Is PSVR2 backwards compatible with original PSVR games? It seems unlikely, given the distinct differences in tech. Sony’s new headset utilises inside-out tracking to detect its PSVR2 Sense controllers, while the original employed a standalone camera and PS Move wands. Even if you assume the platform holder could hurdle the glaring technological issues, the contrasting controller solutions have a different number of buttons available which could potentially create other problems with backwards compatibility.
Nevertheless, speaking with journalist Stephen Totilo, a spokesperson said that the firm has “nothing further to announce at the moment” with regards to backwards compatibility. That’s not an outright denial, of course, but the feature is conspicuous in its absence from the blowout Sony made at CES 2022 earlier this week.
Personally, we just don’t see how it’s feasible. A game like Astro Bot Rescue Mission, for example, is built around tracking the position of the DualShock 4 controller – but there’s no way to do that on the PS5 so it would require serious reworking. We’ve heard from some development sources that Sony is “pushing” to get ports of the most popular PSVR games, so we doubt there’s any danger of titles like Beat Saber and Rec Room being left behind.
Honestly, though, we’d strongly recommend not expecting backwards compatibility with PSVR2, it just doesn’t seem realistic right now.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 76
Agreed that it shouldn’t be expected. I’m not sure how difficult it would be though. Ideas range from”monumentally difficult” to “the games just need to know the location and orientation details and it shouldn’t matter the hardware used to collect that”. Maybe they’d even release a DualShock shaped controller with inside out tracking specifically for old games (Nintendo do such things for old systems). I don’t have enough info, but it’s no dealbreaker for me. There are only a few games that are exclusive to PlayStation (meaning no PC version that could be ported to PSVR2 instead of using back compat) and the best of these are likely to get sequels (Astro Bot RM2!!!!)
WTF? If they don't do backwards compatibility I'll be pissed. I'm not playing the VR games I own with the hassle it is to setup the headset, so I can play on PSVR2...and now they are being lazy again like they do with the consoles? Probably to remaster VR games and cash in again.
I hate Sony's decisions sometimes...
I'm sure a big issue is many games were designed to work with the move controllers. So I presume it's not a simple backwards compatible issue in those cases. Plus there's already games like Robinson the Journey that won't even run on a ps5 anyway.
@Jayslow
I would imagine it’s the games designed to work with the dualshock4 that are the problem.
I dont see how it wont work with the new controllers vs the move controllers
easier said than done but surely to god they can create an API that converts the PSVR2 move controller inputs to mimic the move controllers API.
I don't want Sony to make silly decisions.
That's unfortunate. Investing in a new VR platform that already has a decent amount of support from the previous generation would be one thing. But unless Sony really goes all out on supporting this thing, this dramatically lowers the appeal of it for me.
That’s a shame. I can’t see there being many PSVR2 games available at launch. But they have a half decent library of PSVR1 games that could tide people over in between new releases. Or not 👀🤪
Maybe they could get one of their smaller studios to rework the most popular PSVR1 games for the PSVR2?
Good old Sony, why miss the chance to resell the same game..
Did people seriously expect b/c? The tech is a lot different that it would probably require every game to at least need a patch to convert it to PSVR 2. Which developers aren't going to do.
Tbh I'm expecting games like Iron Man, Blood & Truth and Astro Bot to get upgraded but will require a fee. Boy how I'm not looking forward to the comments on those articles.
Can’t say I’m surprised, it’s different tech after all. If this is true it’s even more realistic to wait for some good games to be released before buying rather than just purchasing for horizons if that is the likely first game. Can’t see the sense in buying for one game, hopefully though they will have more game announcements before launch to justify purchasing at release if the rumor is true that there is no backward compatibility.
@AdamNovice I’ve played a GameCube game on my Vita using an Xbox controller. There are ways to translate information being exchanged between devices. It shouldn’t really be unthinkable to translate the positional tech being used in PSVR2 to a form recognisable by PSVR1 games.
They really gunna clown us on VR back compatibility 😂
Tbh as long as Beat Saber and Saints & Sinners get updates and are playable i’ll be happy.
