The president of Sony Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, was interviewed by GameWatch at the Tokyo Game Show recently, and he had an interesting answer as to the future of VR hardware.
“I think that the hardware experience will improve the VR experience. VR has a lot to learn even at companies that have been making games for a long time. I realized that as soon as I started VR. I had to learn a lot because I couldn’t do it with normal TV games. But we had to have many guidelines for danger, but with the developer’s ingenuity, we were able to see how to do it. VR makes us think about what the human abilities are and [after] 3 years, such knowledge is growing.”
This tells a lot of where the PSVR 2 and the rest of the industry stands. For reference, Oculus showed just how powerful their hardware is by telling everyone that the Quest is capable of PC VR gaming. Not many people would believe that is possible three months ago, but the hardware is more capable than many know. The developers and the software is much further behind than the hardware. The hardware might be a fun shiny new toy, but it isn’t necessary for a new and improved VR experience. Even the Quest is enabling a gaze detector with their new software updates, but that isn’t coming at the expense of new and expensive hardware.
In the same interview with GameWatch, Yoshida says that there could possibly be a reunion with Asian developers and Sony Worldwide Studios. It has been known in the past that Yoshida has explored the idea of going back to his roots to help the company he has built, but that is clearly only in the works right now and there is nothing official coming from either parties.
Virtual reality is in a good place right now with hardware, so Yoshida’s comments make plenty of sense. The PSVR is simple and strati forward, and it gives users everything they need to experience a good virtual game. Other headsets, especially PC VR headsets, are only limited by their software right now. The Vive Cosmos is even being advertised as a headset that is able to grow and update with you as the future comes. There isn’t anything we cant do with the hardware we have in the industry right now, that is capable by the software.
As for news regarding the future of PSVR 2 and the PS5, there are some big rumors picking up all across the industry right now. Although we know that PSVR 2 and the PS5 won’t be launching side by side, they will be in the same time frame. The PSVR original will be compatible with the new console, but PSVR won’t be with the PS4.
The company is expecting a field of view of nearly 120° in this new headset, and that isn’t even the best of it. Eye tracking is likely going to be included with this new headset, but it is unsure if that means the elusive foveated rendering will be included with the lens. It is also rumored that wireless connections to your PS5 could be possible, but the source of that is unknown of how they would execute that. They could use 5G connections, but that would cost much more than people would be interested in spending.
Whatever hardware Sony releases, their software capabilities are always going to be playing catchup. For more VR news and gaming updates, make sure to check back at VRGear.com.
