The PlayStation VR (PS VR) is a virtual reality headset created by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released in October 2016 and works with the PlayStation 4 console. It is also compatible with the PlayStation 5. In 2023, Sony introduced its newer version, the PlayStation VR2, after selling at least 5 million PS VR units worldwide.
The PS VR features a 5.7-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 1080p. It includes a processor box that allows the television to display the same image as the headset, processes 3D audio effects, and connects to headphones through a 3.5mm jack. The headset has nine LEDs on its surface, which help the PlayStation Camera track the user's head movements in all directions.
In some games and demos, the player wearing the headset can play separately from others who are not using the headset. The PS VR system can show the same image on both the headset and a television, or it can display different images for competitive or cooperative play. The system supports the DualShock 4 controller, PlayStation Move controllers, or the PlayStation VR Aim controller.
History
Sony's interest in head-mounted display technology began in the 1990s. Its first commercial product, the Glasstron, was released in 1997. One use of this technology was in the game MechWarrior 2, which allowed users of the Glasstron or Virtual I/O's iGlasses to view the game from inside the cockpit of a vehicle, using their own eyes to see the battlefield through the vehicle's cockpit.
The PlayStation VR was called Project Morpheus during development. In early 2014, Anton Mikhailov, a Sony Interactive Entertainment research and development engineer, said his team had worked on Project Morpheus for more than three years. He noted that the PlayStation 3 Move peripheral, introduced in June 2009, was designed with future head-mounted technology in mind. "We planned and built it to be a VR controller, even though VR was not widely available at the time. As engineers, we believed it was the right choice. At that time, we did not have a consumer project to work on, but it was definitely created with that goal." Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony's worldwide studios, stated the project began as a grassroots effort by engineers and programmers, which became more visible in 2010 after the Move controller was released. Sony also stated that all games must maintain at least 60 frames per second at all times.
Project Morpheus was first announced at the 2014 Game Developers Conference. Shuhei Yoshida introduced the device on March 18, 2014, and said Project Morpheus was "the next innovation from PlayStation that will shape the future of games."
On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Project Morpheus would be officially named PlayStation VR. Later in 2015, Sony acquired SoftKinetic, a technology startup focused on visual depth-sensing gesture recognition, for an amount not disclosed.
On October 13, 2016, Sony released the PlayStation VR at a price of $399 in the US, €399 in Europe, £349 in the UK, and ¥44,980 in Japan.
On April 16, 2019, Mark Cerny confirmed that the PlayStation VR would be compatible with the PlayStation 5. Sony also plans to release new PlayStation VR hardware designed for the PlayStation 5 after 2021. This hardware was announced as the PlayStation VR2 at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show.
Hardware
The prototype shown at GDC'15 had an OLED display with 1920 × 1080 pixels, providing 960 × 1080 pixels for each eye. It used an RGB subpixel matrix and could show content at 120 frames per second. The headset had a 100° field of view, 6 degrees of freedom head-tracking, stereoscopic 3D, and could display unwarped images on a TV. This allowed others to see what the headset user saw or let someone play against the user with a standard PS4 controller.
In September 2015, it was announced that the headset would have three rendering modes for developers: native 90 Hz, native 120 Hz, and a 60 Hz gameplay mode displayed at 120 Hz using a motion interpolation technique called asynchronous reprojection. This method used minimal system resources and had a latency of less than 18 milliseconds. The same technique was also used in the native 120 Hz mode to keep the frame rate steady. A Sony representative said the interpolated 120 Hz mode was expected to be a popular choice for games.
PlayStation VR games could send different views to the headset and television. Shuhei Yoshida, president of SIE Worldwide Studios, explained that a demo by Japan Studio called Monster Escape showed how VR could create an asymmetric "social experience." In this demo, four players on the TV avoided a monster controlled by someone using the headset. He also mentioned Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes as another example of a VR game that focuses on interaction.
Setting up the headset required several cables. The HDMI cable that connected the console to the TV was moved into the processor unit, which then connected to the TV with a second HDMI cable. A power cable and a Micro USB cable connected to the console. The headset used two cables: one HDMI and one proprietary cable. Near the headset (at chest height) was a small box with a power button, microphone, volume controls, and a headphone jack. The PlayStation Camera (CUH-ZEY1) connected to a proprietary port. The first model, CUH-ZVR1, did not support HDR video pass through.
