A recent report has revealed additional details about Sony’s next-gen VR headset for the PS5 now that we know it’s coming and the launch date for the next PSVRs. According to a Bloomberg report detailing the increasing use of LCD panels in VR headsets, Sony is one of the manufacturers of VR headsets that stick to OLED. The report, citing unnamed sources, points to the launch of Sony’s new PSVR headset in 2022.
A new report by Bloomberg and TheVerge cites internal sources as saying that Sony will release the next PlayStation VR headset, called PSVR 2 during the holiday season next year. The report, citing unnamed sources from Bloomberg, claims Sony’s next-gen PSVR headset is the only “next-gen” VR headset that uses an OLED display instead of an LCD display. According to sources, Sony plans to release a successor this holiday season, claiming that the new headset will use Samsung’s OLED panels for the display.
Sources claim new information from a private conference Sony held on Tuesday for future PSVR2 developers, a process confirmed by UploadVR. We’ve been waiting for new details about PlayStation VR 2, Sony’s second attempt to create a virtual reality headset. While Sony’s PSVR 2 emerged from a developer summit behind closed doors and a leak, all we know is that the devices have full specifications.
Sources claim the PS5 VR headset will have a higher resolution display and a wider field of view. Sony’s new iteration of its VR headset will be getting several next-generation features, including a 4k resolution. While no official specifications for the next generation PSVR headset have been released, display rumors and recent leaks suggest that the headset could feature a 4K display with a resolution of 2,000×2,040 per eye, according to UploadVR.
PSVR Without Parole indicates in addition that the screen will use OLED screen technology that supports High Dynamic Range (HDR), giving it much more vibrancy, deeper blacks, and more brightness than a typical Quest 2s LCD display without HDR. UploadVR reported in May that PSVR2 will have a 2,000 x 2,040/ display resolution, which is a solid bump over the world’s most popular headset, the Oculus Quest 2. We will have to wait to know more about the specifications of the PSVR 2 but is rumored to have a higher resolution screen than the current Quest 2, adjustable lens settings, eye tracking motors, and the headset itself with haptic feedback.
In addition to forcing feedback, we would expect the PS5 VR headset to be lighter and smaller than the original PSVR. A job advertisement from Sony in August 2020 shows that the company is working on a new design for lenses and display housings that would give many VR headsets considerable mass and weight. Looking at the patents will not guarantee us what Sony has planned as the final product but it can give us an insight as to what to expect from the next-gen iteration of PSVR. Sony has been very quiet in releasing VR plans, so you should take this with a lot of salt, but the date is referencing could be linked to another scenario related to the original PSVR headsets.
Sony has sold more than five million PSVR headsets in 2019, with the headset receiving strong reviews from the gaming community. Given the backward compatibility of the original PSVR headset and the Move controllers, the idea is that you can play PSVR games using PSVR 2 on the PS5. This would mean that you can get yourself a PSVR at a discounted price and use it until the PSVR 2 hits the market and still enjoy the huge library of VR games sony offers.
Another problem is that the PSVR developers felt a strong incentive to develop serious VR games for the new PlayStation 5 because most gamers own headsets nowadays and the development of VR games is expensive. Sony itself, however, appears to be offering that updating developers on progress with the new headset will motivate them to produce VR-enabled titles for its next-gen console.
