There has been a deluge of PlayStation news in the past week. The departure of Shawn Layden, the official launch of crossplay support on PS4, PlayStation Now price cuts, and a more in-depth look at the officially named PlayStation 5. But the news keeps coming. Let’s Go Digital has uncovered a Sony patent for a new VR headset. You may remember them as the group that uncovered the patent that was revealed to be the PlayStation 5 devkit, so there’s a history here.
Eurogamer has translated the report into English, for those of us unable to read German. The details are scarce, but they do give us a look into what the future of PlayStation VR may look like.
The biggest news out of this patent is that the headset may be wireless. It will use Bluetooth to send data to and from the headset, which means no more pesky wires tripping you up. This is easily the worst part of the PlayStation VR in its current form, so this is a welcome change if they can keep latency low enough. No more snagging your move controllers on the cable while you play Beat Saber.
Speaking of move controllers, it looks like a new iteration of the controllers may be on the horizon. The patent shows a move controller with a camera attached. How this will be used is unclear, but it will also be paired with cameras in the headset as well. Two cameras mounted to the front of the headset and one on the back. These could be used to help track motion, as the current headset can easily lose players if they face away from the PlayStation Camera. This patent reportedly also mentions the ability to pair the headset with a camera to improve tracking, like the PlayStation Camera.
Another possible use for the cameras is to allow users to see the world around them without removing the headset. Another shortcoming of the current PSVR. There are also plenty of other uses for cameras on a VR headset, like augmented reality. However, it remains to be seen what the headset will actually be capable of.
Unlike the PS5, there’s no word on when this headset might be releasing. There may be no need to rush the headset as Sony has confirmed that the current PSVR will work with the PS5. Whether games developed with this new headset in mind will work with current hardware remains to be seen.
What sort of features would you like to see in a new PSVR? Sound off in the comments below, or tweet at us, @FyxPodcasts.
