Vision Pro could soon offer gaming fun with Sony VR hand controllers
Vision Pro might soon get a couple of new accessories from Sony.
Photo: Apple/Sony
Support for Sony PlayStation VR2 hand controllers is reportedly coming to Apple’s Vision Pro headset. The goal is supposedly to make playing virtual reality games easier on the AR headset.
Apple and Sony allegedly worked together for months to make this happen.
Vision Pro might support PlayStation VR2 hand controllers
Vision Pro is Apple’s first foray into what the company calls “spatial computing.” The headset focuses on augmented reality, which overlays computer-generated content onto the real world, though it offers virtual reality, too.
Gaming is one of the most popular uses for VR, but at its launch early this year Vision Pro drew criticism from some gamers for a lack of physical game controllers. Apple’s headset instead uses cameras to track users’ hand movements, which allegedly isn’t precise enough for advanced gaming.
But a solution is apparently on the way.
“Apple approached Sony earlier this year, and the duo agreed to work together on launching support for the PlayStation VR2’s hand controllers on the Vision Pro,” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported Sunday.
PSVR 2 Sense controllers wrap around each of the user’s hands, and offer a three axis gyroscope and three axis accelerometer. Buttons, triggers and sticks are built in as well.
More than hardware will be needed, though. Behind the scenes, Apple is allegedly urging developers to support the controllers in their games. And the controllers can reportedly be used beyond gaming — visionOS takes their input to replace the usual hand gestures.
Coming soon?
“Apple and Sony originally aimed to announce this capability weeks ago, but the rollout has been postponed,” reports Bloomberg’s Gurman. “My expectation is that an announcement will still come at some point — unless it gets abruptly scrapped.
Sony doesn’t currently sell controllers without its headset, but that’ll have to change for Vision Pro owners to buy them. Which is good news for PlayStation VR2 owners who just want a replacement controller.