It's a sad day for anyone who dabbles in PlayStation 5 gaming, particularly those who are perched on the edge of their seats waiting for high-end VR to grace the world of console gaming. Back in January, we welcomed PS5 users to the high-end VR party, but it seems we may have jumped the gun a little.
As KitGuru reports, supply chain analyst, Ross Young, recently took to Twitter to reveal an unprecedented 50% increase in VR display shipments this year, up to around 15 million units. But Young also mentions in passing that it's despite "delays at Sony and Apple," which KitGuru has taken to mean the PS VR2 is going to be delayed until 2023.
VR display shipments to rise >50% to >15M in 2022 despite delays to 2023 at Apple and Sony. Big jump forecasted in 2023.https://t.co/4m1FfgkeoMApril 11, 2022
With PlayStation not having made any official announcements of the kind, it's impossible for us to verify whether this is actually the case. Technically PS VR2 never had an official release date, so "delay" may well be the wrong wording here. We were, however, expecting it to come in before the end of this year, though there has previously been some speculation that a Q1 2023 launch window was more realistic.
The analysis on DSCC, accompanying Young's Tweet, points to a healthy uptake of the new AMOLED panels used in high-end VR headsets, such as the PS VR2's expected 4K HDR panels. Those are coming in at 2,000 x 2,040 resolution per eye, and 1,001 PPI.
Over 800 PPI is "a record high for mass-produced AMOLED," it notes.
Although the increase in shipments could point to strain on the VR display market, it doesn't mean PS VR2 has been delayed. We'll have to wait for Sony to make official comment before we can definitively say anything concrete on the matter. But at least to us, this all still sounds pretty positive for the future of high-end console VR. If more games are designed for high performance virtual reality headsets, then there's more chance of them hitting the PC, too.
And, of course, anyone looking to use the PS VR2 with their precious gaming PC will be happy to hear it's USB Type-C connectivity will likely make it a relatively seamless integration, if Sony decides to let us in on the fun.
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When I say fun, I'm talking inside-out and eye tracking, 90/120Hz refresh rates, 110-degree field of view and latency expected to sit in the region of 2.2 milliseconds. And with foveated rendering, the headset's internal processor wont have to work as hard.
Sure, it's still a little lacking against the likes of the best VR headsets, but if you're packing both a PS5 and a PC, it could be a great way to take advantage of both without buying another VR headset.
