PlayStation PSVR2 Preview

With supply issues now seemingly well behind PlayStation, we can look forward to a new hardware release and the next step in home Virtual Reality with the PSVR2 on February 22nd.

Coming six-and-a-half years after PSVR1 landed on PS4, the VR market has seen some serious shifts. If you consider the first VR rush to be the “hype” phase where everyone rushed to be part of a new technology. Then we might now be able to consider this the start of the phase where the technology starts to realise its potential.

PSVR2 has significant improvements over its predecessor. Most notably, the two 2000×2040 OLED displays can now deliver 4K visuals up to 120fps. This will go a long way to reducing feelings of nausea and help you stay in a game for longer. The sharp visuals will really make you feel like you are in a living world.

Eye tracking is a powerful technology that tracks where you are looking. This can then be used to increase fidelity in that area of the screen (while reducing it in other areas to be more efficient). But it opens the door for more life-like interactions by giving more expressions to your in-game avatars.

110-degree field of view, 3D audio and haptic feedback on the helmet all work to bring the world to life and delivers a new way to immerse yourself in gaming.

The headset no longer relies on a camera or the glowing orbs of the Move controller. All the tracking is done internally on the headset and through the headset-mounted camera. Pass-through mode for example allows you to overlay your real room with the helmet still on so you can see furniture or people that are in your way.

Two new VR2 sense controllers include the expected haptic feedback and adaptive triggers that let you feel the game, but they also have precision finger touch detection that can sense your finger even when you are not touching the controller. All this is integrated into a lightweight design.

Of course, the software has to match the hardware and we already know of some of the games that are getting updates (GT7, No Mans Sky, Resident Evil Village) alongside the new releases (Horizon, Switchback VR, Jurassic World Aftermath).

Sony has two heavy hitters with a GT7 update that will make almost the whole game available in VR and a new “built from the ground up” VR experience with Horizon call of the mountain.

Releasing on the 22nd of February, the PSVR2 is now available to order from Gamestop here in Ireland.

We will be testing out the hardware with the latest software over the coming days and weeks so stay tuned for more reviews.

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