Sony surprised us all this week by revealing its next generation PlayStation VR controllers. In the PlayStation blog post, he mentioned that they are sent to development partners immediately, which is why he decided to reveal them – there is always a chance that they will leak once they reach the studios, right?
To be fair, I don’t think blind-like accessories are so surprising – but that doesn’t make them any less interesting. We know that they are followed by headphones, rather than a forward-facing camera, allowing for true 360-degree entertainment. They also have many of the same features as DualSense, so you’ll get adaptive trigger effects and haptic feedback.
I am especially anxious to try to follow my fingers; I don’t think the blog post shows very clearly how this will work, but I remember watching some old prototypes on the PlayStation that piqued my interest at the time. We hope he has managed to provide such technology. It is worth noting that analog sticks will also make a big difference going forward.
By the way, I don’t think this configuration will be cheap, so we are looking at a serious price for the new generation PSVR headset Sony. The only benefit of reusing it PS Move The technology for the virtual reality solution of the previous generation was that, without a doubt, it had a factory full of wands from the PS3 era and which really helped to reduce costs. This new one will be a big investment.
And that’s why software support will ultimately be so important. There are rumors that some sort of Horizon Zero Dawn spin-off is under development for the new headset and if this is a full-fledged experience rather than a Link’s Crossbow Training title, then this is the launch caliber that the headphones are going to need him. You have to imagine that a new Astro Bot rescue mission is also underway.
But in terms of key software, Sony has to knock on Valve’s door to get Half-Life: Alyx as a launch title. This was one of the best games of 2020 and, although it did not win as many awards as it deserved due to the niche status of virtual reality, it still managed to get a 93 rating on Metacritic.
The game is amazing: a complete first-person shooter designed specifically for virtual reality. Valve has always been open to the idea of bringing the game to PlayStation – in fact, designer Greg Coomer told us last year that “nothing is out of the question” regarding PSVR. At the time, he said he was focusing on launching SteamVR.
Of course, the reality is that the original PSVR, linked to the PS4 with PS Move controllers, could not cope with the game’s ambition; the company’s state-of-the-art headset, with new controllers and a state-of-the-art console to power it, probably can. The technology is as good as the strength of the software support, and when it comes to virtual reality games, this is one of the best.
So, I half hope and half I beg him here: Half-Life: Alyx needs be a launch title for next-generation PSVR headphones. I don’t care what is needed or how much it costs, Sony needs to get Valve development kits as soon as possible and make sure they are ready to work the first day. Although I expect the PS5 virtual reality headset to be an expensive proposition, it will be worth it with releases like this in its library.
Would you buy Half-Life: Alyx for PSVR? Where does Valve rank among the most sought after titles? Drag in the comments section below.