Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) finally started talking about its virtual reality (VR) plans for PlayStation 5 last month, teasing a few little details. Today, the company has taken a massive announcement leap by revealing the controller and its features.
There’s no official name for the VR controllers just yet but they do look striking. Described by Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President, Platform Planning & Management over on the PlayStation Blog as having a: “unique design, which takes on an “orb” shape that allows you to hold the controller naturally,” it certainly looks much bigger than other VR controllers yet retains a similar loop system for tracking purposes. “The VR controller is tracked by the new VR headset through a tracking ring across the bottom of the controller,” the post explains. So no PlayStation Move lights by the look of it.
There’s going to be a lot of technology packed into these controllers, with finger tracking reminiscent of Valve Index. “The controller can detect your fingers without any pressing in the areas where you place your thumb, index, or middle fingers,” Nishino explains. That should allow for natural hand gestures, although, without a strap to secure the controller to your hand you won’t be throwing anything in VR.
Button configuration is fairly standard with each controller featuring one analogue stick each, two face buttons – triangle and square on the left and cross and circle on the right – a trigger and grip. The left controller also includes a ‘Create’ button whilst the right has an Options button. As previously revealed, these VR controllers will also have the DualSense wireless controller’s Adaptive Triggers. If you’ve managed to get hold of a PlayStation 5 then you’ll know what that feels like, if not, the feature adds tension so that you can feel the draw on a bow for example. This could work very well in VR if used correctly.
The contollers will also include haptic feedback to provide extra sensory stimulation. They also look to be one piece units with internal batteries like SIE’s normal controllers. There’s what looks to be a USB-C charging port on the inside bottom.
Plenty of questions still remain including how the tracking system will work – built into the headset or using the new HD Camera. Prototypes are going to be sent to developers soon but SIE has already said it won’t be launching a followup to PlayStation VR this year. VRFocus will continue its coverage of PlayStation 5 and its upcoming VR system, reporting back with further updates.
via Mint VR