PSVR (PlayStation VR) remains the best-selling Virtual Reality headset to date, having sold over 5 million units as of December 31st, 2020 according to Sony.
However, the PSVR hardware itself is hardly the best on the market. In fact, the opposite could be said at this point, with new cutting edge VR headsets releasing on a regular basis on PC.
That's why a lot of gamers are expecting a hardware refresh or even a proper PSVR 2 from Sony not too far in the future. In our recent interview, Schell Games CEO Jesse Schell said as much and even suggested it should be a standalone headset while being able to access more power when connected to the console, like the Oculus Quest on PC.
Now, talking to Gamesindustry, nDreams CEO Patrick O'Luanaigh agreed that a PSVR hardware update is definitely in order - though he believes it won't be coming this year due to the PlayStation 5 launch.
I think Sony knows that, if VR is going to continue beyond the next year or two, they need to update their hardware. Because it is dated, and it will be even more dated by then. I'd be very surprised if they didn't continue to support VR.
But I wouldn't expect it to be announced at the same time as PlayStation 5. This year the focus has to be on the core of the business... so I think they'll be all over PS5 this year, and when that's solid, I think that's when you'll see what they're doing.
Truth to be told, Sony did actually release PSVR less than a month before launching the PlayStation 4 Pro in late 2016. However, the launch of the PlayStation 4 Pro wasn't nearly as important as releasing a brand new console generation. We agree that it is unlikely we'll see PSVR 2 in 2020, though late 2021 could be the right time.
What do you think about it?
