PSVR 2 is getting a surprise hand tracking update, and Sony should pay more attention to it
- Sony has announced PSVR 2 hand tracking
- But it’s happening at a booth at the Siggraph Asia show, and apparently nowhere else
- It’s already in the PS5 SDK, so look out for hand tracking coming to your favorite PSVR 2 titles
Sony has released a major update to the PlayStation VR 2 headset: hand tracking. But strangely enough, the feature was announced in the most low-key way possible: via a written description on a booth at a tech show.
At the Siggraph 2024 Asia computer graphics and interactive tech expo in Tokyo, visitors can experience PSVR 2 without using any form of controller, with a video of the demo (see below) shows a player shooting jets of water from their fingers to take out flying monsters. And as long as your hands are in view of the headsets’ cameras, it can be tracked in virtual reality.
According to Upload VRa description on the booth explains that hand tracking is available with “the latest PlayStation 5 SDK,” meaning game developers can now start incorporating hand tracking into their games. The description adds that the tracking speed is a smooth 60fps with low latency.
There is also a brief mention of the hand tracking feature hidden in a overview of Sony’s demos and announcements at Siggraph 2024.
SONY and PS VR 2のハンドトラッキング指から泡出し手をグーパーで水がでるカメラの前にある限り外れない#SIGGRAPHAsia2024 pic.twitter.com/KeNQryHy6QDecember 4, 2024
Now we wait for updates
While controllers can’t always be replaced in VR experiences — their buttons provide quick access to features that would otherwise be awkward to build in — for games that rely on hand tracking, nothing beats the immersion it provides.
Hand tracking is also so much more intuitive for newcomers to VR and gaming – it’s a lot easier to reach out and grab something than it is to perform even simple button movements. It’s honestly a major feature announcement, and I’m shocked Sony hasn’t put much thought into the arrival of hand tracking.
It will require developers to include the updated SDK in their software, but if games and third-party apps already support hand tracking on headsets that support the feature (like Meta’s Quests), then hopefully it shouldn’t take much time or effort to port hand tracking to the PSVR 2 version.
So if you decided to pick up a PSVR 2 headset this Black Friday when it was €250 off (or you already have one), look out for some hand-tracking updates for your favorite titles in the coming months – and hopefully we will see not only updates, but also some brand new VR experiences.