it very hard for other companies to compete with them. In realistic, not undercut prices of VR tech PSVR2 is NOT expensive. I mean, sure the 600 is a lot of money, but as far as what VR features it comes with it is incredible value compared to competition. If only it supported PCVR...
Click to expand...

I think the real question is...why do people play VR games?...for the novelty...when will developers start making AAA VR games?...HL: Alyx and that Horizon: Call of the Mountain game are based on AAA properties but it doesn't compare to something like Horizon Forbidden West...HL: Alyx was an anomaly because there hasn't been a single player HL game in forever

VR is a fun distraction but can it thrive being a novelty?
 
polonyc2 said:
I think the real question is...why do people play VR games?...for the novelty...when will developers start making AAA VR games?...HL: Alyx and that Horizon: Call of the Mountain game are based on AAA properties but it doesn't compare to something like Horizon Forbidden West...HL: Alyx was an anomaly because there hasn't been a single player HL game in forever

VR is a fun distraction but can it thrive being a novelty?
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VR isn't a "novelty". Kids are already playing VR crazy amounts of hours like older generations used to do flat gaming. You're just too old to get it. Kids are in to different games.
 
Flogger23m said:
They would be smart to, seeing that they release their games on PC. Pushing to make PS5 controllers have default profiles for all games (like Xbox controllers have been for over a decade) would help them sell hardware. Allowing PSVR2 to be used on a PC will allow them to sell more hardware.

Some else I have put much thought into, but I assume console makers sell a lot less controllers these days. Back in the N64 days it was common to get 1-3 extra controllers for split screen. I can't imagine Sony or Microsoft sell many extra controllers these days with split screen not being so common anymore. I know more PC games natively support PS controllers now, but Sony should have jumped onboard with that a decade ago. They probably would have sold millions of extra controllers.
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I agree on that, but until it happens, officially or unofficially, I wouldn't bank on buying one for PC use.

The USB-C connection on PSVR2 makes it even trickier due to VirtualLink being a stillborn standard and most graphics cards lacking USB-C (especially NVIDIA post-Turing), if quite elegant compared to the PSVR1's breakout box and the Index's separate USB-A 3.0/DisplayPort/power breakout cable (that was going to have a VirtualLink USB-C adapter until that was cancelled before release).

As for controller sales, you raise a good point there, though I should also point out that they used to be a hell of a lot cheaper. $30, sometimes less if you were willing to put up with third-party crap, and you had another pad for your couch friends to join in, although gamepads were considerably less advanced back then (no RF wireless, for starters, never mind IMUs, DualSense-level HD haptics and force-feedback triggers) and presumably cheaper to make.

Today? $70-80 per pad isn't unheard of, and that's just the standard ones, nothing fancy like the DualSense Edge and its whopping $200 price tag (which still doesn't include Hall effect sensors on the analog sticks that the DualShock 3 had literally a decade and a half ago, never mind Saturn and Dreamcast pads).

For what it's worth, I think the DualSense is currently the best PC gaming pad on the market, largely thanks to Steam Input picking up the slack where games wouldn't have native DualSense support (or, for that matter, XInput support if the game's old enough), but that's also partly because Valve has yet to release a second-gen Steam Controller that would ideally be a Deck without the UMPC in the middle.
 
Flogger23m said:
They would be smart to, seeing that they release their games on PC. Pushing to make PS5 controllers have default profiles for all games (like Xbox controllers have been for over a decade) would help them sell hardware. Allowing PSVR2 to be used on a PC will allow them to sell more hardware.

Some else I have put much thought into, but I assume console makers sell a lot less controllers these days. Back in the N64 days it was common to get 1-3 extra controllers for split screen. I can't imagine Sony or Microsoft sell many extra controllers these days with split screen not being so common anymore. I know more PC games natively support PS controllers now, but Sony should have jumped onboard with that a decade ago. They probably would have sold millions of extra controllers.
Click to expand...

The oportunity costs don't agree with that.
For each third party $60 game sold on thier store Sony gets about $20.
If people buy the headset to use on PC Sony gets nothing for game sales on PC. Sony probably loses money overall on the headset hardware when you factor in all the R&D. If anyone decided not to buy playstation games and buy a PC game instead because they can use the headset on PC Sony would make less money.

Sony will not make their headset work on PC. The only hope for that is people doing it themselves.
 
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