Sony’s Shawn Layden: ‘We’re Seeing Progress Towards VR 2.0 Games’

Sony’s Shawn Layden: ‘We’re Seeing Progress Towards VR 2.0 Games’

Sony’s Shawn Layden says the VR industry is starting to move into its second generation of content.

Layden said as much during his keynote speech at this year’s DICE conference. He began by speaking about how it’s still early for the new tech, adding that “much of VR is one dot out, and it still feels experimental.”

But those experiments are laying the foundations for what’s next. “We’re starting to see progress towards VR 2.0 games and software,” Layden said. He then brought up an ever-popular example of great VR game-making: Astro Bot Rescue Mission. Sony Japan’s 2018 PSVR-exclusive platformer stole people’s hearts with its engaging gameplay and inventive use of VR.

“Astro Bot used the VR medium to redefine what a platformer could be, and to very good effect,” Layden said. “A game of this quality arriving in the first generation of a new technology helps us lay a foundation for everyone to build upon.”

Indeed, we loved Astro Bot. But, like Layden, we’re excited to see what games are built upon the template it established. PSVR is nearly three years old now and we’re hoping 2019’s slate of content will be its strongest yet. We know that Sony London Studio is working on Blood And Truth, but past that we’re not sure what else is coming to the headset this year.

Of course, we’re also excited to see what’s next for PSVR itself. In an interview published earlier this week, Layden said that the changes the headset sees over the next ten years will be dramatic.

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PlayStation US Boss: PSVR’s Change In 10 Years ‘Will Be Dramatic’

PlayStation US Boss: PSVR’s Change In 10 Years ‘Will Be Dramatic’

PlayStation’s Shawn Layden has us hopeful that PSVR 2 will happen. And maybe even PSVR 3 and 4, for that matter.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Layden, who heads up Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) US, said that PSVR’s change over the next 10 years will be “dramatic”. Talking about the future for the platform, he compared its growth to that of smartphones. He reasoned that it’s hard to see how current phones had evolved from their predecessors.

“By the same token, you look at PSVR right now, none of us are going to be able to imagine what it will look like 10 years from now, but the change will be that dramatic,” Layden said. “You can’t get to 5.0 until you do 1.0. It’s just the nature of the thing.”

His words seem call for patience on the PSVR 2 front. We’re just reassured to hear high-level Sony executives talk as if a follow-up headset is a possibility.

With over three million units sold, PSVR is thought to be the most successful major headset on the market right now. Layden himself later stated: “I think we’re the biggest VR platform in the world.” But this is just a fraction of 91.6+ million units PS4 itself has sold. There’s no guarantee that Sony will push on with the medium until it definitively says so itself.

That said, we have seen a lot of patents pointing towards potential PSVR improvements over the past few years. Just yesterday we reported on new documents that give us a closer look at what could be new PlayStation Move controllers. At this point, PSVR 2 would likely debut on PS5, a console that’s also yet to be announced.

We wouldn’t hold our breath for any PSVR 2 news this year, then.

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New PSVR Controllers May Include Trigger Resistance, Hand Detection

new psvr controllers patent move 2

Sony’s rumored new PSVR controllers have returned in two new patents, sporting some interesting features.

We first spotted these new controllers in a patent published in January 2018. Judging by the documents, they ditch the glowing orb seen on the original PlayStation Move controllers. Perhaps most excitingly, though, they also feature analog sticks. The current Moves don’t have any such sticks, which has made moving around in VR quite tricky for the last three years. But these new patents, filed in 2017 and published last week, point to two other additions.

The first is for what Sony calls a ‘sense-of-force presentation’. To us, it sounds a lot like a basic form of haptic feedback. Basically it would allow the controller to provide some resistance to pressing buttons on the controller, namely the trigger on the back. Doing so could provide more immersive sensations for actions like pulling the trigger on a gun or pressing a button. The controller can even provide different levels of pressure at different points in squeezing.

Next up is a means of detecting whether a controller is being held in the left or right hand. The device uses a sensor to detect the position of the hand and could then remap buttons accordingly. It sounds like a handy little extra; we’re always booting up PSVR games to find out we’re holding controllers the wrong way round.

We also wonder if this feature could be used for some very basic finger tracking as with the Oculus Touch controllers. Basically they know when your thumbs and fingers are grabbing the sticks and triggers and represent your virtual hands accordingly. It’s not the most accurate feature but it’s a nice little touch.

It seems likely that these new PSVR controllers would accompany a new version of Sony’s headset. Rumors about the PS5 have been heating up over the past few months, pointing towards a potential reveal next year. If true, we’re hoping Sony is also preparing a new version of its headset to launch alongside the console. Improved controllers are at the top of our wishlist for such a device.

