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Import Records Reveal Sony Has Shipped Thousands of Dev Kits, Possibly PSVR 2

From roadtovr

United States import records from late 2021 onward show that Sony Interactive Entertainment has shipped thousands of boxes containing developer kits from Asia to the US. The exact contents of the boxes hasn’t been specified, however Sony’s next-gen PlayStation VR 2 headset is a very likely candidate.

As first reported by TweakTown, Sony has shipped 2,374 cartons containing “DEVELOPMENT KIT[s] FOR INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE,” starting back in October 2021.

Here’s the relevant data from TweakTown, sourced from import/export firm Import Genius and confirmed with Seair Exim Solutions:

  • January 2022 – 434 CTN (cartons), 4730 kg, Japan -> Oakland, CA
  • December 2021 – 980 CTN, 8712 kg, Japan -> Oakland, CA
  • November 2021 – 480 CTN, 5218 kg, Japan -> Oakland, CA
  • October 2021 – 240 CTN, 2612 kg, Korea -> Oakland, CA
  • October 2021 – 240 CTN, 2612 kg, Japan -> Oakland, CA

Granted, records don’t specify which dev kit is inside the box, however we can make a few educated guesses.

Platform holders like Sony typically distribute dev kits to a handful of select studios months before launch so they can properly target the new hardware. PSVR 2 is rumored to release in early 2023, so the clock is ticking for studios to make the best use of all the new tech packed into Sony’s next-gen headset, including eye-tracking, face haptics and its new Sense controllers.

PlayStation 5 released in November 2020 and continues to lag in production due to the global chip shortage, so it’s unlikely Sony is shipping additional PS5 consoles to developers at this late stage.

Sony also hasn’t announced any other console, like a PlayStation 5 Pro. Given the ongoing supply chain problem with microprocessors, a surprise PS5 Pro launch seems like a non-starter considering PS5 is still in high demand and relatively little supply.

Want to learn everything there is to know about PSVR 2? Check out specs and a breakdown of the tech in PSVR 2.

PlayStation VR 2 Finally Revealed in First Images

From roadtovr

Sony finally lifted the veil on PlayStation VR2 along with the final design image of the PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers.

Note: This news is breaking. We’re updating this piece as new information comes in.

We’ve been waiting for nearly a year now since Sony first revealed images of its PSVR 2 Sense controllers to finally catch a glimpse of PSVR 2.

The next-gen headset itself takes on a very PS5 aesthetic—which is no wonder, since it’s the official VR headset for PS5. The company also says the orb-like headset and matching controllers are supposed to represent “the 360-degree view that players feel when they enter the virtual reality world.”

Sony says it’s paid “very close attention to the ergonomics of the headset and conducted extensive testing to ensure a comfortable feel for a variety of head sizes.”

Image courtesy Sony

The company says it’s balanced the headset weight and included an adjustable headband that can be tweaked to fit the headset closer or further away from the face. So much is pretty standard for the original PSVR too, however Sony says new features a lens adjustment dial for more comfortable viewing, among other things.

Image courtesy Sony

“We also created a slimmer design with a slight weight reduction – even with the new added features such as the new built-in motor for the headset feedback,” says Hideaki Nishino, Sony Vice President of Platform Experience. “It was quite a challenge to create a slimmer design with new features added to improve upon our first headset, but our design and engineering teams proved this could be possible when we saw the final design!”

The headset is also said to include a new vent design for better air flow. And just like the PS5 and Dual Sense controller, the new PSVR 2 Sense controller and PSVR 2 headset will feature tiny PS symbols all throughout its design.

Image courtesy Sony

Sony first shared PSVR 2’s specs back in January. As you can see below, it’s set to be a substantial upgrade over the original PSVR, which was first unveiled in 2014 as Project Morpheus and later released as PSVR in 2016.

Yes, it has tethered design, although it features inside-out optical tracking that will do away with the positively ancient PlayStation Camera, as well as PS Move controllers. If you’re looking for a bigger breakdown than the chart below, check out our PSVR 2 spec comparison article for more.

PSVR vs. PSVR 2 Specs
PSVR 2 PSVR
Resolution 2,000 × 2,040 (4.1MP) per-eye, OLED, HDR 960 × 1,080 (1.0MP) per-eye, RGB OLED
Refresh Rate 90Hz, 120Hz 90Hz, 120Hz
Lenses unknown Single element non-Fresnel
Field-of-view (claimed) 110° (diagonal presumed) 100° (diagonal presumed)
Optical Adjustments IPD Eye-relief
Connectors USB-C (no breakout box) USB, HDMI (breakout box)
Cable Length unknown 4.4m
Tracking Inside-out (no external beacons) Outside-in (external camera)
On-board cameras 4x IR (external), 2x IR (internal) None
Input PSVR 2 Sense controllers (rechargable), eye-tracking DualShock 4 (rechargeable), PS Move (rechargeable), PS Aim (rechargeable), voice
Audio 3.5mm aux output 3.5mm aux output
Microphone Yes Yes
Haptics Controllers, headset Controllers
Weight unknown 600g
Release Date Expected Q3/Q4 2022 2016
Console Compatibility PS5 (backwards compatibility not expected) PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5

There’s still no telling when PSVR 2 will release. We’ll be following this story in the coming days, so check back soon.