Hopefully they have something lined up for backwards compatibility across the board, relating to that rumour a few weeks back
I'm not bothered by back-compat as I expect there to be a night-and-day difference between what the PSVR2 will deliver compared to its predecessor. I own PSVR and have loved what it delivered but it's limitations meant that it was never going to dominate how I played games. And so I played it less and less and now because I'd need a new camera and extra (Sony supplied) adaptor to play it on PS5 its been put away in storage. Spending resources a d development time trying to make PSVR games work on PSVR2 seems to me waste of time. Spend that time and money on new games built from the ground up for the new device.
Even with consoles back-compat has never been what turned me onto new generations. It's always been about what a new generation can blow us away with ever since generation 1. Even when PS2 came out and you could still play PS1 games it wasn't a selling point but rather a nice bonus. It's only now that MS went big with it, in lieu of actually spending anything like the money Sony did on 1st party games during the entire Xbox One generation that suddently it's a priority to them. Smart move on their part, especially when you announce no 1st party games for 2 years.
It's ironic because up until this gen MS dropped their old consoles like a stone and barely supported them whereas Sony supported with games PS2 and PS3 for years after they were rendered obsolete. But I can understand, I suppose, why this gen is a bit different seeing as MS and Sony have taken the PC-esque route of developing consoles based on the same motherboard architecture to ensure better compatibility between gens.
@nessisonett But it comes at a cost that might not be worth Sony's time. That's what Jim Ryan was saying years back that everyone chose to ignore, that b/c takes up a lot of time and resources and it ends up being a feature that hardly gets used. And because of PSVR's small install base they might just decide it's better to resell games like Iron Man, Beat Saber and Walking Dead day one for PSVR2 like they have with some PS5 games.
@solocapers There's a difference in the number of inputs, too. And also as mentioned in the article, no way to track the DualSense controller's position.
I understand why people may be frustrated but I strongly recommend you get it out of your system now because it's highly, highly unlikely.
with all respect I do not know about that many great VR games on PSVR, I could count them on 1 hand.
Probably it does not represent a great value for Sony to have b/c for all games.
I feel like VR2 will be first proper VR on playstation with hopefully some AAA games for release. So if they port couple of the best games from PSVR1 to 2 + some new games, that should be enough.
This news doesnt bother me, though if some PSVR 1 games like Astro get updated to take account of the new tech then a free ugrade would be nice, albeit unlikely
@AdamNovice I see your point, it’s not like PSVR was that massive an install base. But part of me feels that that’s why B/C would be even more worthwhile, there’s a whole library there that new users of PSVR2 would be able to buy day one.
Man, i seriously need PS5/PSVR2 ports of Minecraft and Dreams.
@AFCC Well, it was probably this or having the same old setup with a bunch of additional cables, the camera, being tied to the DualSense instead of the new controllers, etc.
@nessisonett True, but those are relative simple translations. Just simple button inputs. This is a little more complicated. Sucks, but is what it is.
Hopefully there's some way to unlock the ports if you already own them. But this is doubtful.
@Octane I guess a more complicated example would be me using a DualShock 4 to play Wii Sports. It didn’t work entirely but the tennis was fine. That’s two different approaches to motion controls and it’s possible to somewhat translate between the two. I think the DS4 has a gyroscope and an accelerometer whereas the Wii Remote uses optical sensor technology.
@get2sammyb there is the led stripe around the touch pad which might be trackable by the headset.
I'm pretty annoyed by this. I got rid of my PSVR when I'd played all the games I wanted to and then Drunkn Bar Fight finally got a patch for their unobtainable trophies. I need the old headset for like 10 minutes and I'll be happy. Wish I could just play it through PSVR2.
For crying out loud, this is as dumb as Sony not allowing you to use PS4 controllers on the PS5 for PS5 games. It’s almost as if they want their hardware to be as inconvenient and excluding as possible. Sure would be nice to just be able to upgrade your VR headset and continue to have access to all your existing games. But nope!
There's no way it will be BC. The tech is much too different, this isn't something easy that can be fixed with emulation like regular backwards compatibility. I mean if you already have PSVR is it really a big deal? Just keep it around for when you want to play old VR games. It's not like you're going to get much money for it at gamestop lol.
Well if it isn't backwards compatible then it's definitely not a day one purchase for me. It's a shame that they won't patch some games for this new hardware. Terrible decision.
