Sony hasn’t exactly been shy about their intentions to iterate on the PlayStation VR, going as far as confirming the existence of a new VR headset recently on the PlayStation Blog. Similarly to the reveal of the DualSense prior to the PS5, we now have our first look at the new VR controllers that will work with this yet to be seen VR headset.
The new controllers are a massive departure from what we’ve gotten with the Move Controllers thus far, which, for my money, isn’t a bad thing at all. Taking on an “orb” shape, the new handset looks like the love child of the Valve Index and a Vive controller. Each side sports a thumbstick, two face buttons, a shoulder button and a trigger, but it has a whole lot more going on than that.
The blog post states that the focal points for these controllers are immersion and ergonomics, which goes a way to explain the inclusion of features such as haptic feedback, adaptive triggers and finger touch detection. We’ve already seen how haptics and adaptive triggers can raise immersion while using the DualSense, so those additions making their way to a VR controller fits. Straight from the blog post, here are all of the new features that these bad boys will be packed with:
● Adaptive triggers: Each VR controller (Left and Right) includes an adaptive trigger button that adds palpable tension when pressed, similar to what’s found in the DualSense controller. If you’ve played a PS5 game, you’ll be familiar with the tension in the L2 or R2 buttons when you press them, such as when you’re drawing your bow to fire an arrow. When you take that kind of mechanic and apply it to VR, the experience is amplified to the next level.
● Haptic feedback: The new controller will have haptic feedback optimized for its form factor, making every sensation in the game world more impactful, textured and nuanced. When you’re traversing through rocky desert or trading blows in melee combat, you’ll feel the difference, magnifying the extraordinary visual and audio experience that’s so central to VR.
● Finger touch detection: The controller can detect your fingers without any pressing in the areas where you place your thumb, index, or middle fingers. This enables you to make more natural gestures with your hands during gameplay.
● Tracking: The VR controller is tracked by the new VR headset through a tracking ring across the bottom of the controller.
● Action buttons / analog sticks: The Left controller contains one analog stick, the triangle and square buttons, a “grip” button (L1), trigger button (L2) and Create button. The Right controller contains one analog stick, the cross and circle buttons, a “grip” button (R1), trigger button (R2) and Options button. The “grip” button can be used to pick up in-game objects, as one example.
What do you think of the design for the PSVR 2 controllers? Does this get you excited about the new VR unit? Let us know.
