At the CES (the world's largest consumer electronics technology exhibition) on Wednesday, Sony announced new details of the next-generation virtual reality headset (PSVR2) and a new game adapted to PSVR2.
At the CES show, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan confirmed that the company's new hardware will be named PlayStation VR2, replacing the previous version of PS VR. The headset will be compatible with the PlayStation 5 console released by Sony at the end of 2020.
According to a new blog post released by Sony, the PS VR2 will be equipped with an OLED display that supports 4K resolution, as well as a new controller called the PS VR2 Sense. The installation is also very simple: all you have to do is plug the PSVR2 directly into your PS5 with a USB-C cable, and you're good to go.
In addition, the system will feature eye-tracking technology and a built-in motor that can generate tactile vibrations. Sony said eye-tracking will provide additional input to the game's characters, allowing players to "interact more intuitively in new, realistic ways."
While Sony didn't reveal the look of the new headset, the company revealed a trailer for a new game called Horizon Call of the Mountain to help users get a first idea of the in-game experience. The game's story is set in the same way as Sony's action role-playing game series Horizon. In Horizon, players fight dinosaur-like machines in post-apocalyptic worlds.
Sony's official announcement of the PS VR2 hardware is opportune, just in time for the current meta-universe boom. Facebook's parent company, Meta, and others are scrambling to push the metaverse, a hot new technology trend. It's a shared virtual experience where users can work, play, and communicate with each other, and many iterations of the metaverse incorporate VR technology.
Meta changed its name from Facebook to Meta last year. The company's Oculus Quest 2 VR headset is a popular gift during the holiday season, and on Christmas Day, Oculus' main app topped the apple app store rankings.