PSVR 2: Rumors, release date, price, specs, and what we want
To provide further context, some of the best VR headsets range anywhere from $399 to $800. For example, the HTC Vive Pro will cost you $799. However, HTC’s headsets have been targeting enterprise markets as of late. The PSVR 2’s real competition will come from Facebook and Oculus. The past few years have seen the company release the Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest which both cost $399 and offer better graphics and a wider mix of games and apps. And the Oculus Quest takes things a step further going completely wireless and throwing hand-tracking technology into the mix. If Sony tries to market its hardware as something on a similar level as the Oculus headsets, based on upgraded specs, it could get away with pricing it this high. Then again, PS gamers expect cheaper hardware given the limited library of VR games.
PSVR 2 specs
Japan Display, a joint venture owned by Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi announced in 2018 that it was developing 1,001 pixels-per-inch (ppi) displays at a 2160 x 2432 resolution. In a press release on Japan Display’s website[14], the company revealed that it “not only features high pixel density, but also has improved LC response time from 4.5msec to 2.2msec which helps to reduce motion blur.” The company continues on about how its display “is able to operate at 120Hz refresh rate” and that it will ”contribute to minimize system latency.”
While we’re not sure if this tech will be used in the PSVR 2, we expect Sony to use the newest VR display built by a company it co-owns for its next VR headset. If it does, the new PSVR would have one of the fastest refresh rates on the market, which would make for one of the smoothest VR experiences available.
It’s also possible that PSVR 2 could be entirely wireless. When Sony released a slightly upgraded PSVR, it made the chords less disruptive and frustrating to handle. As this change made the headset easier to use, it makes sense that the next logical step would be to forego wires entirely. This would also allow PSVR 2 to compete more closely with the Oculus Quest (you have to buy an adapter to go wireless with the Vive), which comes standard without wires.