Sony has confirmed that the upcoming PSVR2 will not be compatible with the older PSVR titles. The company officials have stated that a truly next-generation experience is being planned for PSVR2 with many features that the previous VR headset did not boast.
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The update came on the PlayStation Blog podcast, featuring Hideaki Nishino, SVP of Platform Experience in Sony. Nishino shared his excitement about PSVR2 and explained that the backward compatibility would make things trickier, as developers have a larger creative area to play with, thanks to the new features of the next-gen headset.
The experienced Senior Vice-President had these comments about the upcoming VR headset and the question of compatibility:
“PSVR games are not compatible with PSVR2 because PSVR2 is designed to deliver a truly next-gen VR experience. PSVR2 has more features like haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, inside-out tracking, eye tracking, 3D audio, 4k, and HDR, of course. So this means that developing games for PSVR2 requires a whole different approach compared to the PSVR. These features enable developers to create worlds that feel more vivid and live, bringing players closer to the gaming experience than ever.”
PSVR2 has lots of leverage over its predecessor. With 4K and HDR support, the company believes that the next-gen headset will have the necessary resolution and the field of view to immerse the player completely. Other features include but are not limited to gaze and eye tracking, finger tracking, a headset feedback system along with 3D audio.
The controllers have also seen many changes, such as haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and hand tracking. Reportedly, these changes have been made to ensure the players are in complete control and the absorbing tempo of the VR will never break.
Some team members got to test the PSVR2, and the comments were highly positive, especially about Resident Evil: Village VR and Horizon: Call of the Mountain. Nishino stated that his personal favorite experience was with Horizon.
The team explained PSVR2’s ambition to be a heightened immersive adventure with precision controls that can provide a full-body gaming experience—the future of gaming. The PSVR2 will come out sometime in 2023, although the exact date is still a mystery.
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