PlayStation® VR2

Virtual reality is designed to fully immerse people in artificial environments. In designing the PlayStation VR2, Sony’s design team aimed to optimise VR gaming by allowing players to be as fully immersed as possible in each game world via the headset and PS VR2 Sense Controller. By combining eye-tracking and foveated rendering techniques with two high-resolution OLED displays (2,000 × 2,040 per eye), an impressive visual experience is achieved. The design of the headset and controllers is modelled on an orb, impressively representing the 360-degree view that opens up to the player when entering virtual reality. Subtle and precise haptic feedback in the controllers, adaptive triggers that give the user different levels of force and tension and headset vibrations enhance the feeling of immersion. To ensure that users forget they are even using the headset or controller while gaming, special attention has been paid to ergonomics and extensive testing has been carried out to achieve a comfortable wearing experience. Compared to the previous model, the comfort of the headset has been further improved by allowing users to adjust not only the size but also the distance between the lens and the eyes, reducing the weight and adding ventilation. The jury also praised the ergonomic quality of the controllers – they were perfectly balanced, adapted to the hand and allowed intuitive finger movements. Above all, however, the jury liked the overarching design approach: “The spherical shape makes the devices very accessible – the round shapes are visually and haptically pleasant and appeal to the user on an emotional level.” In addition, the black-and-white contrast is used here to visually separate the outside from the inside and thus indicate the different functions. Similar to the structure of a sea shell, the white outer shell seems to enclose and protect the interior, the human being. This design remarkably reflects immersion in the virtual world and contributes to a compelling user experience.”