On November 10, 2017, Sony released the CUH-ZVR2 model of PlayStation VR with minor updates. These included a slimmer, more streamlined cable with different connectors than the CUH-ZVR1 model and integrated stereo headphones. The cable had no buttons, which were now located at the bottom of the headset, and the headphone jack was placed behind them. The newer processor unit supported HDR video pass through. It also came with a second version of the PlayStation Camera (CUH-ZEY2), which had a cylindrical shape. The newer model was not compatible with the first version, meaning a V1 headset could not be used with a V2 processor unit or vice versa.
The Aim Controller is an optional, abstractly shaped light gun-like device that came with Farpoint and was sold separately for $59.99. It works with some VR shooter games and feels more like a real gun than a traditional gamepad. It includes all the functions of a DualShock controller and does not require a PlayStation Move controller, unlike the PS3-era Sharp Shooter accessory. IGN praised it as "a must-have for VR shooter fans on PlayStation."
On the front handle (closer to the user), the controller has standard DualShock action buttons (, , , ) around a clickable analog stick. On the back of the front handle is a trigger, and on the top of the gun is a PlayStation button, an extra button, and two small R1 buttons, one on each side. The back handle (away from the user) has a directional pad, another clickable analog stick, the share and options buttons, and two extra buttons on the back labeled L1 and L2. Its model number is CECHYA-ZRA2, and it uses a 3V, 800mA battery.
Games and content
In March 2016, Sony reported that 230 developers were working on content for PlayStation VR, with 50 games planned to be available by the end of the year.
Non-VR games can be played on PlayStation VR using "Cinematic Mode," which shows the game on a pretend screen in a 3D space. This mode offers three screen size choices, with the largest reaching 226 inches (18.8 feet) in virtual size. PlayStation VR also works with 360-degree photos and videos. Features like Share Play and Live from PlayStation are also supported in the headset. It can also be used to watch 3D movies on Blu-ray 3D.
PlayStation VR is compatible with PlayStation 5 through backward compatibility, which uses a free USB to PlayStation Camera adapter sent to those who previously bought the PS VR. This option was available until November 26, 2024, and is now only sold by third-party sellers. No PlayStation 5 games currently support PlayStation VR. If a PS VR game has a PlayStation 5 version, the PlayStation 4 version must be installed instead to play in virtual reality. The PlayStation 5 HD Camera does not work with PlayStation VR, so the PlayStation 4 Camera must be used.
Both the regular PlayStation Move Motion Controller and the VR Aim Controller are supported on PlayStation 5. Some games, such as Astro Bot Rescue Mission, require the DualShock 4 controller instead of the PS5 DualSense controller because the DualShock 4’s light bar is needed for gameplay.
Marketing
The biggest challenge is helping people try virtual reality (VR). It is impossible to sell VR without letting people experience it firsthand. Watching others use VR or reading about it is not enough. Everyone who has tried PlayStation VR has said they were amazed and smiled after using it. Therefore, the main challenge is getting people to try VR.
Before its release, Sony believed that interest in the headset would grow gradually over time through word of mouth.
PlayStation VR was first shown on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and was playable as a concept at E3 2014. The device was also displayed at Sony's PlayStation Experience Expo in Las Vegas in December 2014. In March 2015, Sony shared new details about Project Morpheus at the Game Developers Conference, following the official schedule posted on their website and updating the device's specifications.
In an interview with Nikkei Japan in March 2016, Sony mentioned the possibility of using PlayStation VR with a PC. This would allow the device to work with systems beyond the PlayStation 4.
Reception
Most reviews from publications were positive. Critics liked the PS VR's physical design, how easy it was to use, and how widely available it was. Compared to other headsets that need powerful computers, the PlayStation VR only needed a PS4. Most negative feedback focused on the system's performance. Critics noted that the PS4 has less processing power than the high-end computers needed to run "PCVR" games. However, they also mentioned that the PS VR still provides performance close to that of PC-based VR games.
As of February 19, 2017, over 915,000 PlayStation VR units had been sold. Andrew House, President and Global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the company that created the PlayStation VR, said sales were much higher than expected. By June 5, 2017, more than 1 million units had been sold. On December 3, 2017, Sony announced that over 2 million PlayStation VR units had been sold, along with 12.2 million games. As of August 16, 2018, more than 3 million units and 21.9 million games had been sold worldwide. By March 3, 2019, the number of units sold had increased to 4.2 million. As of December 31, 2019, over 5 million PlayStation VR units had been sold.