Another wall crumbles in the console exclusivity war: Sony is bringing official PSVR2 support to PC

[AdrianH]

PSVR 2 support would give PC VR enthusiasts another strong choice alongside the Meta Quest 3 and Valve Index.

Sony's original PlayStation VR was the most comfortable headset anyone had made when it launched back in 2016, but using it was anything but comfortable. It required a mess of cables and a breakout box just to run with the PlayStation 4, a problem Sony thankfully solved with the PSVR2—the new headset needs just a single USB-C cable attached to a PlayStation 5 get working. And now Sony's eliminating that console requirement altogether.


In a post on the PlayStation Blog today, Sony stated that it's "currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC," indicating official PC support for the headset is on its way. The post has no more details to offer other than a vague timeframe—"we hope to make this support available in 2024"—but it's yet another indication that Sony's looking to expand its gaming profits beyond the confines of the PlayStation.

PSVR2 struggled with weaker-than-expected sales at launch, and I have to imagine VR development in general is a tough space for Sony to navigate. How much money can Sony realistically devote to first-party VR games or shelling out for exclusives when it has sold only a million-odd headsets so far? The PSVR headset's exclusivity isn't selling more consoles.

Conversely, making the headset compatible with the large library of VR games already on Steam may well help sell more headsets, and bringing some of the PSVR2 exclusives to PC should offer a huge boon to their sales—Resident Evil Village and Gran Turismo seem like shoe-ins for the PC audience in particular. PSVR2 support currently seems slim on the console, with just 70 games on Sony's official list as of this writing.

With official support for PC, the Sony PSVR 2 headset may also jump to the top of the list of our recommended VR headsets. While it doesn't offer the standalone option of the Quest 3, as a PC headset it's more affordable than the Valve Index while offering a higher-res display and eye tracking. "t's a fully-fledged VR experience in a way the first-gen unit never was, and shows just how serious Sony has become about virtual reality," Jacob wrote in our review last year. "I'm utterly impressed by it."

Another wall crumbles in the console exclusivity war: Sony is bringing official PSVR2 support to PC

Sony "hopes" to launch official PC support in 2024.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[KenMasters]

I don't see PC as a console competitor. If the PSVR was made Xbox compatible, that would be a thing, but not this.

I think when the PSVR2 was first announced a few of us speculated it would come to PC at some point, it just makes sense. I'd be keen to try out some of the VR "experience" type video common on PC.

 

[Deviation]

Didn't see this coming when I was playing on my PS3 way back in the days.
But looks like within the next 10 years, PC will be the winner of the console wars.

 

[KenMasters]

Didn't see this coming when I was playing on my PS3 way back in the days.
But looks like within the next 10 years, PC will be the winner of the console wars.

By definition a PC can't "win" a console war - it's a very different proposition. I love my gaming, but I have no desire to bring an expensive, bulky box into my home with settings and configurations to tinker with and upgraditis triggering perpetual product cycles. In Europe and many other regions there's also simply not the space.

A console is leisurely, a PC is commitment.

 

[Deviation]

By definition a PC can't "win" a console war - it's a very different proposition. I love my gaming, but I have no desire to bring an expensive, bulky box into my home with settings and configurations to tinker with and upgraditis triggering perpetual product cycles. In Europe and many other regions there's also. simply not the space.

A console is leisurely, a PC is commitment.

But you also got to admit how much development there has been in the APU sides.
Imagine in 10 years, how much computational improvement there will be on devices like Steam Deck or ROG Ally.
Maybe I am a bit optimistic on the timeline, but console as a concept is getting more fluid in a sense that it's not dependent on devices from the Big 3.

 

[KenMasters]

But you also got to admit how much development there has been in the APU sides.
Imagine in 10 years, how much computational improvement there will be on devices like Steam Deck or ROG Ally.

Consoles and PC will scale along with them - they will always remain relatively underpowered devices.

Maybe I am a bit optimistic on the timeline, but console as a concept is getting more fluid in a sense that it's not dependent on devices from the Big 3.

To me a fixed platform still makes a lot of sense, and there needs to be an incentive for choosing one box over another - we'll see how things shake out in the future.

 

[MarioAna]

Logical move for sure. PSVR2 sales have been pretty dismal.

The bigger questions is how it's all going to work. I don't think it's just plug and play with the PC library and Sony obviously want to make money on the software side. Pushing compatible games through Steam is easy enough but i've got a feeling this is going to be very limited, at least initially.

Longer term Sony need some kind of launcher on PC for their software. Not that i want another launcher but if they want to maximise profits that might be the only way. Would love to see them figure out something with Steam but that's going to be hard to negotiate. If they did something like that then all these new handheld PCs automatically become PS handhelds too. I would buy one tomorrow in that case.

Of course they would have to make proper ports for all the games so it would be a long term effort.

 

[JoE]

All I'm seeing is that MS and Sony are essentially pushing their users to get a pc since literally everything is being released on PC at some stage

On the PS handheld front, I think there is enough tech available to make the new PSP that plays PS4 titles, have enough horsepower to run emulation for PS1-3 games and be in a reasonable form factor. Imo that would instantly be more popular than the switch especially if you could also remote play your PS5 library streamed from our console like the portable currently does.