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Sony Won’t Say If PSVR 2 Is Releasing This Year (Yet)

From uploadvr

It appears that Sony is tight-lipped on if PSVR 2 will be releasing this year.

Following last week’s official reveal of the headset’s name and specs, Axios’ Stephen Totilo noted that he had reached out to Sony to ask two key questions about the device. First, Totilo asked if PSVR 2 would be backwards compatible with the original PSVR and its library of content. He also asked if it would release this year.

According to Totilo, Sony declined to comment on each point.

Sony Silent On PSVR 2 Release Date

This perhaps isn’t too surprising given that companies often have dedicated beats for when and where they’ll reveal details such as this, but it is somewhat curious that Sony hasn’t confirmed a broad 2022 release window for its next VR headset yet.

The headset was first announced in early 2021 and UploadVR was the first to reveal specs for the device around the middle of the year, so it’s clear that many details about the kit have been nailed down for a long time. Plus, revealing information at CES in the first week of the year does suggest that you’re firing the starting gun for a months-long promotional plan leading up to a release somewhere around the holiday season. That’s exactly what Sony did with the PS5 two years ago, for example.

But it’s very possible that the ongoing component shortage that has plagued the rollout of so many electronic devices — not least of which the PS5 — is having an influence on Sony’s plans. With so much up in the air and different manufacturers offering differing opinions on when the situation might be resolved, the company might not yet be able to commit to a 2022 release date even if that is the plan.

But, regardless of the silence, we’re fully expecting to at least hear much more about PSVR 2 this year. Stay tuned to UploadVR, where we’ll bring you all the latest on the headset.

Sony Patent Filing Gives New Look At PSVR 2 Controllers

From uploadvr

We’ve just had another glimpse at the promising motion controllers for Sony’s upcoming PS5 VR headset, this time from a recently-spotted patent filing.

The filing, which was published last week, is for a light-emitting ‘Input Device’ that’s detected by a camera. Several drawings feature the new orb-like design for the unnamed controllers, which Sony shared official renders of right back at the beginning of the year.

Given we’ve seen these controllers before, there isn’t too much new to share here, save for some new angles of the device. The drawings also show exactly where the tracking lights are placed on the device, giving us some idea of how the headset will track the controllers with an onboard camera. We already knew that the headset would track the controllers, rather than an external camera as with the original PSVR, but these designs suggest the controllers will practically be covered in lights to ensure stable inside-out tracking.

We haven’t seen the headset itself yet, nor has it been officially named, but we’re all calling it PSVR 2 for now. You can keep up with everything else we know about the device right here.

PSVR 2 Controllers Patent

As always, we have to note this is merely a patent filing and not official proof of a final product but, given that we’ve already seen the final renders, it’s quite likely what’s being displayed here matches up with the actual design. We’re expecting these controllers to feature capacitive sensors for some form of finger tracking and, of course, the inclusion of analog sticks will be a huge relief to anyone that’s used the PSVR Move controllers.

Earlier this year we also confirmed that PSVR 2 will offer 4K resolution with foveated rendering and onboard motors for some level of haptic feedback. Sony previously confirmed the device won’t be launching in 2021, but we’re hoping to see more of it in 2022 at the very least.

Sony’s Newest VR Headset Isn’t What You Think It Is

From uploadvr

It looks like Sony has a new VR headset on the way but, no, it isn’t PSVR 2.

Xperia Blog caught what appears to be leaked images of a new headset from Sony’s mobile division, Xperia. Yes, that’s right, this is a phone-based VR headset in 2021. According to the rumor, this new device will connect with Sony’s own Xperia 1 II and Xperia 1 III flagship models.

Images of the device show a plastic shell with a space in the front visor for the phone’s camera. There also appears to be a lens adjustment dial on the bottom. There’s no word yet on exactly what type of content you could expect on the device aside from one promotional image (below) that mentions 8K 360 degree HDR content. We don’t if it would offer advanced features like six degrees of freedom (6DOF) tracking, but that seems unlikely.

Phone-based VR headsets have mostly died out in the past year as the industry has shifted to fully standalone devices like the Oculus Quest. That said the Xperia 1 III is a powerhouse handset with a 4K HDR OLED display and 120Hz refresh rate, so it could offer a pretty striking visual experience.

Sony new VR Headset Promotion

Plus we’re also seeing some interesting new takes on the concept – the HTC Vive Flow connects to a user’s phone wirelessly as a means of control and media viewing, for example.

So, no, it’s not exactly the new Sony VR headset we’ve all been asking for. But more details on the previously-confirmed PS5 VR headset are expected in the new year. You can keep up with everything we know about that headset, which hasn’t officially been called PSVR 2, right here.