5 Things PSVR 3 Needs To Not Fail

PSVR 2 is still very much alive, and with new games still dropping regularly, you may be wondering why the hell I’m already feature-begging for a future device. Well, basically, I’ve got nothing better to do, and neither do you; that’s why you’re here for a read.

So, I’m imagining a future where a) PS6 is here, and it’s ace, b) it comes with a new PSVR headset, which is also ace, and c) I can afford it all without selling myself to strange men. These are my demands. Demands I can not afford. But they are demands anyway.

5. Backwards Compatibility

This is a must-have right out of the gate. No ifs, no buts, no maybe in a future update – day one. Every PSVR 2 game has to work with whatever the next headset is. I’m no genius, but I reckon we’re looking at a PSVR 3 situation.

One of the few issues I have with the current PSVR 2 is that original PSVR games aren’t playable on the damn thing. Which is understandable. One headset has games made for light-tracked controllers, the other was made with inside-out tracking. Of course, they aren’t simply going to work; that’s why we have some awesome ports, or in the case of Arizona Sunshine, a full remake.

But the OG PSVR does work with PS5, so at least players could play their library, mostly – some of the original PSVR games still don’t work on PS5. But it’s better than nothing. But for the next one, I want even better. I want to be able to sell my PSVR 2 to some poor who can’t afford a PSVR 3 (can I sell it to myself? Any tax fraudsters around?) to make room for the PSVR 3. I’ve got enough useless clutter. Let me simply play everything VR in one headset, and if Sony can wing it, throw in some OG PSVR compatibility, too. I don’t know how. Emulate it or something? I’m not a computer genius…

4. Proper Browser Support (AKA Porn Support)

Another one of the few annoyances with the PSVR 2 headset is that you can’t go online with it. By that, I mean normal web surfing, at least not without doing some trickery. Sony has the internet locked down, so if you wanted to watch VR content online, you’re SOL, no VR JOI 4U. Unacceptable, some would say.

“if one wants to goon oneself into oblivion with VR visual aids, then please, do let one.”

Protect the kiddies by all means, but if one wants to goon oneself into oblivion with VR visual aids, then please, do let one. The headset is going to cost a fortune; let us do whatever we want with it. Otherwise, those Meta Quest headsets start looking a lot more practical with their unrestricted ecosystems. Which brings me nicely onto my next point…

3. Lose the Bloody Wires

The PSVR 2’s single-cable solution is a damn sight more elegant than the spaghetti shitshow that was the original PlayStation VR and its breakout box and mess of cables. But still, that single cable feels even more constricting, somehow. Knowing there’s just a flimsy cable and shaky faith in the USB-C holding it to the console makes it even more worrisome at times. Yes, I know it’s well-built, and there’s more than enough cable for my play space, but I still worry. I think it being so light and unobtrusive can be worse, because you forget it’s there, you overextend, or swing an arm the wrong way, or step wrong, and suddenly your PS5 is lying on the floor, panting like a dog.

There has to be some way to do it wirelessly, right? I’ve played PCVR games on Steam over Wifi on a Meta Quest. Several pieces of technology are all working together and delivering a damn near perfect result. Why can’t Sony manage that? There’s no noise from others – just have the headset and console “talk” to each other directly, like Remote Play on PS4 and PS Vita – no WiFi required, just get those things within distance and boom, PS Vita is a PS4 mobile.

Now, some would call for Sony to just release a standalone headset to solve that problem, and while that would be cool, it would not be in the spirit of PlayStation VR. The original PSVR punched well above its weight because it was standing on the shoulders of the PS4, and later, the PS4 Pro, and now, the PS5 – honestly, some games run so much faster and better on PS5. The same is true for the PSVR 2 – the headset itself is just a display and a controller, the hard work is being done by the console. And I like that. I like knowing the fat huffing bitch of a console is working hard to give me the best possible VR experience, and that means using the full power of the console. A standalone headset would be a watered-down imitation – cool, without a doubt, and I’m sure Sony could put a nice PlayStation spin on it – but ultimately, it would have to make compromises in every area. And I do not trust Sony not to try and sell shitty proprietary memory cards for the damn thing, so no, don’t want. Thank you.

2. Cinematic Mode Needs An Upgrade

Cinema mode inside a PSVR headset is a nice little addition, no matter which one you’ve got. It has its use cases. Telly in use by someone else? Headset on, watch Netflix, or play regular games using the big floating screen. It’s decent, and sometimes, I’ll use it just for funsies.

But it could be so much more. And again, I’ll bring up Meta Quest and the fancy spaces players can hang out in while they goon the web and watch Netflix. On PlayStation, you get a floating screen and black eternity. It’s so underutilised it hurts. PlayStation Home? A hub where players can mingle and socialise, all without the need for a shower. Yes, it’s inviting the wrong kind in, but with the right setup, even perverts can be reined in and kept to a minimum. Not a zero. That would be boring. But a minimum.

There’s so much Sony could do with cinema mode, I could probably do an entire piece dedicated to it, but let’s just stick to the basics, give them boffins in the Sony labs an easy one to figure out: make it a place I want to be, even if I don’t want to play. That’s what they’ve done with their consoles: music, movies, YouTube, Twitch, and so on. They’ve given you a dozen reasons to turn on a games console without playing a game. Now do that for the PSVR 3. Give me a reason to strap a headset to my face without playing a game. Simple things like having a digital shelf to display your digital games as boxed copies – PCVR players can actually do this, and more, so why can’t Sony even manage a basic room with a couch? Why do I have to play in a black hole? Is the equation over the horizon?

Of course, the headset is primarily for games, but I also use my PS5 50% of the time as a Netflix box. So, yeah, no excuses.

1. First-Party Support (And Not Half-Arsed)

I can’t give Sony enough credit for the first-party support for PSVR 2 because I don’t have it. They damn near PS Vita’d the poor bastard and left it to everybody else to make the games that sell the headset, building Sony an audience for their ecosystem. You’d think with that being one of the benefits, Sony would want to push their own stuff hard, show the audience that it’s worth the ticket price, that the rides are good and plenty.

If I think really hard, I can come up with two first-party PSVR 2 exclusives from Sony, and one of them isn’t even a VR-first game: Horizon Call of the Mountain and Gran Turismo 7 – the latter of which I am disgustingly invested in. I’m sure there’s probably a couple more, but they’re obviously not that memorable, either as games or as exclusive releases. That can’t be the norm, and we shouldn’t allow it. We can make change happen. Rise, brothers and sisters! No. Too much.

No, we can’t force shit to happen, but we can speak with our money. If Sony wants us to spend the same amount for a VR headset as a console, then the expectation is that the support will be there to match it. Because if not… those Meta Quest headsets are looking awfully good… and Steam is doing a headset, too, so there’s competition for who gets to sit on my face and give me a good time. Your mum is also a contender. For budget reasons, she might have to do.