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[IbizaPocholo]

Sony Says No Comment on Backward Compatibility for PSVR2

When asked, a Sony spokesperson responded with a 'no comment at this time' in regards to PSVR2 backwards compatibility with original PSVR games.

gamerant.com

Journalist Stephen Totilo reacehed out to a Sony representative and asked if the company had any plans for backwards compatibility with original PSVR titles, along with asking if the hardware would be out by the end of 2022. Sony PR answered that the company had "nothing further to announce at the moment" with regards to the questions asked. It's hard to say either way what Sony will decide on this front, but owners of previous VR hardware should be braced for a console that will not be playing their old VR titles.



Thanks mods for the title change

 

[ethomaz]

Sony just reveal details in events.
I thought people were used to it after all the “The Evil Sony is silent” bs.

You will get more info in the imminent PSVR2 event.

 

[ManaByte]

Well with PSVR2 using an entirely different kind of tracking for both the headset AND the controllers, I'd imagine it'd be hard for the PS4 VR games to work on it. I'd imagine you'll see stuff like Vader Immortal, which has versions for PC & Oculus, get ports as those would be easy to port to the PSVR2 tracking. But exclusive stuff like Iron Man VR that used the move controllers would be a challenge.

 

[ZehDon]

We have word from leakers that it will be, and frankly, there's basically no reason for it not to be given the PS5 can run virtually every PS4 title, and there's adapters to make the PSVR work with the PS5.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I'm not worried.

 

[remember_spinal]

Just like they didnt tell journalist ps5 was BC. Sony doesn’t leak big marketing points to press

 

[ManaByte]

Just like they didnt tell journalist ps5 was BC.

yes they did

 

[remember_spinal]

yes they did

No, people were saying for months that the ps5 wasn’t backwards compatible or that it would only play 100 games. Sony didn’t reveal that it would be fully BC until the first ps5 reveal

 

[Deerock71]

What's the first word in no comment? I'll answer that question with a question; when I proposed on my knee to my EX on a beach in Seaside, Oregon, what are the FIRST TWO LETTERS TO EACH WORD,"NOt NOw"?

 

[iHaunter]

I don't get how people expect it to fucking work on a PS4 or PS4 pro. You know the specs, do some basic maths, and use your brain. It's literally impossible.

 

[ManaByte]

No, people were saying for months that the ps5 wasn’t backwards compatible or that it would only play 100 games. Sony didn’t reveal that it would be fully BC until the first ps5 reveal

It was known it was BC from the day Cerny revealed the specs.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

That's an odd title. It's not a piece of news as I don't know if it will have BC or not yet.

We should wait for them to actually reveal this. They wouldn't comment on anything about this to a journalist.

 

[Punished Miku]

That's an odd title. It's not a piece of news as I don't know if it will have BC or not yet.

We should wait for them to actually reveal this. They wouldn't comment on anything about this to a journalist.

They call him Stephen Tostito cause he got them scoops.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Not sure if anyone is even realistically expecting BC with PSVR. Yes, I'd love full BC because I have PSVR and a big collection of VR games, but these two hardware are very different and built on different technologies.

Significant differences in controls and tracking won't allow backward compatibility without compromising the vision and potential of PSVR 2.

 

[BlackTron]

It would be very nice if it were full BC of course, but IMO no biggie if it isn't.

I don't really see BC with old PSVR titles as a big deal because the PSVR is already compatible with the console.

If it would be a major cost to make sure it works or even small compromise on how the new kit is designed, it's not worth it.

 

[Loxus]

It was known it was BC from the day Cerny revealed the specs.

Like he said,
Many people didn't believe the PS5 was BC before Road to PS5.
Even after Road to PS5, people thought it was only BC with a 100 games and Sony had to come out and say that's not the case but BC with 4000+ games.

Unveiling New Details of PlayStation 5: Hardware Technical Specs [UPDATED]
UPDATE: A quick update on backward compatibility – With all of the amazing games in PS4’s catalog, we’ve devoted significant efforts to enable our fans to play their favorites on PS5. We believe that the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5.

On Topic:
'No comment' means their not sharing anymore information on PSVR 2 regardless of what question asked, not just BC. That doesn't imply it's not BC.

 

[bender]

BC would make it a much easier to market but the motion tracking may not allow for it. Hopefully some of the better titles will be updated to support PSVR2 but I wonder if that would require they be upgraded to PS5 native apps.

 

[lh032]

perhaps certain games have BC capability, some dont.
i planned to get PSVR2, this will be my first VR accessory.

Any PSVR games with PSVR2 BC, i 100% going to buy it.

