While Sony has just given a new State of Play rich in announcements, several specialized media had the chance to try for a few hours the PS VR2, the next virtual reality headset for the PS5. For the moment, the opinions are unanimous: the PS VR2 is a success and buries its predecessor on many points.
As you may know, Sony gave a new State of Play on the night of September 13-14. A conference full of announcements, which ended with an absolutely epic trailer centered on the story of God of War: Ragnarok. What to increase the pressure before the launch of the title this November 9, 2022.
In parallel with this event, the Japanese manufacturer has invited several media to come and try the PS VR2 for a few hours. This is the first time that the press can approach the next PS5 virtual reality headset. The opportunity therefore for these lucky ones to give their first impressions of the device, whether in terms of comfort, immersion and performance. Let’s review the opinions of our colleagues from The Verge, Eurogamer and CNET sites.
The PS VR2: appreciated efforts on comfort
One of the first points addressed by our colleagues is the comfort offered by the PS VR2. Obviously, Sony has made sure to erase the defects of the first PS VR of the name in this particular area. First of all, the manufacturer drastically reduced the weight of the helmet. “Once on your head, it’s easy to forget it’s there, especially since there’s hardly any light leakage inside the helmet.” assures Eurogamer.
In addition, the PS VR2 allows adjust the head strap as you wish to suit all sizes, while it is possible to adjust the interpupillary distance in order to place the lenses inside the helmet at a safe distance from your eyes. “My wide bezels, which don’t easily fit a Quest 2, didn’t cause any problems with the PS VR2″, guarantees the CNET reporter.
Another appreciated point, the PS VR2 is now connected to the PS5 by a simple USB Type-C cable. So goodbye to the PS VR 1 armada of cables that could hinder the player in his movements. “The one-cable setup was very popular,” says The Verge. “Fortunately, this cable is a decent length, around 4.5 meters, and it feels much lighter than the PS VR 1 and Rift S cables.” assures the Eurogamer journalist. The three media also appreciate the fact of not having to resort to an external camera to scan the player’s environment, the headset instead carrying four front sensors.
Also read: PlayStation VR2 – this is what the PS5 VR headset user experience will look like
Significantly higher performance
Regarding the hardware, the three media recognize that the PS VR 2 represents a major evolution compared to its predecessor. Because, PS VR2 supports 4K HDR and offer a field of vision of 110° via an OLED screen displaying a resolution of 2000 x 2040 pixels per eye. All with a refresh rate oscillating between 90 and 120Hz depending on the games.
“Simply put, this means everything is incredibly crisp and detailed, even from a distance, with lifelike colors and lighting creating easily believable and immersive worlds.” acknowledges Eurogamer.
For its part, CNET enthusiastically spoke of the various new features provided by Sony to enhance in-game immersion, such as eye tracking which detects the movement of the user’s eyes. In fact, games use this data to enhance the details of the places you are looking at. “This technique mirrors, to some extent, the actual operation of the eyes, and achieves better graphics performance by reducing CPU workload.” explains the site.
Sense technology also pleased the testers. Simply put, this is an optional feature that allows the headset emit haptic vibrations (as the DualSense offers), always with the aim of enhancing immersion. “You want to feel the effect of a Storm Bird (editor’s note: a giant machine from the Horizon universe) that lands a meter from your head? I can tell you right now that with Sense technology, it is possible”, says Eurogamer.
A welcome redesign of the controllers
Again, all three sites claim that the new Sense controllers are a marked improvement over the PS Moves used with the first headset. So goodbye to the famous sticks adorned with a colored ball, the design of the Sense controllers is now similar to that of the Oculus Touch controllers, while obviously recalling the DualSense line.
We find there an analog stick surrounded by two buttons, while triggers and other controls are easily accessible to hand. We must add to this an excellent tool, namely finger touch detection on controllerswhich makes it possible to reproduce the slightest movement of the user in game.This, combined with the dual sticks, pretty much eliminates all the frustration of using Move controllers to play FPS games for example.” salute Eurogamer.
The real innovation of these controllers, however, lies in the presence of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, technologies derived directly from the DualSense. In other words, there are these immersive 3D vibrations and this force feedback on the triggers which allows you to apply a certain resistance depending on the weapon / object you are using in game.Through all the games I played, I realized that the place of haptic feedback was in VR now. It is said !”, strikes the CNET journalist.
You would have understood it, the first feedback on the PS VR2 is more than enthusiastic. It remains to know the price of the PS VR2, information for the moment well kept by Sony. As a reminder, the PS VR2 is expected for the beginning of 2023, if all goes well.