Sony continues to drip feed us info nuggets about its upcoming next gen VR system for the PlayStation 5. In late Feb it published a blog post about its upcoming single-cord HMD with improved resolution, FOV, tracking, and other refinements resulting in a much richer experience than available with the PS4/Pro (the power of the PS5 will help with this too). Now Sony has provided a nicely detailed overview of its new VR controllers.
Hideaki Nishino, the SVP of Platform Planning and Management, again penned the blog post reveal. This time he promised that te new VR controller will deliver “a much deeper sense of presence and stronger feeling of immersion in VR experiences”. As expected it utilises some of the cutting edge tech which was leveraged in the latest DualSense wireless controllers.
The new controllers have a design that are very far removed from the previous gen. Sony says the ‘orb’ design lets gamers hold the devices naturally in a balanced and ergonomic fashion, while allowing for a high degree of freedom. Beyond the orb design the following design decisions were implemented:
- Adaptive triggers in each VR controller providing palpable tension to mirror certain real-world interactive scenarios.
- Impactful, textured and nuanced haptic feedback.
- Finger touch detection: thumb, index, and middle fingers are detected – no pressure required for natural gestures.
- Controllers include a tracking ring in the base.
- Buttons/controls: The left controller contains one analogue stick, the triangle and square buttons, a ‘grip’ button (L1), trigger button (L2) and Create button. The Right controller contains one analogue stick, the cross and circle buttons, a ‘grip’ button (R1), trigger button (R2) and Options button.
Nishino signs off by assuring VR-hungry PlayStation 5 users that “prototypes of our new VR controller will be in the hands of the development community soon.” He says that he is excited by the controller that has been developed and the possibilities that will be unleashed by developers.