 

[BlvckFox]

Sony believes in generations.

 

[THE DUCK]

I don't get how people expect it to fucking work on a PS4 or PS4 pro. You know the specs, do some basic maths, and use your brain. It's literally impossible.

That's not what they were asking about, they were asking if ps4 vr titles would be platlyable on ps5 with psvr2.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I’m not holding my breath

 

[taizuke]

I just want RE 7 and 4 to work on PSVR2. If that's through BC or developed for the new headset I don't care. They'll have my money as long as those two games happen.

I skipped PSVR1 hoping this is the case.

 

[bender]

I just want RE 7 and 4 to work on PSVR2. If that's through BC or developed for the new headset I don't care. They'll have my money as long as those two games happen.

I skipped PSVR1 hoping this is the case.

Rez, Tetris Effect, Thumper and Polybius are all great. I'm sure Moose Life is too.

 

[Shmunter]

Surely this would be a no brainer

 

[Agent X]

Significant differences in controls and tracking won't allow backward compatibility without compromising the vision and potential of PSVR 2.

Would it be possible for them to achieve compatibility with older PSVR games by requiring the PS Camera and the original controllers (Move and/or DualShock 4), in the same way that they worked on PS4?

Obviously, the older games were designed with those devices in mind, and wouldn't recognize the Sense controllers or the new headset's tracking method. The new PSVR2 headset would simply act as a substitute for the old headset. Everything else would remain unchanged.

 

[TLZ]

Isn't this a given though, since all PS4 games are BC on PS5?

 

[reinking]

I sure hope it is BC. If not, I will throw my fist in the air in anger and still get a PSVR2.

 

[remember_spinal]

Isn't this a given though, since all PS4 games are BC on PS5?

It is, but people need at reason to be maaad.

Sony has big games on psvr they aren’t gonna toss those games because they use move controllers lol

 

[Shmunter]

Would it be possible for them to achieve compatibility with older PSVR games by requiring the PS Camera and the original controllers (Move and/or DualShock 4), in the same way that they worked on PS4?

Obviously, the older games were designed with those devices in mind, and wouldn't recognize the Sense controllers or the new headset's tracking method. The new PSVR2 headset would simply act as a substitute for the old headset. Everything else would remain unchanged.

Should all be abstracted. Really the inputs are nothing but positional.

 

[BlackTron]

Should all be abstracted. Really the inputs are nothing but positional.

Good point...maybe it can make Iron Man VR not suck?

I'm still sour that the demo felt better to control than the final game. That demo sold me on getting a Pro and VR headset, dammit!

 

[ManaByte]

Isn't this a given though, since all PS4 games are BC on PS5?

No. Just like games that require Kinect can’t work on a Xbox Series the VR games designed to require the move controllers and camera might be an issue.

 

[Imtjnotu]

sonys PR says "it has nothing further to announce".

sonys PR did not say "no comment".

weird title OP........ weird title.

 

[Shmunter]

Good point...maybe it can make Iron Man VR not suck?

I'm still sour that the demo felt better to control than the final game. That demo sold me on getting a Pro and VR headset, dammit!

Didn’t know that

 

[TLZ]

No. Just like games that require Kinect can’t work on a Xbox Series the VR games designed to require the move controllers and camera might be an issue.

Hm. I don't think the controllers will be an issue, but the camera possibly. Hopefully a patch can fix that.

 

[dotnotbot]

There won't be backwards compatibility. The leak that was spot on on all the specs said it's not BC and that they will remaster some titles.

Makes sense as PS VR 2 is very different - tracking method, controllers, screen. So why go through all the hassle with BC if you can do a bit of lifting and charge twice? Price will probably be suprisingly low for it's specs and that's how they plan to recoup some money.

Remember it's the same Sony that recently removed standalone Uncharted 4 from PS Store and bundled it together with Lost Legacy for inflated price so that with $10 upgrade on top it costs the same as PS5 "remaster".

 

[odhiex]

Maybe some (most) PSVR1 games will be forward compatible with PSVR2, with some new tricks.

I assume that the rest of PSVR1 titles are incompatible.

 

[93xfan]

I'm not worried.

Me neither. Hate VR

Edit: I do think they’ll do full BC though.

 

[Notabueno]

If you've ever developed a VR experience, this pisses the fuck out of me because there's nothing easier than VR BC when titles are so old.

So as usual Sony is going to flush down the drain instead of exploiting a huge part of their catalogue and not maintain it until VR emulation on PC does it better and it's PCS2/3 all over again...