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GDC 2019: Sony To Talk The ‘Making Of Astro Bot’ On PSVR

GDC 2019: Sony To Talk The ‘Making Of Astro Bot’ On PSVR

Astro Bot Rescue Mission was without a doubt one of the best and most beloved VR games of 2019. It wasn’t just a great platformer but a game explored the platform in fascinating ways. At the 2019 Game Developers Conference (GDC) next month, you can see how the developers pulled it all off.

Sony Japan Studios creative director Nicolas Doucet will host a session at the conference. It’s titled ‘Making of ‘Astro Bot Rescue Mission’: Reinventing Platformers for VR‘. As the name suggests, the talk will see Doucet dive into the prototyping and designing needed to bring Astro Bot to life. He’ll talk about how the team experimented with new ideas and some of the challenges of making a VR game.

But that’s not the only Astro Bot talk at GDC. Programmer Yuki Miyamae will also be discussing ‘Taming Technologies Behind ‘Astro Bot Rescue Mission’‘. This session will be more focused on the technical challenges to get the game running in VR.

“Astro Bot is not here to reinvent the wheel or claim the throne as VR’s killer app; there are enough games trying to do that already,” we said of the game in our review. “Instead, it fuzes the thrill of seeing a virtual world come to life with the dependably engaging gameplay of one of gaming’s most beloved genres and explores what that can mean with fascinating results. It’s a refreshing reminder of just how astonishing VR can be when there’s nothing in your way, and it’s an absolutely essential experience for any PSVR owner.”

Neither talk has been dated just yet but expect to see a proper schedule soon. We’ll be at GDC ourselves to bring you all the latest VR updates.

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The Wizards PSVR Edition Now Due In Early March

The Wizards PSVR Edition Now Due In Early March

Carbon Studio’s spell-casting VR adventure, The Wizards, should finally arrive on PSVR very soon.

The Wizards PSVR edition is aiming for launch in “early March”. The team said as much over on r/PSVR this week. Carbon had planned to get the game out in February but it’s apparently just shy of making that goal. That said, the game has passed submission and the team has the all-clear for release. Expect a more solid release date in the next few weeks.

To celebrate the news, Carbon released some new footage of the game running on PSVR below. Based on first impressions the visuals look rock solid. We can definitely see a little blurriness in the textures compared to the PC VR version but overall it looks like a job well done.

via Gfycat

We quite enjoyed The Wizards when it first hit Rift and Vive early last year. We thought the spell-casting battles were a lot of fun, though there were a few issues. “Plenty of collectibles, a replayable Arena mode, and lots of mission augmentations add up to this being one of the best ways to live out your most fantastical magical fantasies in VR,” we said in our review. “We just wanted more and preferably multiplayer of some kind.”

As we wrote in January, the game will be one of the first to support the PSVR edition of the 3DRudder foot controller. That means you’ll be able to move around using the controller on your feet instead of trying to navigate with the Move controllers.

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Xing: The Land Beyond Hits PSVR Next Week With Exclusive Level

Xing The Land Beyond PSVR

The long-awaited PSVR port of Xing: The Land Beyond is nearly here.

Developer White Lotus Interactive announced today that the game will launch on Sony’s headset on February 12th. Xing is a first-person adventure game in which you explore a peaceful, idyllic island. The world around you is filled with puzzles to complete and story to unearth, though it’s also just a nice game to exist inside of.

The game arrives on PS4 with optional PSVR support. It can be played with either DualShock 4 or two Move controllers. There’s also an exclusive level of Sony fans named Agnirok. It features new puzzles and story elements.

For White Lotus, the PSVR version of Xing has been a long time coming. The game began development in 2012, raising $30,100 via a Kickstarter campaign in 2013. At the time, White Lotus speculated the game would be out later that year. The PC VR version of the game, however, didn’t arrive until last 2017. Nearly a year and a half on and we’re finally at the console release.

It’s no secret that the studio is pinning a lot of hopes upon this release, too. Just over a year ago now the team revealed Xing had sold poorly on PC. The team has spent the past year pouring its efforts into the console version.

“It is an understatement to say development on Xing has been an incredible journey for us, and knowing that our adventure is finally coming to a head fills us with emotion,” the team’s Koriel Kruer wrote in a PlayStation Blog post announcing the news. We’re not sure what’s next for the team following the game’s launch.

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PSVR’s Blood And Truth Rating Suggests Launch Is Nearing

PSVR’s Blood And Truth Rating Suggests Launch Is Nearing

It’s been months since we’ve seen anything new from PSVR-exclusive shooter, Blood And Truth. But a new listing for the game suggests launch may finally be within reach.

The Australian Classification board yesterday awarded the game a MA 15+ rating. The listing says the game has strong violence and language as well as mild sexual references. This doesn’t necessarily mean that launch is imminent, but it’s a good sign that developer Sony London is entering the home stretch. Other games like Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Firewall Zero Hour have been announced and released in the same window that we’ve been waiting for this.

That said, there aren’t any PEGI or ESRB listings for the game just yet. It may be that it’s still going through those rating processes.

