While the PSVR has been a great headset the same can’t be said for its controllers. Sony did as good a job as could be hoped for adapting the Move controllers from the PS3 but it was never anything like an ideal solution, just barely up to the task of allowing hand movement inside the VR worlds. The announcement of the PSVR2 (not official name, but probably close) came with a reveal that the Move controllers would be replaced and no further details, but this morning Sony is finally ready to show off the upgrade.
The new unnamed controllers will be familiar to anyone with an Oculus Rift, being basically a retooled version of them with a few extra perks. The button layout is almost identical to the Rift controller, barring the PS5’s Options/Create buttons being moved to the far side of the sticks. The tracking ring goes around the wrist rather than over the top of the thumb, held in place by a swoosh of plastic between thumb and index finger. Inside the controller, however, are the adaptive triggers that have gotten so much positive feedback on the PS5. This provides resistance when pulling back, like the extra pressure required to draw a non-compbound bow back to its fullest. It’s also got the haptic feedback, which means a wide variety of vibrations to simulate the sensations of any number of interactions.
The original PSVR is an incredibly nice headset with a controller disadvantage so it’s great to see the new ones hitting the current industry standard. While VR headset technology has years of iteration ahead, getting lighter, faster, and higher resolution, the controllers have begun reaching a standard that’s maybe not quite so fancy as Valve’s, which dispense with the triggers for full finger sensing, but has the advantage of being affordable by mere mortals. That goes a long way to helping VR be more accessible, letting more people inside the game and finally being able to get as close as possible to reaching out and touching their gaming worlds.
