Sony today unveiled their next generation PlayStation VR controllers, and it looks like they are well known. After dropping the ice motion controllers of yesteryear, the next generation PSVR controllers will take on a similar, ergonomic sphere shape to those we currently enjoy on the Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Cosmos. But there is one feature in particular that I would like to see after the PC VR headphones. That’s right, people. Dualsense is coming to VR, and I want it.
Technically, Sony does not call it proper Dualsense at the moment, but each VR controller has a customizable trigger button “that adds tactile voltage when pressed, similar to that found in the Dualsense controller,” according to the PlayStation Blog. “If you’ve played a PS5 game, you’ll be familiar with the tension in the L2 or R2 buttons when you press it, such as when you pull your bow to fire an arrow. If you’ve the kind of mechanic take and apply it to VR, the experience is enhanced to the next level. “
That’s not all, either, because each controller will also provide more general haptic feedback that will apparently ‘make you feel the difference’ between a rocky desert, for example, and stabbing someone in a boxing match, Sony claims. It sounds quite like you’re asking me, and this is something that PC VR controllers are currently very much lacking. Just think what it could mean for the future of pretending to eat Half-Life: Alyx’s virtual bread rolls!
Just like the Valve Index controllers, the new PSVR controllers will also be able to track your fingers without having to physically press anything on the controller, although it does not look like you can release it completely as you can on the index. Unlike the index, however, the new PSVR controllers will be detected by the headset thanks to a sneaky shell ring at the bottom of the controller. Sony has not yet said whether the headset itself will still require the use of external trackers – all they have revealed so far is that it will connect to the PS5 via a single cord and that it will improve everything from resolution and field . of the eye on the shell and input.
The next generation PSVR headphones and controllers are far from available for purchase. Sony has already said that it will not be launched in 2021, so early next year we will see exactly what impact these non-Dualsense controllers will have on the way we play VR games. In the meantime, though, I’d love to see a new version of the Index knuckles with some sort of Dualsense-like haptic feedback built in at some point. The bread rolls deserve it!