It has officially been confirmed that PlayStation VR2 will not be backward compatible with PlayStation VR1 games. The original PSVR was released almost six years ago and has since amassed hundreds of titles that fans can play using the headset. Though it was made to be functional with PlayStation 4, it is also forward compatible with PlayStation 5 using a USB to PlayStation Camera adapter.
The next-gen PlayStation VR was announced at the beginning of this year, but more details regarding the hardware were revealed during the PlayStation State of Play in June. The PlayStation VR2 will implement eye tracking, faster refresh rates, 4K HDR, and 2000x2040 pixels-per-eye resolution. This is a huge step technology-wise, and players can look forward to a more immersive experience when playing video games. Furthermore, the PlayStation State of Play showed a couple of PSVR2 games currently in-development, including games from third-party developers like well-known game developer and publisher Capcom.
In this Friday's Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 439: Virtual Impressions on the PlayStation Blog, it was confirmed that PlayStation VR1 games will not be forward compatible with the PlayStation VR2. The news was confirmed near the end of an interview with PlayStation's senior president of platform experience Hideaki Nishino. When asked directly whether the new VR headset would be backward compatible with last-gen titles, Nishino explained that the "PSVR2 is designed to deliver a truly next generation VR experience. The PSVR2 has much more advanced features [...] so this means that developing games for the PSVR2 requires a whole different approach than the original PSVR."
The Number Of PSVR2 Games May Affect The Headset's Sales
Though the PSVR2 will have some games that fans will appreciate, many fans will likely be disappointed that some PSVR1 titles will effectively be left behind. As Sony has focused solely on improving its brand's technology with PlayStation VR2, these games will be ed as only PlayStation VR1 games. Moreover, Sony will ultimately be playing catchup with PSVR2, because it will not be backward compatible with PSVR1 titles. Unless Sony is able to release a broad selection of PlayStation VR2 games at the same time the new headset is released, the video game company giant may not see the sales numbers it's expecting of the PSVR2.
Hopefully, confirmed PSVR2 games like Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village, and Horizon Call of the Mountain will be enough to entice both PlayStation console s and VR fans into buying the new hardware when it releases. PSVR2 having more "console-quality AAA" games may be what ultimately drives the success of the next-gen VR headset. PSVR2 is expected to come out sometime next year.
Source: PlayStation