PSVR 2 Product Page Reveals New Details on Optics & Displays

From roadtovr

An official product page for PlayStation VR 2 confirms some new details on the headset’s optics and displays. Although the page signals that PSVR 2 is getting ever closer to becoming a reality, we still don’t have a release date or a look at the headset itself.

Last month Sony shared the first solid specs and info on PSVR 2, which we covered in-depth here. Now a new official website for PSVR 2 has sprung up and revealed a few new details.

Beyond what we already knew about the headset, the new page confirms that PlayStation VR 2 will use Fresnel lenses. This is a fairly big change compared to the aspheric non-Fresnel lens used in the original PSVR headset.

A comparison between a Fresnel lens (1) and a traditional lens (2). The Fresnel lens has the same overall curvature but in a more compact package.

Fresnel lenses use concentric ridges to condense the geometry of a lens into a thinner package, thereby reducing size and weight. This can allow the lens to achieve optical characteristics which might otherwise result in an impractically large traditional lens. However, Fresnel lenses are also known to introduce additional artifacts like ‘god rays’ and edge glare.

The vast majority of VR headsets on the market have moved to Fresnel lenses, likely due to their flexibility for optical design, despite some of the negatives that come attached. The original PSVR is famously the only headsets on the market in its class that didn’t use Fresnel lenses, so it’s interesting to see PSVR 2 making the jump.

Beyond the use of Fresnel lenses, the PlayStation VR 2 product page also confirms that the headset will have two independent displays, one for each eye.

We already knew that the headset will have a 2,000 × 2,040 per-eye resolution, but it was previously unknown whether this would come in the form of a single 4,000 × 2,040 display, or two 2,000 × 2,040 displays.

It might seem like a minor detail, but splitting the display into two means more flexibility for the headset’s IPD adjustment (the distance between the lenses).

On headsets with a single display, like Quest 2, when you adjust the IPD you’re merely sliding the lenses along the display. This can leave some unused resolution on the table or make it easier to see the edges of the display depending upon what the IPD is set to.

In headsets with two displays, each lens is typically mounted directly to the display itself; when you adjust the IPD the display and the lens move together. This makes it easier for the headset to accomodate a wider IPD range without potentially revealing the edges of the display or giving up any resolution to account for the adjustment.

PSVR 1 display and housing | Photo courtesy iFixit (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

The original PSVR used a single display and didn’t include any IPD adjustment. PSVR 2 on the other hand will have two displays and an IPD adjustment, allowing users to dial the lenses into an ideal position. It’s been previously confirmed that the displays will be OLED and support up to a 120Hz refresh rate.

So far the IPD range for PSVR 2 is unknown, but the product page makes mention of an “adjustment dial” which suggests that the range will be continuous rather than discrete.

All the way at the bottom of the product page you can also choose to sign up to be notified for when PSVR 2 pre-orders go live. We still don’t have a release date or even pre-order date, but it’s increasingly looking like the headset will launch this year.

For a deeper dive on what’s known about PSVR 2 specs so far, check out our article comparing the new headset with the original.

Sony Reveals VR Headset Prototype with Display Tech That Could Wind Up in PSVR 2

From roadtovr

During an online showcase today, Sony revealed a VR headset prototype with a 4K OLED microdisplay. While it appears to be a wholly different project than the upcoming PSVR 2, the company says it expects the display itself to be “used in the entertainment field,” which could include other VR headsets.

Today during the Sony Technology Day showcase the company highlighted new technology from across its various businesses.

During the event the Sony Group R&D Center revealed a VR headset prototype which employs a 4K OLED microdisplay. The headset is shown connected to a PC and uses a hand-held form-factor rather than a headstrap. The prototype appears to only support rotation tracking for the time being.

The headset’s 4K OLED microdisplay is ostensibly Sony-made. It’s not only significantly higher resolution than what was in the original PSVR headset, (roughly 1MP vs. 16MP per-eye) it’s also much more compact. The exact specifications weren’t given but a 1-inch² size was suggested.

While the original PSVR used a single large display that spanned both eyes, the display shown in the prototype headset has a nearly square form-factor which makes it better for VR headsets since one display can be used for each eye (which improves design flexibility and pixel utilization).

Image courtesy Sony

Although the new display is more compact, it’s appears to be so small that zooming and focusing the image for an immersive field-of-view would necessitate more advanced optics than what’s in most consumer VR headsets today. Doing so could lead to a rather compact headset, though the presentation doesn’t offer a clear sense of the headset’s fundamental size, nor what kind of optics are used.

Image courtesy Sony

The prototype headset appears to be a totally different project than what Sony’s PlayStation group is working on with the upcoming PSVR 2, however it’s an intriguing possibility that PSVR 2 might make use of the same displays.

