YouTube channel PSVR Without Parole posted a video that reveals a lot of information (some of which had already been reported by other news outlets) about Sony’s next-generation virtual reality hardware for PlayStation 5, called PSVR2 and codenamed NGVR (next-generation VR).
The information comes from a private Sony developer conference that was recently held for potential PSVR2 developers. The conference was approximately 90 minutes long, and it focused on the hardware itself and the type of games Sony would like to see developers deliver.
The upcoming headset will have an HDR OLED display with a resolution of 2000 x 2040 per eye and a field of view (FOV) of 110 degrees. Compared with the original PSVR, that’s 10 extra degrees of visual information, a pretty significant number when it comes to immersion.
The secret behind the wide FOV is a pair of fresnel lenses, a type of composite compact lens whose design makes it possible to construct lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the material mass and volume of material required by conventional designs.
To concentrate PS5’s processing resources where they can make the biggest difference, the PSVR2 headset will support a technique called flexible scaling resolution, making the player’s area of focus look as visually stunning as possible.
Of course, even amazing graphics are secondary to short- and long-term comfort, and Sony wants to improve it by adding a rotary motor capable of providing real-time haptic feedback to reduce motion sickness. Another potentially significant comfort feature will be the capacitive touch sensors I the new controller, whose purpose is to remove guesses about finger position.
As far as games are concerned, Sony is encouraging developers to move away from smaller VR experiences and, instead, focus on AAA titles. The idea is to let players choose if they want to download the standard or VR version of a game. That way, they wouldn’t waste bandwidth and would be able to experience future blockbuster games the way they prefer.
Nothing has been said about backward compatibility with original PSVR games, but their developers will almost certainly remaster them anyway. What’s known for sure is that the headset won’t release before 2022 arrives.
