VR
PlayStation VR2 shows off its exciting new modes and features
Sony unveils features and improvements that will come with its new virtual reality glasses, the PlayStation VR 2, bringing the current standard to consoles.
PlayStation VR2 is already closer than it may seem. Sony has released a new update about its upcoming virtual reality glasses in which it shares some of the new features of the peripheral and several details that will make a difference. The company also promises to share information "soon" about the final release date and the games that will be out (there are more than 20 in the works). Let's see how it goes.
View the exterior with the helmet on
One of the changes of PlayStation VR2 with respect to its predecessor is the possibility of seeing what surrounds us without having to take off the helmet. How many times have we dropped the controller on the table and when we went to pick it up we couldn't find it? That's over. The new glasses incorporate a button that allows us to switch between games and the environment around us through external cameras.
Record yourself while you play
We won't need to ask anyone to record us monkeying around while we try out virtual reality. We will be able to do it ourselves. Just connect an HD camera to PS5 to record your expressions and movements as you play. Want to know why you're so tired? Maybe find out what you looked like from the outside as you fought that final boss that kept killing you? We'll be able to make full-body recordings at any time and share them instantly on social media.
Create your own playground
This time you set the boundaries. Do you want the console to warn you when you enter an area with fragile objects or ask you to return to your place? Well, that's easy: scan the room and use the PS VR2 Sense controllers to expand, reduce or customize the game area as you wish. You're in charge.
VR mode and Cinema mode
Sony also wanted to tell us that, as with the original glasses, we will be able to use PlayStation VR2 to play titles that are not virtual reality. When they are, the peripheral reproduces everything in a 360º view with HDR format, 4000 x 2040 resolution (2000 x 2040 pixels per eye) and between 90 and 120 Hz. In cinematic mode, for other content, the headset runs at 1920 x 1080p and can run at 24, 60, or 120 frames per second.
PS VR 2: main features
Now let's put on the nerdy glasses for a few seconds and let's look at the technical side, the specifications and comparisons with the first glasses. The first notable improvement of PlayStation VR 2 is in the resolution range, where it offers a visual experience in 4K HDR and 2000x2040 pixels for each eye. We will have a 110-degree field of view and an innovative eye-tracking system will be used to vary the resolution of things depending on what we are looking at (foveated rendering). As if that were not enough, the device has an OLED screen and achieves refresh rates ranging from 90 to 120Hz.
The peripheral will detect the controllers through four built-in cameras inside the helmet itself, so this time there will be no need for an external camera. And far from settling with that, the helmet will also include support for 3D audio and will offer feedback similar to that of the PS5 controller, the Dualsense. This means that there will be touch controls and vibration, allowing us, for example, to feel the passage of objects near the head, or the accelerated pulse of our character in a horror game. Quite a leap forward with respect to the original PlayStation VR.
As for the controllers, there will be two ergonomic orbs that will allow no movement restrictions. Each one will have its own stick and together they cover the buttons of any Dualshock (two triggers, triangle, circle, square and X). Its triggers will be adaptive, like those of the Dualsense, and even the haptic vibration is inherited from it. But the most important fact of all has to do with the wiring. Unlike what happened with the first glasses, we no longer look like we've stepped out of a cyberpunk dystopia every time we play. PS VR 2 will offer a very simple installation and will connect to the console with a single USB-C cable.