PSVR 1 games will not work immediately on PSVR 2

[AlphaX]

Why it matters: Sony's upcoming PSVR 2 has been widely hyped and drawn excitement from many tech enthusiasts, promising outstanding features and specs on the headset, controllers, and even games. Unfortunately, Sony has announced that titles released for the first PSVR headset will not work "natively" with the PSVR 2.

In 2016, Sony released its first entry into the VR world with the PSVR, hoping to capture the same interest and excitement that competitors such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive had managed to find. Sony came in and undercut the competition in terms of price, releasing the PSVR at $399, compared to the $599 and $799 of the Rift and Vive, respectively. Of course, PSVR required a PS4, which drove the price up to near-Vive levels if you didn't have one at the time.

Sony's PSVR was a relative success, with the headset reaching approximately 5 million sales as of 2022, according to Sony. In 2016, VR was still a very "niche" hobby for multiple reasons. Nowadays, VR has now seemingly taken a spot in the mainstream market.

Competitors such as Meta's Quest 2 have seen amazing success, with Meta claiming 15 million sales. Sony certainly wants to capitalize on this "VR boom," officially announcing PSVR 2 at CES 2022. The specs are a major improvement compared to PSVR 1, to say the least.

When the PSVR 2 releases in early 2023, early adopters may struggle to find games to play that can take full advantage of the PSVR 2's specs. You'd think players would be able to load up some of their favorite games from the PSVR library. Imagine playing Beat Saber at the resolutions PSVR 2 can output, or living your dream of being a chef in Job Simulator, or any of the 600+ PSVR games.

Unfortunately, Sony has confirmed that PSVR 1 games will not work "natively" on PSVR 2. In an interview on the PlayStation Podcast, Hideaki Nishino, the SVP of Platform Experience for PSVR 2, states that numerous features on the headset cause it to be incompatible with PSVR 1 games. These features include the haptics and adaptive triggers, the headset and controller tracking, 3D audio, and 4K HDR resolutions.

It is worth noting that developers can update their PSVR 1 games to work with PSVR 2 if they wish to do so. It seems rather odd that this is an issue, but unfortunately, it's something PSVR 2 users will have to deal with. While it is nice that developers can update their games to work on PSVR 2, it is highly unlikely that every single PSVR 1 game will receive this "next-gen update."

Hopefully, Sony is able to allow developers to have a smooth and simple process to port their games over to the next-gen hardware. That way, early adopters of PSVR 2 can have loads of games to choose from.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/96008-psvr-1-games-not-work-immediately-psvr-2.html

 

[Scshadow]

This dampens my consideration to get PS VR2. I haven't bought into the VR stuff at all and thought having a 2nd generation VR headset would give me a good opportunity to take advantage of existing titles and being future proof. But I'm not sure I care enough to get VR in the first place sooo... I guess I'll just save my money.

 

[Puiu]

This dampens my consideration to get PS VR2. I haven't bought into the VR stuff at all and thought having a 2nd generation VR headset would give me a good opportunity to take advantage of existing titles and being future proof. But I'm not sure I care enough to get VR in the first place sooo... I guess I'll just save my money.

Considering the differences between the two headsets and controllers it's only natural that without an update from the devs the old games won't work. (and the fact that it's a different console)

 

[NintPlayBox]

Considering the differences between the two headsets and controllers it's only natural that without an update from the devs the old games won't work. (and the fact that it's a different console)

That's no excuse, just like with the PS5 Sony demanded PS4 backwards compatibility from game developers....if Sony truly wanted they could have done the same with the PSVR2

 

[NintPlayBox]

Sony keeps finding new ways to disappoint even their most loyal costumers.

 

[dangh]

I'm fine with paths fixing older games, but I want to know if this will work with pc. I'd love to get this headset, but only if I can use it with more than ps5.

 

[Puiu]

That's no excuse, just like with the PS5 Sony demanded PS4 backwards compatibility from game developers....if Sony truly wanted they could have done the same with the PSVR2

Different things entirely. The games need updates to work with the new VR SDK for the PS5.

Backwards compatibility would require some sort of emulation of the API calls which adds latency and other problems that might not be noticeable in normal games. VR is not as simple to code for, at least not yet.

These games need full on native ports.

 

[ZackL04]

My guess is the games need a patch for the resolution change, otherwise they look like crap. I would assume its not 4x resolution upgrade so not an easy transition?

 

[m4a4]

That's just some Sony BS. They could definitely allow them to play on the new hardware and it would work fine (with a little bit of effort from Sony). Features have been added and upgraded, but the fundamentals are not changed

The only thing I would not expect is the old PSVR to play PSVR 2 games (that at least is understandable).

 

[terzaerian]

Consoles, consoles never change

 

[kira setsu]

Dumb af gamers are hyping this thing and dont even know the price of it.

probably expensive as hell and needs to be TETHERED to a ps5, and cant play old games.

 

[Scshadow]

Considering the differences between the two headsets and controllers it's only natural that without an update from the devs the old games won't work. (and the fact that it's a different console)

I'll take your word on it. I wouldn't know. It doesn't really change the proposition for a VR newb like myself. BC should've been factored into whatever new design they came up with so that old controls line up with equivalents on the new hardware. I will say its a mistake in my opinion not to but with a caveat that if doing so would really hold the 2nd gen product back, then I would understand. Either way, Sony has really failed to inform me (as a PS gamer almost exclusively) why my life is incomplete without VR. I've seen ads for PSVR (I think) and I don't remember anything that informs me what I should really be sold on.

 

[Puiu]

I'll take your word on it. I wouldn't know. It doesn't really change the proposition for a VR newb like myself. BC should've been factored into whatever new design they came up with so that old controls line up with equivalents on the new hardware. I will say its a mistake in my opinion not to but with a caveat that if doing so would really hold the 2nd gen product back, then I would understand. Either way, Sony has really failed to inform me (as a PS gamer almost exclusively) why my life is incomplete without VR. I've seen ads for PSVR (I think) and I don't remember anything that informs me what I should really be sold on.

The first PSVR was just something hastily made by Sony to capitalise on a trend. It was basically just some move controllers with a small headset tacked onto a console too weak to do proper VR.

This is a proper next gen headset (even when compared to today's headsets).

 

[kira setsu]

The first PSVR was just something hastily made by Sony to capitalise on a trend. It was basically just some move controllers with a small headset tacked onto a console too weak to do proper VR.

This is a proper next gen headset (even when compared to today's headsets).

It has a cable, needs the ps5 and theyre still being mum on the price, it'll probably go down just like the first one, get barely a handful of killer apps then gather dust on the mantle.

 

[Puiu]

It has a cable, needs the ps5 and theyre still being mum on the price, it'll probably go down just like the first one, get barely a handful of killer apps then gather dust on the mantle.

True, the cable is unfortunate, but it's light enough to not be a problem. And I'm fairly certain that there will be third party wireless add-ons.

The games will indeed be the do or die reason for this to exist. We'll discus about it again 2 years from now. I don't expect a lot of titles at launch, but next year should be much better with new titles and ports of existing VR games.