Sony PlayStation VR2 Headset Final Design Brings Key Upgrades Over Last Gen PSVR
It took a minute, but Sony finally revealed the finished design of its upcoming PlayStation VR2 headset and matching VR2 Sense controllers. At a glance it's not drastically different in appearance than the first-gen PSVR headset (save for the controllers), though it's definitely sleeker and more modern. It's also been outfitted with several key upgrades.
In a blog post, Sony's senior vice president of platform experience, Hideaki Nishino, details some of the design language, which he says is inspired by the aesthetic of the PS5 family of products. He explains that the PS5 console was actually molded with the PSVR2 in mind, hence some of the similarities in the look and feel, right down to the tiny PlayStation symbols adorning the front and back of the headband.
"The PS5 console has flat edges as it is meant to be displayed on a flat surface, while there was more emphasis on adding roundness to the design of PS VR2 headset since it is meant to have constant human contact, similar to the rounded edges of the DualSense controller and Pulse 3D headset," Nishino says.
It's not just about a certain style of eye candy, though. According to Nishino, the PSVR2 design team paid close attention to ergonomics and conducted extensive testing to ensure a consistent level of comfort across a variety of head sizes. As such, some of the more well-received elements from the original PSVR carried over to the second-gen model, like the weight balance, easily adjustable headband, adjustable scope, and the placement of the stereo headphone jack.
So what's different? One of the potentially more impactful upgrades is the addition of a lens adjustment dial. This allows users to match the lens distance between their eyes to optimize the view, and can make a world of difference in VR. It's not clear how much fine grain control users will have, but any ability to adjust the lens at all is certainly welcome.
Nishino also says the headset is slimmer and a tad lighter, even after adding a new built-in motor for head feedback. The "slight weight reduction" might also be a dual benefit of new a ventilated design.
"When I started to work on the design for the PlayStation VR2 headset, one of the areas I wanted to focus on first was the idea of creating a vent in the headset to let air out, similar to the vents on the PS5 console that allows airflow. Our engineers came up with this idea as a good way to allow ventilation and avoid having the lens fog up while players are immersed in their VR games," says Yujin Morisawa, senior art director at Sony Interactive Entertainment.
"I worked on many design concepts to achieve this, and in the final design, you can see there is a little space in between the top and front surface of the scope that contains the integrated ventilation. I am really proud of how this turned out and the positive feedback I have gotten so far. I hope our PlayStation fans will also agree, and I can’t wait for them to try it out," Morisawa adds.
Sony previously disclosed some of the specs of the PSVR2. It features a pair of 2000x2040 OLED displays capable of delivering 4K HDR visuals. It also supports up to a 120Hz resolution, 110-degree field of view, eye tracking, and 3D audio.
As for the controllers, the new orb-shaped design replaces the wands from the previous gen and offers up finger-touch detection, adaptive triggers, analog sticks and buttons, and haptic feedback.
The PSVR2 looks promising. Unfortunately, there's still no word on when it will arrive or how much it will cost.