It's a tough one.
On the one hand, we're getting amazing new tech, but on the other it's not compatible with my old library.
I think I can forgive having to leave a few old games on my shelf if the new ones live up to what's been said about them so far.
I guess they would have to patch in entirely new systems in to the older games.
The tracking system is completely different on the new headset, so it might be a case that they're leaving it up to the developers to patch the old games like they did with PS5/PS4, which is why they have nothing to say at the moment.
that's extremely unfortunately if the case, I still find it bizarre that there are so many games that don't work on ps5 from ps4, probably won't be rushing out to pick one up then
You’re talking about redeveloping a game for a completely different tracking system with completely different controllers. 99% of developers won’t have the time or resources to get involved in that. We may see ports of the “bigger” games, but I wouldn’t be expecting much.
I’ve got well over 150 PSVR games (can’t keep track now we don’t have folders for the PS5, had them all nicely filed on the PS4), it would be nice to have them, but if (more likely when) they said none of them work on PSVR2, I wouldn’t be upset at all.
Sony don't seem to be able to make it so you can play PS4 games on the PS5 using the DualSense so not holding out much hope.
Funny thing is they DID manage it on the DualShock3 to play PS2 games, even emulating the multi-tap...
@nessisonett There's also the fact that I don't think you'll be playing using the DualSense. Those cameras on the headset track those new controllers, the button layout is very different, and there isn't even a swipe pad on it. Games like Astro Bot not only use all those buttons, they also use the actual DualShock 4 in-game. The swipe pad is also like THE button to use in Astro Bot.
I get how this would be challenging so I won’t be too upset about it - still disappointing though. I got all those PS Plus VR games
Never owned the first vr (or any vr). Figured if I was going to get one I’d wait until the next generation when the technology really takes off and play all the gen 1 games on that, but by the sounds of it that is highly unlikely.
Would have liked to play a good few of those games but they could get remasters so there’s that. Plus it’s the new games that will make this, hopefully the horizon game will be a real killer app for the headset. Interested to hear more.
Backwards compatibility might not be there but free upgrades might or only some games will be that devs decide to update. Who knows let's not jump to conclusions until you have all the information
@CKFilms Who says they won't do that? The article doesn't even say that backwards compatibility is a definite no.
And I've heard for definite that they want all the most popular games to be available.
@sanderson72 I play PS4 games on the PS5 with the DualSense all the time so not sure what you mean?
@Octane that makes no senss to me. If you have more powerful hardware there is no reason they can't do it besides lazyness and being greedy!
@get2sammyb I stand corrected then! When did that come in? Thought you needed a DS4 to play PS4 games on the 5?
This is why you build APIs. Developers shouldn't have been writing code that read exactly what the Move controller was doing - they should have been using an API that gave them the info they need. Then, Sony writes an API for PSVR2 that gives the same info for that setup, regardless of the different hardware.
That's the theory, at least. How well that works in practice (without a significant performance hit) might be part of Sony's evasiveness right now.
@sanderson72 - you never needed a DS4 to play PS4 games on the PS5, not even on day 1 - it's just that you CAN use a DS4 to play PS4 games, while PS5 games require the DualSense. The DualSense will work with PS4 games as well (though it's now banned for that purpose in our house, as I've already replaced - under warranty - both controllers I had when I got my day 1 PS5 for drift, while the PS4 controllers I've had for years still don't have any drift).
I’ve amassed a hearty collection of VR games from things like Plus and the Play at Home initiatives, that I haven’t been able to play with the PS5 being my first venture into Sony gaming. This might actually be a deal-breaker for me if it’s a no, as I was banking on actually being able to check out all of those titles with the new hardware. Seems utterly pointless to invest in two different headsets imo.
@sanderson72 You’ve got it backwards, you can’t play PS5 games the the Dual Shock 4. You can use the Dual Sense to play all your PS4 games.
Annoying when I have quite a few PSVR titles. The likes of Astro bot, Moss, Iron man, Rez, not working on the new tech really gets my goat!! The real problem with VR1 is the wires!!
@get2sammyb I'm fully aware it's not likely to happen and have made peace with it. If it were Microsoft I genuinely think they'd find a solution.
