It looks like the PSVR 2 may very well be a quality headset that’s worth the price, as Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey has expressed glowing optimism for the new VR headset.
In a Twitter reply to PlayStation’s head of indies, Shuhei Yoshida, Luckey said he was “blown away” by the PSVR 2 headset, which was recently showcased at CES 2023. He said he thinks the original PlayStation VR was “arguably the biggest success of its generation,” and sees high hopes for the PS5 peripheral, which launches on February 22.
While the PSVR 2 is getting a lot of positive buzz from the hands-on preview, it bodes well that one of the VR industry’s leading figures has opened up on the much talked about device. Oculus has undoubtedly been instrumental in bringing VR into the mainstream, with headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 sitting firmly among the best VR headsets released to date.
I was surprised when I used PSVR 2 recently! The first PSVR was arguably the biggest success of the generation, this version will do even better.January 11, 2023
What does this mean for PSVR 2?
PSVR 2 looks like it’s shaping up to be everything we expected it to be. This is quite a relief considering the PS5 is more expensive than the console itself. And while we bemoan the headset’s lack of backwards compatibility and no PC support at launch, its impressive specs lead us to believe it will be a great piece of kit in its own right.
If PSVR 2 is as powerful as we think it is, however, the sky’s the limit for the kinds of software we might see coming to VR headsets over the next few years. Exclusives like Horizon: Call of the Mountain are leading the charge at launch, but fascinatingly, we’re seeing some of the best PS5 games get PSVR 2 modes and features.
These include Resident Evil Village and Gran Turismo 7, the latter of which will also be updated with PSVR 2 support at launch. Resident Evil 4 will also feature PSVR 2 content, so we know the headset can handle industry-leading tech like Capcom’s RE Engine.
But what other titles could we see potentially grace the PSVR 2? Personally, I’d really like to see more PS5 games updated with PSVR 2 mode. While Returnal’s fast-paced Roguelite gameplay may be at odds with the intimacy of VR, I’d love the chance to see its drop-dead gorgeous environments up close. Though somewhat slow, such as the Demon’s Souls remake, could benefit from VR thanks to its eerie atmospheric locations.
Still, I have to agree with one of the more common requests I’ve seen; And it’s meant to bring Valve’s excellent Half-Life Alix to the PSVR 2. Considered the quintessential VR experience by those lucky enough to try it out on more powerful hardware like the Valve Index, this will be a potential killer app for the PSVR 2. Since Valve is no stranger to porting their releases to consoles, I don’t think Half-Life Alyx is out of the question here.