Sony revealed a truckload of information about PlayStation VR 2 for the PlayStation 5 at CES 2022 but one key detail was missing from the presentation: the possibility of PSVR 2 backwards compatibility with PS4 VR games. While we know PSVR 2 is PS5 exclusive, everyone’s understandably wondering if it’ll be backwards compatible with the existing library of games on the new hardware.
Unfortunately, Sony is neither confirming nor denying anything. A PR representative has reportedly told Axios’ Stephen Totillo that the company has nothing to announce at this time.
Will PSVR 2 backwards compatibility be a launch feature?
Backwards compatibility has been a hotly debated topic in recent years. Sony infamously held the stance that players buy new hardware to play new games whereas Microsoft embraced backwards compatibility. But with the PS5 supporting PS4’s library, it only makes sense for PSVR 2 to do the same.
I asked Sony if PSVR2 would be out in 2022 and if it'll be backwards compatible with PSVR titles (something many people asked me to ask them yesterday). Neither was addressed yesterday.
Sony PR says they have nothing further to announce at the moment. So stay tuned…
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) January 5, 2022
Whether PSVR 2 backwards compatibility will be a launch feature or not is anybody’s guess right now, but it certainly behooves Sony to allow players to carry their library over, or allow new players to try PS4 VR games on their new device.
Opinion: PSVR 2 being backwards compatible benefits everyone
Zarmena writes… VR still has a ways to go before it becomes mainstream and is still considered a novelty by many. We are unlikely to see a significant library of PSVR 2 games anytime soon, so if Sony wants a better rate of adoption than the original PSVR and wants to encourage current owners to upgrade, backwards compatibility needs to be a launch feature. It will also give players bang for their buck and enable them to play hit games like Resident Evil and Astro Bot.
In other news, PS5 has sold ten times more than Xbox Series X in Japan and we’ve been told to expect a PS5 Tournaments feature via a firmware update this year.