I often feel like Sony don't really care about that kinda thing.
In terms of tracking why couldn't they track the controller? The headset has multiple cameras supposedly for tracking the new vr2 controllers.
They can use that along with gyro and accelerometer data to track the dual sense along with the light bar on the touchpad? Its literally the same way the original works and I'm sure there's a reason for keeping light bar other than it being a player identifier.
I'm strangely okay with this. Kinda looking forward to entirely new experiences. Though some kind of tangible thank you to those that already supported the fledgling tech would be nice. Not gonna hold my breath on that though.
@SoulChimera @RobN Thanks for putting me right! I could've sworn in the initial launch details that you needed a DS4 to play PS4 games on the PS5 but obviously not!?
Good to know when I can be arsed to get one. Sounds like a good idea to keep a couple of my DS4s around for 'retro' gaming!
I don't doubt it's a fair bit of work BUT it will hugely help them sell PSVR 2 if they already have a library at launch. In their best interests to make this work.
So whether the tracking is inside out or outside in has no influence on whether the game can be made compatible with each headset since Devs don't deal with that. The API abstracts it and really Devs only deal with the X,Y,Z coordinates and rotation. How do you think beat saber works on SteamVR, PSVR, Occulus all of which use radically different tracking solutions. The main difference between the various headsets is the actual coordinate system used. Namely, where the origin is. Even tracking the controller is a nonissue since you could use the tracking on one of the PSVR Sense controllers for the tracking and all the buttons present on a dual shock 4 are on the PSVR sense controller. We already know how it looks thanks to Sony's own blog. If backward compatibility is not there it's because Sony decided that not because it can't be done, or that it would be particularly difficult.
i'm sure if developers really wanted to they could patch the games to make them work , but how many are willing to go back and fix up those games? people act like its an easy fix.
I've got like 20-30 PSVR games free from PS+ and other promotions, not counting games that are playable without VR but have extra VR content. That'll be a real shame to never be able to play them if Sony stops supporting them with their future VR headsets.
@Milktastrophe i plan on holding on to the original headset , to play those games my self.
Personally I'm 50/50 on the VR2. Not being wireless and backwards compatible is a bit of an own goal imo.
@get2sammyb actually the only piece of hardware that needs to emulate the motion tracking is the headset itself since the PS5 already supports the move, dualshock4 and the ps4 camera. Of course full headset and controller emulation would be amazing, but this would be another possible compromise.
I do fully agree though that we shouldn't keep our hopes high.
And yet again Sony doesn't care about backwards compatibility... it's pathetic.
For people into VR this is disappointing, regardless of the technical stuff involved. Not sure how this works with other VR platforms when new models come out, maybe Sony wasn't forward thinking or maybe that is how VR will be?
@skaarj217 That's funny cos I could have sworn that I've played loads of PS4 games on my PS5 over the past year.
Guys asking for backwards compatibility and wireless. It ain't gonna happy. PSVR 2 will be a huge step forward and as I understand it ( limited knowledge) it's different tech altogether. As for being wireless this was always gonna be one cable using USB C. Get over it guys & gals. I understand the disapointment but it ain't gonna happen. I have PSVR 1 but accept its new hardware and new tech and I'm ready to embrace it for the huge upgrade in quality.
Sorry for sounding blunt but it is what it is.😬
If they really cared, they could put in the effort to do it. Almost nothing is completely incapable of being made to run on different hardware. Only real roadblock is licensing, otherwise almost everything would likely be backwards compatible on an Xbox.
That would pretty much rule me out then, as I'm not spending hundreds of dollars to play the Horizon VR game if I can't play any of the other games from the original headset. I never bought the original PSVR because I didn't feel I would be able to use it enough to justify the cost, but since Horizon is a big deal for me, I would have considered it here if I was able to play the handful of really good games from the first one too.
Sony puts out really good hardware and obviously has a great group of developers, but it is still a real shame that it seems like they don't give a damn otherwise, especially with backwards compatibility. It probably pained them to have to bother doing it this time around, but it would likely be too much work for them to bother with the VR headsets (yes, that's sarcasm). I love the games and their hardware, but not them for sure.
