After teasing the next generation of its VR headset last month, Sony has now revealed on its official blog the controllers intended to accompany it.
Immediately grabbing attention with their striking design, the new controllers take on an “orb” shape, promising better ergonomics and a high degree of freedom.
“There are no constraints with how you’re moving your hands, providing developers with the ability to create unique gameplay experiences,” says Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President of Platform Planning & Management at Sony Interactive Entertainment.
The unique shape is supposed to distribute the weight of the controllers more evenly, ensuring that players won’t get tired or feel discomfort even during long VR sessions. Sony tested the controllers with a broad range of hand sizes and applied its decades of experience with designing gaming controllers to create a product that all PS5 users can enjoy.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Sony if the controllers weren’t packed with exciting features, several of which come directly from the PS5’s DualSense controller. According to Nishino, “the new VR controllers enable players to feel and interact with games in a much more visceral way.”
Each controller has one adaptive trigger button whose resistance changes based on what the player is currently experiencing in virtual reality. The controllers are also able to detect the exact placement of the thumb, index, or middle fingers, paving the way for more natural hand gestures. Even haptic feedback has been improved to make virtual actions feel more real.
While prototypes of the new controllers are supposed to start shipping out to developers soon, the much-anticipated next-gen PS5 VR headset won’t launch this year. Considering that Sony hasn’t announced a launch date yet, it’s possible that the controllers will launch in Q3 or Q4 2022.
