Sony announced the PlayStation VR2 headset and controller development history, and show the prototype pictures.PlayStation VR2 is Sony’s virtual reality device for the PS5 console, launched earlier this year.
Sony says development of the PSVR 2 began in late 2016, just after the company launched the initial PlayStation VR for the PS4. more than six years later, the headset is finally launching.
A unique feature of the PSVR 2 is the headset’s built-in vibration motors that enhance immersion. Sony says engineers initially removed the vibration motor from the DualShock 4 grip and put it into an early PSVR 2 prototype for testing, and found it worked well.
Early prototypes with IR LEDs for external camera tracking and monocular pass-through
Additionally, whereas the first PSVR tracked the visible light bars on the headset via the PS4 camera, the PlayStation VR2 uses in-built autonomous tracking technology to position the headset via four black-and-white fisheye cameras, which also allow users to see the real world around them at all times. But before building inward-outward tracking, Sony initially tried using infrared LEDs on the headset (invisible to the naked eye), tracking via external cameras, and a monocular perspective camera, though it quickly decided to switch to in-built autonomous tracking technology and created multiple prototypes to find the best placement for the four tracking cameras.
Sony says that the development of the PSVR 2 Sense controller also began in 2016 and went through many iterations, as they didn’t initially have a clear idea of exactly what kind of controller they wanted to make.
One of the earliest prototypes focused on incorporating thumbsticks and grip triggers, with each finger providing a trigger. Sony eventually settled on the current spherical design, finding it ideal for tracking at all angles.
Early PSVR 2 controller prototype
PlayStation VR2 has been on the market for five months now, with Sony revealing in May that the headset had sold 600,000 units after just six weeks on the market, surpassing the first-generation PSVR.With a stock of PlayStation 5 consoles finally filling up, and heavyweight titles such as Firewall Ultra, Resident Evil 4 Remastered and Aces of Thunder, the headset’s sales are expected to climb.