Although Sony is in the display business, the original PSVR actually used a Samsung-made OLED display. While many first-gen VR headsets similarly used OLED displays, second-gen headsets have largely moved to LCD for improvements in price, resolution, and brightness, at the cost of the rich colors and dark blacks that OLED displays are known for.

Sony has yet to release its second-gen headset and at this point it’s unclear if it will continue to opt for OLED in the next PSVR headset or move to LCD like most of its peers; rumors suggest it will be OLED, but possibly made by Samsung once again.

For Sony’s part, however, the company says it expects its 4K OLED microdisplay will be used in “industrial applications” as well as the “entertainment field.” This suggests that if PSVR 2 doesn’t use the display, we might ironically see it in other non-Sony VR headsets. The size suggests it might be best fit for compact VR headsets like Vive Flow.

Sony Teases Prototype VR Headset With Stunning 8K Visuals

From vrscout

It appears as though Sony is making serious progress with its VR technology.

Earlier today the company hosted an online event called Sony Technology Day, revealing new information on eight different technologies revolving around the theme of “Technology that inspires emotion.” This included a prototype VR headset with next-gen visuals and low latency.

In a section called “Pursuit of Reality”, the company detailed an original VR device that offers a 4K per eye resolution achieved via an OLED microdisplay, which removes any pixelation to deliver a crystal-clear image. In a video provided by the company, we see the prototype headset in action as one user explores the interior of a vintage car. As she leans around the driver’s seat, you can see fine details in the texture of the steering wheel, seat, and dashboard.



“This is a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) that projects a high-definition 3D space and achieves a high-resolution of 4K with one eye and 8K with both eyes,” stated the company in an official release. “High image quality is achieved through multi-pixel and miniaturization using fine processing and advanced packaging technology cultivated through the development and manufacture of CMOS image sensors, and Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) microdisplay using device and circuit technology cultivated through the development of displays.”

In addition to improved visuals, the company also teased major updates to latency in an effort to provide a more comfortable in-headset experience. For context, the latency between the user’s actions and what’s being displayed on-screen is one of the most common causes of motion sickness among sensitive users. By removing this small, but noticeable delay, Sony hopes to provide a more comfortable experience that doesn’t make you as dizzy. This is also demonstrated in the video in the form of a side-by-side comparison.

Image Credit: Sony

“The processing time is reduced by decreasing the amount of latency throughout the entire system thanks to the integration of data from multiple sensors,” the company added. “The person watching in VR can experience high-definition images in real-time according to the movement of his/her head. In addition to industrial applications, the OLED microdisplay is expected to be used in the entertainment field, as it can express the texture of materials and human expressions in high-definition in real-time based on movements of the viewer’s head.”

Whether or not any of the technology shown will be utilized in the near future remains to be seen. We’ve already received word that Sony is currently in development on the PlayStation VR 2, with rumors of a Holiday 2022 release date currently circling the web.

For more information on all of the announcements from Sony Technology Day visit here.

Feature Image Credit: Sony

PlayStation VR Support Teased for Green Hell VR

From vrfocus

Last week virtual reality (VR) developer Incuvo announced that its upcoming project Green Hell VR would be delayed a short while pushing the release from 2021 into early 2022. Already confirmed for Oculus Quest and PC VR headsets, the studio has teased this week plans for a PlayStation VR version.

Green Hell VR - OQ
Green Hell VR for Oculus Quest. Image credit: Incuvo

Responding to a post over on Twitter, the Green Hell VR account simply said: “We do have some plans for the PSVR as well.” As far as VRFocus is aware that’s the first time Green Hell VR has been linked with the headset, at least confirming the studio is looking into support.

It’s likely that if PlayStation VR does get Green Hell VR it won’t be within the same timeline as the Oculus Quest and PC VR versions which are now due to launch simultaneously in Q1 2022. That vague mention of “some plans” could also suggest Incuvo might be waiting for further details regarding the headsets successor for PlayStation 5, rumoured to be arriving holiday 2022.

Green Hell VR is an immersive port of Creepy Jar’s 2019 survival adventure Green Hell, being reworked from the ground up to support immersive interaction. That means plenty of objects to pick up and physically use, especially when it comes to weapons and surviving the jungle. Incuvo has plenty of experience in this having helped create the recent VR port of Blair Witch: VR Edition for PlayStation VR and PC VR headsets.

Green Hell VR - PC
Green Hell VR for PC VR. Image credit: Incuvo

Green Hell VR is a big open-world survival adventure in the Amazon rainforest. While you can go it alone, Incuvo has already confirmed you won’t need to as a co-op mode will be available, albeit not for launch. Making your new home in the jungle you’ll have to forage for resources and hunt for food, all whilst learning new skills to build shelter, craft useful tools and making sure you don’t get injured. As there’s plenty of danger hidden in the trees, from wild animals to local tribes.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Green Hell VR, reporting back with further updates.