@Discol76 New hardware or not, if enough effort was put into it, it's almost impossible for it not to be worked out. The games themselves could easily run since they are just PS4 games, but it's getting the new hardware to be able to emulate the old tech. There shouldn't be anything in the old tech that can't be emulated on the PS5 and the PSVR2 though, as it's not like there's some crazy never before seen tech in the original.
@KilloWertz I get what your saying but I think it also comes down to resource time, profitability etc. Is it really efficient/cost efficient to do? Apologies if I came across as unsympathetic. I'm happy to move forward with new tech but whole heartedly understand people's frustrations.
As has been said it's going to be down to how different the APIs are for the two systems, not the hardware itself. I'm sure its perfectly feasible for Sony to do it transparently but I suspect it would add significant development cost.
As long as the new API is accessible through backwards compatibility I'm sure the game devs could patch their games without too much effort.
Imagine Sony would do that to PS5 and all your PS4 game library would be wasted. Cool, eh?
There was a bunch of games that let you use the DS4 to play PSVR games. Sony has to know once you start BC like PS4 to PS5 everyone will expect it in the future!
I'm just hoping for Hitman 3 gets updated for PSVR2
I’m perfectly fine with this. I played my PSVR titles and I’m done. I’m ready to move on.
I’m ready for Sony to drop the PS4 entirely.
@Discol76 It's fine. I was more angry about it then than I am now as I was fresh off of reading the article when I made my two comments. The more I think about it, the more I doubt I'll be getting the PSVR2 around release anyways as it's not like things have changed and I have more time to game. Same reason why I never got the original. A lot will depend on how good and how long the Horizon game is. That series is basically the new Uncharted series for me (the biggest reason why I've been a PlayStation fan since the PS3), so if it's really good, then maybe.
Still, it would suck it there wasn't backwards compatibility. I would say at worst low cost ports of essential first gen games like Astrobot, but that also would continue to feed their reputation of remastering and re-releasing a bunch of games from the previous generation to make money rather than do backwards compatibility.
Ugh, there goes a big reason I'd even pick up PSVR 2: to try all the interesting stuff from PSVR! No BWC, no buy.
Full BC doesn't sound feasible. I think it will be on a game-by-game basis, as decided by game publishers.
So probably expect to see only the more popular or newer titles make it to PSVR2. I would appreciate it if is a free upgrade, though.
TBH this was to be expected. PSVR isn't exactly on the cutting edge, and the move controllers are what, 3 generations old now?
That being said I'd be perfectly happy to keep the camera and peripherals for my existing VR games, it's the headset that bugs me most, well, the breakout box for it. It's getting tiresome swapping HDMI cables and stuff. I'm excited for the new version, but I still have a pile of games I haven't gotten around to even trying yet! I should probably get on that... 🙄
PSVR being usable on a PS5 is good enough. I’d personally keep a PS4 setup for old VR games and go with the new stuff on PS5.
We will be seeing lots of old PSVR systems and games selling cheap used eventually.
Of course it will be
Why would Sony leave all that money on the table? What would they not make an easy dollar from all those re-releases? Why would they not bring back all those PSVR1 owners to PSVR2 with such a great incentive?
No brainer. Of course its back compat.
Like many I grabbed the psvr starter set with a bunch of games included when it was cheaper (mine was a black Friday deal). I've not really given it hours & hours of play time but it still comes out occasionally and it's a blast.
If the new headset offers backwards compatibility it's almost a no-brainer. I can still play old games in better fidelity & refresh rate and grab the new titles to play along the way.
If it doesn't then it's a much tougher sell, I don't need two doodads sat under the tellybox gathering dust & I haven't seen any huge developments in VR to make me think I need to spend £300+ to play a new half life & a horizon VR experience when there is beat saber & AstrobOT to play at zero extra cost.
Jim Ryan crunched the numbers and realized he doesn't need the original PSVR owners. Releasing an expensive new add-on device with no built-in game library makes far more sense. However, Ryan's no mere fool. He will quickly move to capitalize on interest in old VR games with limited edition NFTs for the hundreds of games that won't work. Each of the highly collectible numbered NFTs will consist of a simple empty static screen. Stay tuned!
PSVR games are just more advanced PS4 games, so I'm sure they'll be BC with PSVR2.
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