There's a lot of hype around Sony's PSVR 2 virtual reality headset for PlayStation 5, which is due to arrive on 22 February 2023 – so not too long to wait. And now I think there's even more reason to get excited.
At MediaTek Summit 2022, held in Sonoma, California, the Taiwanese-based chipmaker revealed it is the partner providing the system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for Sony's virtual reality kit. That's solutions, plural, as it will be involved in multiple areas of the hardware specification.
Why does that matter? You may not be familiar with the company, but you probably already own a device with a MediaTek chip inside, whether that's a TV, an Amazon Kindle, or a Peloton – this is a company with considerable experience in a wide range of markets, especially mobile, where it has also just announced its Dimensity 9200 chip.
In the PSVR 2 specifically there are two custom-made chips, the first used for the display technology, the second a microcontroller in the controller paddles. Given the company's experience in display technology – it owns circa 70 per cent market share in smart 4K TVs – that means we're in safe hands when it comes to visual processing.
PSVR 2's display is OLED-based, with 2000 x 2040 resolution per eye, to give a super-sharp visual and at a 90Hz or 120Hz fluid refresh rates to ensure great gaming experiences. I've seen the headset in person, but as it's not operational haven't been able to try it out sadly.
I suspect MediaTek was the more cost-effective chipset provider for Sony to strike a deal with, too, although that hasn't resulted in a low-price product: there was a jaw-dropping moment when PSVR 2's asking price was revealed to be more costly than a PS5 console, at $549.99 / £529.99 / AUD$879.95. And that's without a game included.
Still, I, and my T3 colleagues, reckon the PSVR 2 will blow people's minds when it launches in February 2023. The more I learn about the hardware side of things, the more excited I get for the gaming prospects. Bring on Horizon: Call of the Mountain already!