 

[CamHostage]

BC would make it a much easier to market but the motion tracking may not allow for it. Hopefully some of the better titles will be updated to support PSVR2 but I wonder if that would require they be upgraded to PS5 native apps.

I'm not sure what you could do to emulate the sensing of the headset (it's the lightbar and the camera that act as the sensor, I guess it really does not have any other sixaxis sensors inside the headset? that's crazy that a 1280×800 camera 8 feet away was considered good enough for VR motion detection,) that would be a clear problem unless there could be a way to have a "virtual head" converting the PS VR2 sensors into position and acceleration data for the game.

As far as then controllers though, doing "virtual hands" might be tricky because there's more finer movement to transcribe, but they could also just default to requiring old PS Move and PS Camera equipment for older games. (I don't think they'd go to the trouble of selling a lame "LED Pack" to stick lights on your PS VR2 helmet.) Newcomers to PS VR2 would be left out, but at least you wouldn't need to keep both headsets out if they could do a little bit of the work internally.

Hm. I don't think the controllers will be an issue, but the camera possibly. Hopefully a patch can fix that.

All games for PS4VR require the camera, unfortunately. That's how it works, as I understand it, that the camera watches the lights on your headset and controllers (sort of like Wiimote, albeit backwards from Wii, technically,) and translates that into gameplay movement. PSVR doesn't rely on motion sensors, it relies on visual tracking of markers, aka little LED bulbs on your head and in your hands being seen by the camera.

PlayStation VR brings virtual reality to console video gaming

This Sony's PlayStation VR review shows you how to bring virtual reality to your living room. Get Playstation VR games and try it out yourself!

www.lifewire.com

...Seems like such an easy concept, just make the new thing that's replacing the previous thing work with both thing's games. But once you think about how PSVR worked, you realize that the situation is frustratingly complicated.

 

[Shmunter]

If you've ever developed a VR experience, this pisses the fuck out of me because there's nothing easier than VR BC when titles are so old.

So as usual Sony is going to flush down the drain instead of exploiting a huge part of their catalogue and not maintain it until VR emulation on PC does it better and it's PCS2/3 all over again...

Man if they don’t do vr bc I’m going to be salty as shit.

As you say, it should be easy - virtualise the camera, abstract the positional data. PS4 game underneath should be none the wiser and even track much better.

Unless it is a physical representation issue where the game keeps leaning into the move controller prompts so much that playing with a new layout is beyond comprehension.

 

[Kenpachii]

How is this not BC?

 

[kanjobazooie]

I just want RE 7 and 4 to work on PSVR2. If that's through BC or developed for the new headset I don't care. They'll have my money as long as those two games happen.

I skipped PSVR1 hoping this is the case.

RE4 VR was funded and published by Oculus, right? It could remain a Quest exclusive a bit longer (or forever?).

 

[megreotsugua]

I'd be ok with remasters. This is my first time to jump into vr.

 

[SLB1904]

Backwards compatible isn't enough. We need those games to be patched for psvr2

 

[SkylineRKR]

Those game need the resolution boost badly. Some like RE7 and Rez are made for 2D also, so they do have a better graphics mode. Should be able to convert that resolution to PSVR. But native VR games like Astrobot dunno.

 

[DenchDeckard]

It will be. I have faith.

 

[Vognerful]

Like he said,
Many people didn't believe the PS5 was BC before Road to PS5.
Even after Road to PS5, people thought it was only BC with a 100 games and Sony had to come out and say that's not the case but BC with 4000+ games.

Unveiling New Details of PlayStation 5: Hardware Technical Specs [UPDATED]
UPDATE: A quick update on backward compatibility – With all of the amazing games in PS4’s catalog, we’ve devoted significant efforts to enable our fans to play their favorites on PS5. We believe that the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5.

On Topic:
'No comment' means their not sharing anymore information on PSVR 2 regardless of what question asked, not just BC. That doesn't imply it's not BC.

If we are going this way......

People were actually arguing that the PS5 was going to be backward compatible with even PS1 to PS3, because why did they leave that space at the bottom?

 

[Kagey K]

Not shocked.

Let me know the next time Sony expresses some goodwill towards thier current customers.

That would be a fucking headline.

 

[Skifi28]

Are we really doing the BC dance again?

 

[Panajev2001a]

Not shocked.

Let me know the next time Sony expresses some goodwill towards thier current customers.

That would be a fucking headline.

Let’s just ignore that it is not trivial and add to the headset cost for everyone or the development of an add-on for audio processing and HDMI splitting … as well as require additional SW efforts on PS4. Would it be better if it were done somehow? Yeah, are you making a storm in a teacup for something you do not care much about? Yeah .