PlayStation 5 VR technology is going to be pretty incredible according to a report from WCCF Tech. We all know the next gen console from Sony will have some mind blowing graphics and feature the ability to stream and download games. What we don’t know yet is just how awesome the VR tech for this console will be.
PlayStation 5 VR Possibilities
We know that both Microsoft and Sony are racing to provide the most interactive VR experience in console gaming. While both companies are playing their cards carefully and not exposing too much proprietary information, we believe that the next generation of consoles will include some amazing VR features. The PlayStation 5 VR could come with multiple options for headset models.
Dominic Mallinson hinted at Collision 2019 in Toronto that PlayStation 5 VR could come with multiple headset options. He noted that wireless connectivity might be an option on one of those models. “I talked about wireless, for example. That’s one easy way to do it. Here’s a wired headset. You can take the wire and replace it with wireless. And then you can have a range. So you can have an introductory model and a high-end model. That’s something we’ve done with PlayStation 4. We could do that with PSVR.”
Mallinson also spoke about Gaze Tracking, and mentioned that it could revolutionize the VR experience. He didn’t specifically say that PlayStation 5 VR would include Gaze Tracking, but he didn’t rule it out either. “We’re already beginning to see this in some products on display at industry events. I think it has the greatest potential to change the VR user experience at a pretty fundamental level. I think it was Shakespeare who coined this phrase that ‘the eyes are a window to our souls’. I’ve been a little more prosaic by saying that ‘the eyes are a window to our thoughts’. I think everyone can intuitively understand just how rich human communication becomes when you have that eye contact.”
Mallinson further explained, “so what do I mean by gaze tracking? I mean the technology to understand where you’re looking in this virtual world. What is your attention point? And then on top of that, we can then layer extra things. We can understand perhaps your attention by measuring pupil dilation. We can do biometrics to understand who you are looking at. … And we can measure your IPD (interpupillary distance) — the distance between your pupils. This is very important to VR because it allows us to accurately set up the optics and the rendering to give you maximum comfort, and to really get the correct sense of distance and scale in VR. So fundamentally, with this technology, we know what you’re looking at in VR. And this allows for countless user interface and user experience possibilities.” Long story short, Sony is working to develop PlayStation 5 VR to an all new level of immersion.
Microsoft And Sony Work Together
While Microsoft and Sony may be bitter rivals in terms of console gaming, they have found one area where it benefits them to work together. According to Android Central, the two tech giants have actually teamed up to offer cloud based game streaming services to users. This means that the two biggest names in console gaming are actually working together to improve user experiences. While this may not directly affect PlayStation 5 VR capabilities, it could open up more games that are compatible with the hardware.
The two companies will “explore joint development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services.” This means that Sony will have access to Microsoft Azure data centers. These are used to power the Project xCloud streaming service Microsoft offers to xBox users. While Sony has managed to maintain its position in the console gaming world, the company lags noticeably behind Microsoft in cloud computing. This partnership could change that, allowing the PlayStation 5 VR capabilities to be expanded to titles that Sony has not had access to up to this point.
Cross Platform Play Could Be Possible
The partnership between Sony and Microsoft could mean more than just new game titles for Sony. It could make the dream of cross platform gaming a reality. This could be big for both companies, as people who currently game on xBox would be able to connect directly to their friends using PlayStation 5 VR and play multiplayer Call of Duty matches. While it isn’t certain that cross platform gaming is in the near future for the two teach giants, it definitely seems closer than it has in the last decade. If they manage to network the two consoles through cloud streaming, the gaming world would be forever changed for the better. For now, we will have to wait and see.
