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Apple and Sony Working on VR Gaming Controller Support for Vision Pro

Making a pivot to support more VR gaming on AVP would be a great move. Especially right now when VR gaming is seeing some pretty good releases like Batman, Behemoth and Metro. Not to mention other non VR games getting VR support like RE4 remake.

Apple is already in a pretty good position considering their hardware is vastly superior. The displays are far and above almost any consumer level headset and the power of the M2 is leagues ahead of the snapdragon chips in other standalone headsets (especially with the assistance of the R1).

Realistically, Apple could offer some of the highest quality VR gaming we have ever seen. VR controller support is a massive step in the right direction. Now we just need them to convince some 3rd parties to port their titles over.
 
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jaw04005 said:
This is going to be as big of a dud as supporting gaming controllers on Apple TV. Unless Apple bundles gaming controllers or offers a SKU with them included, developers aren't going to support it.
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Totally untrue

VR Game devs are very interested in using and releasing content for the great AVP hardware -- but the lack of physical controllers is a deal breaker for a majority of them given the types of games they already make and/or would like to release
 
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Kylo83 said:
Why don’t Apple just make their own, the quest ones are great, it’s better than using eye tracking
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I don't think Apple is going to switch away from using eye-tracking. They want a device (or a range of devices) that people will use often, in a variety of situations where they need their hands free.

Apple didn't include a stylus with the iPhone and iPad, despite clear evidence that a stylus would be better in some circumstances. Later they introduced a stylus, the Apple Pencil, and it's still a work in progress.
 
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Sony needs to make money off their vr tech. Really no different than the camera tech they sell to Apple.
 
UltimateSyn said:
Not really, it just shows that one use case (gaming) would be vastly improved with physical controllers and buttons and Apple would rather integrate existing tech than spend R&D developing their own.
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I see what you are saying, and agree gaming would be improved by such controllers. I just feel that Apple went out of its way to NOT associate VR gaming with the AVP at launch. Most people looking at a device like this one saw this type of gaming as a natural fit for it, but Apple apparently did not want people even referring to the AVP as just a "VR headset" and IIRC, did not show any such demo. Now (if this rumor works out) this type of gaming on AVP looks like an afterthought if Apple shows "sanctioned" VR game controllers. Apple should have led with this use case to drive up excitement with a much larger potential user base, IMHO.
 
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Kylo83 said:
Why don’t Apple just make their own, the quest ones are great, it’s better than using eye tracking
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This hardware is still very young. They probably want to see the controller market mature more to pick the parts that work best. Partnership with Sony to fill a need in the meanwhile. Just a guess
 
*Sigh* - this wont work.

ITS. THE. FREAKING. PRICE.

Why wont Apple acknowledge what's glaringly obvious about what's gone wrong with the Vision Pro platform?! These controllers didn't do anything for the PSVR2 - that flopped at even a fraction of Vision Pro's price.
 
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ipedro said:
Apple acquires Sony’s PlayStation Division and Vision Pro would skyrocket. I guess we can settle for a deep partnership. Sony and Apple already work well together on displays.
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The Apple Playstation 6, choose from
- Playstation 6
- Playstation Air
- Playstation Plus (PS+ Renamed to Playstation Arcade)
- Playstation Pro
- Playstation Pro Max
 
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darthbane2k said:
ITS. THE. FREAKING. PRICE.

Why wont Apple acknowledge what's glaringly obvious about what's gone wrong with the Vision Pro platform?! These controllers didn't do anything for the PSVR2 - that flopped at even a fraction of Vision Pro's price.
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It's not just the price. They can't get developers on board. Meta is funding VR games on their platform and signing exclusive contracts with studios like Lightstorm.

Apple is crickets. It's the same reason the Apple TV App Store didn't take off even though the hardware is equal to or superior to the market leader, Nintendo.

They just aren't good at stuff like this.
 
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psvr2 is underperforming.

it suffers from the same problem as the vision pro: lack of compelling content.

i dont know if its a cost of development thing or what, but if joining forces helps one or both platforms, great.
 
Finding this a great piece of news. Sometimes it’s irking how stubborn Apple can get regarding inputs… like the AppleTVs controllers.

And for the mass adoption valid remarks, it will likely make more sense for the rumored “Apple Vision SE”
 
Apple dipping a toe in the water of VR gaming is a good thing for everyone (except rival platforms). I don’t know why anyone would complain about it.

More developers porting existing VR games using controllers to VisionOS.

Existing AVP owners have a new reason to dust off their headsets.

The VisionOS platform gets a little more energy behind it, helping ensure future better/cheaper versions of hardware see the light of day.

On price, PSVR2 is a killer deal right now on holiday sale at $349 including the headset, controllers, and Horizon VR game. DualSense controllers are $59 on sale. Guessing they would sell just the PSVR2 controllers and charging cradle around $129 street price, +/- $20.

Sony VR partnership with Apple might even lead to better tethered VR support for PSVR2 on Mac, perhaps?

Apple doesn’t want to make their own VR controller hardware because they don’t want to officially divert developers away from pinching as the standard mode of interaction with AVP. But supporting other brands of VR controllers is a necessary step in the growth of the VisionOS platform, and it’s good to see them taking that first step.
 
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I think this will go the way games normally go with Apple devices. Apple will provide support for the hardware and extensive graphics libraries that are not API compatible with other platforms. Developers will look at the size of the Apple market, compare it to the size of the non-Apple market and choose to invest in their next non-Apple game, where they have a chance of making money. The few developers who do choose to invest in the AVP will port a version of an old game to the platform. It won't make significant money for them because the market is smaller and those interested in the game already played it on a different gaming machine. They will support the game, but be reticent to port another. The next dip in the economy will have them shutting down all servers supporting the Apple version of the game.

The only companies that may continue to support AVP will be the ones which make the AVP a first-class platform, supporting it with their latest games and providing cross-platform competition.
 
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