A few hours ago SONY showed the first images of its new HMD for virtual reality, which will serve to bring this medium to its next-generation console, PS5, with a more than notable leap in specifications compared to the first version. However, one of the things we still wonder about is why PlayStation VR2 isn’t compatible with PC.
If we talked like a few years ago about SONY’s policies regarding the PC, then we would be using a discourse located at the opposite extreme. From making a PS4 Pro designed to compete with the PC and criticizing Microsoft for converting its Xbox exclusives to making PC games that already include titles like Horizon: Zero Dawn or God of War among others.
Given this change in policies, we wonder if it is a good thing that PlayStation VR2 does not work on PC and is a peripheral that works only with SONY’s PS5. Many will argue that it is a way to attract VR fans to their console, but the benefits of being able to use SONY’s HMD unit on PC far outweigh the drawbacks and we have to keep in mind that they no longer see to the computer as competition, but as a complementary platform.
Why should PlayStation VR2 be compatible with PC?
The market situation for virtual reality units for PC has a big problem and that is that an HMD is needed that has a price to the public that is attractive to use in their games and, therefore, accessible and competitive. Since the solutions that currently exist for computers, such as the Valve Index, have a price that is a huge barrier to the adoption of said technology, it is more than clear that SONY could take advantage of the gap to sell its technology on PC.
The second reason has to do with development, the platform that has the most strength in terms of VR is currently the PC in terms of the number of games that are being released. Today the development of video games has become increasingly common and the differences between platforms are very narrow. Unfortunately, the level of adoption of PlayStation VR on PS4 has been very low and in the case of PC, virtual reality is still a niche.
We must also not forget that given the conversions of their games to the computer, it is possible that we will see the PlayStation VR2 being compatible for the PC. However, PlayStation has already missed an opportunity to enter the world of PC virtual reality with its previous HMD. Since, unlike the SONY console, it does not lose money with each unit sold, but rather earns it, if you think about it well, you can have a hugely successful device by adding your console users to those of your computer.
A review of SONY’s new HMD
At the moment we do not have a date for the future SONY HMD, which is a 180ยบ turn from the previous version by adopting the Inside-Out tracking which makes it not depend on an external camera, but makes use of the four cameras integrated in the helmet. To this we must add the Eye Tracking which consists of an internal camera that follows the movement of the retina of our eyes, so that the visual environment moves and renders more efficiently from our perspective and thus avoid potential dizziness.
Your screen resolution is 2000 x 2040 pixels per eyeso that between the two we are talking about a point density identical to the 4K and a rate of 120 Hz refresh. As you can see this is an HMD unit with excellent specifications and that is why we think that the PlayStation VR2 should be compatible with the PC.