Blood And Truth was first announced all the way back in 2017. It’s Sony London’s follow-up to the London Heist minigame found in its PlayStation VR Worlds launch compilation. Playing as a former SAS agent, you take to the streets of the UK capital and engage in shootouts with gangsters.

We’ve been hands-on with the game a few times now and we’re hoping for a polished final product. It uses dual Move controllers and node-based locomotion. It can feel a little dated, but there are some good ideas in there too.

The game is one of two Sony-owned VR projects being developed in the UK right now. Last month we reported that the company’s new Manchester-based studio is also working on an ‘AAA’ PSVR title and is still hiring for the project.

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Borderlands 2, Resident Evil 7, More Highlight Huge PSVR Sale

Borderlands 2, Resident Evil 7, More Highlight Huge PSVR Sale

January Sales are coming to a close, but there’s a chance to save big in this PSVR sale.

The sale, which is now running on the US PlayStation Store, features some of the headset’s best games. Take note, however, that the promotion is for PS Plus members only. The highlight of the deals has to be Borderlands 2 VR. Gearbox’s so-so port of its shooter sequel hit the headset last month but has already had 25% slashed off of its price. It’s now down to $37.49.

But that’s far from the end of the savings. Resident Evil 7‘s Gold Edition, which features all of the DLC, is priced at $24.99. Astro Bot Robot Rescue is down to $31.99 and continues to be one of the best games on the platform. The super deal of the day must be Wipeout Omega Collection, which features some of the best VR support around for just $5.99. That’s two games with a bunch of racing both on and offline. Heck, even Ubisoft’s Star Trek: Bridge Crew is down all the way to $9.99 and the optional VR support will help you find others to play with.

Our pick? The excellent Statik for just $5.99. It’s a surreal puzzle game with an excellent core mechanic at its heart.

Don’t sleep on this sale. It’s a good time to get digging into PSVR’s back catalog seeing as we really don’t know what’s in store for the headset over the next few months. Sony’s Blood And Truth is on the way, but we’re still waiting on the reveal of some other titles.

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The Biggest VR Releases Of The Week 13/01/19

The Biggest VR Releases Of The Week 13/01/19

Quality always trumps quantity, and that’s very much the theme of this week. There’s not a lot of new releases, but what’s there is worth checking out. And, going a step further, Ace Combat 7 shows that even short VR experiences can still be must-plays!

Last week’s releases are here but don’t miss what’s to come with our January 2019 list, either.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, from Project Aces
Price: $59.99 (PSVR)

This week’s biggest release has to be the VR mode for Ace Combat 7. Though it’s sadly not the full campaign, this PSVR-exclusive campaign is still a must-play. It lets you jump into the cockpit of an elite fighter jet and soar through the skies. It’s brief but the intensity of the action on display is unlike anything else we’ll see inside the headset. If you have an interest in the standard game too you should definitely pick this up.

Microsoft Maquette Beta, from Microsoft
Price: Free (Rift, Vive, Windows VR)

This is Microsoft’s contribution to the 3D creation space. Maquette is a tool designed to make scenes and experiences. It allows you to quickly prototype ideas for interfaces and more, giving it a very different angle to the likes of Tilt Brush and Medium. It’s only in beta for now but we’ll be excited to see how this grows in time.

Trickster VR: Co-op Dungeon Crawler, from Trickster Games
Price: $14.99 (Rift, Vive, Windows VR)

Trickster’s full version is finally here. There wasn’t a big song and dance made about the game’s departure from Early Access. Still, this is one of VR’s best dungeon crawlers so it’s worth a note. Slice and dice your way through procedurally generated dungeons and grab loot to take on more powerful enemies. Need we say more?

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PSVR MOBA Megalith Getting Free Trial, Changes To DLC Soon

megalith demo MOBA PSVR

Last week saw the launch of Megalith on PSVR. The first-person shooter (FPS) looks like a polished stab at the VR multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). That said we’ve already seen some concerns expressed about empty lobbies and DLC. Developer Disruptive Games is looking to fix that.

Taking to Reddit, the studio announced that Megalith will soon get two new features. The first is a free trial for the game. It will allow anyone to jump into the experience and start playing with full game owners. The only difference is that demo players won’t have access to all of the game’s playable characters, named Titans. They’ll need to purchase the game to unlock everyone. Still, this could be a good way to fill up lobbies and get people into matches faster.

An exact date for the demo hasn’t been announced.

Next up is DLC. Megalith launched with one piece of DLC already. It offered a new Titan, but you had to pay for it. In the future, though, Disruptive Games will be adding an update that allows players to spend in-game currency on new characters. You’ll still be able to buy them outright to avoid the grind but more determined players can put the work in to get them at no extra cost.

“We believe these upcoming changes will help reward players for their time investment as well open the gates for new players to experience Megalith,” the developer wrote. “The ability to earn Thorn and Shade [DLC characters] via earned currency will be released soon after the trial is deployed.”

Do these changes get you excited about the future of Megalith?

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