Sony, one of the most well-known companies in the video game industry, famous for creating the seemingly endless line of PlayStation consoles has officially announced the newest edition of their virtual consoles with the PlayStation VR2 for the PlayStation 5. Sony’s VR consoles originally premiered for the company’s PlayStation 3 with Move peripherals technically but the company’s first major step was the actual release of their PlayStation VR console. Microsoft, Sony, and even Nintendo each had their own fair share of virtual reality attempts or more in-depth, less controller-required games that they tried to change the game with but ultimately we have been left with Oculus and Sony with in-home virtual reality capabilities. Surprisingly, this week Sony announced the next generation of their virtual reality console with the PlayStation VR2, and below we’ve gone into details on the newly announced console from Sony, as well as some comments about the competition between and history of virtual reality consoles.
Sony PlayStation VR Origins
The simplest tool of the original PlayStation VR console was the incredible Move peripheral that was used for certain PlayStation 3 games, which slowly evolved into what PlayStation VR has become today. From the PlayStation 3 iteration of the Move peripherals, Sony evolved their VR game with the first mainline PlayStation Virtual Reality console with the simply titled PlayStation VR which was released for the PlayStation 4. Following that, fans were eager to get their hands on new virtual reality tech from Sony when the PlayStation 5 launched but unfortunately, no new tech, such as a new virtual reality headset was released or even announced. Thankfully this week at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show Sony, along with many other technology giants such as Nvidia, BMW, Razer, and others, Sony truly delivered with surprised fans to the news of the future virtual reality hardware for the Sony PlayStation VR2 and other good news.
PlayStation VR VS Oculus
Oculus, which is probably the most popular virtual reality console, was surprisingly bought out by Facebook within recent years so while it may not appear like a company fully aware of video games at first, Oculus wasn’t created by Facebook but as Facebook has the platform Facebook Gaming now, it evolved into the perfect fit over time. Sony on the other hand has complete control of their product with strictly just the Sony name attached to it. However, as Oculus did break major ground first and was established as trying to be heavily involved in virtual reality since creation, it was only fitting for this to be appropriate competition for the retailer. While Oculus may utilize different technologies and take a different approach to virtual reality than Sony’s PlayStation VR, Sony does have a reliable and loyal fanbase when they entered this realm of gaming and technology, and when adding PlayStation’s already existing categories of owned IPs they had an instant library to build on.
Xbox’s Unique Attempt at VR Aspects
Xbox even had its own unique hand in some form of virtual reality hardware with its own introduction of the Kinect line of products. The Kinect and its peripherals had elements of pre-existing consoles with similar interests such as the Nintendo Wii or PlayStation VR camera that users would place above their television to partially record their movements. Unlike the Wii, Sony’s Move, and VR, Xbox’s Kinect didn’t need anything except the player. While some games specifically designed for the Kinect may have had their own device or peripheral, most games didn’t require one at all. Even with all that, and seemingly more futuristic human-controller technology than its competitors Xbox somehow didn’t land above the competition with their only apparent step towards virtual reality or no-controller gaming.
Sony PlayStation VR2
At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, where other technologies from companies such as Nvidia were also presented, Sony officially announced their next-generation virtual gaming hardware with the PlayStation VR2. While the company didn’t announce a release date, the announcement of the product itself ensures that it’ll be coming sooner than later and is likely set to or is already in some form of production. As stated above, when the PlayStation 5 launched players expected at least some news on the next generation of virtual reality from Sony but were disappointed when one wasn’t announced. However, the news of the newest Sony PlayStation VR didn’t come alone as Sony also announced at the Consumer Electronics Show the controller that would be featured with the coming-soon virtual reality console from Sony. The controller announced at the show alongside the headset was announced to have the same haptic feedback that the DualSense Controllers are already known for.
Follow Us
