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New VR headset Playstation VR 2: Styled to match the Playstation 5
Photo: Sony
Whether in the living room at home or on internet forums: the work of Yujin Morisawa has been discussed a million times over the past two years - often by people who don't even know who Sony's senior art director is.
Because Morisawa has designed a product that, in the wake of the corona and delivery crises, seems bigger than anyone who worked on it.
An object of longing that makes some angry because they can't get their hands on it: the Playstation 5.
With Sony's current games console, the demand is still much greater than the supply - and there is no end in sight to this situation, which is annoying for retailers and gamers alike.
In view of the supply problem, it is easy to forget that when the Playstation 5 was presented in 2020, it was primarily its appearance that attracted attention.
The console comes in an unfamiliar black and white, lying and standing it requires noticeably more space than the previous model.
Interested parties wrote that the new Playstation was "simply ugly" or "almost too futuristic".
Others were reminiscent of Internet routers at the sight of the console, which the designer's early plans indicated could have been even larger.
And still others praised Sony for its courage in bringing such a striking device to the market.
Appropriate to the console
Yujin Morisawa tells SPIEGEL in a video call that he likes it when others comment on his design.
These days he is also eagerly awaiting how players react to his new creation: the virtual reality headset Playstation VR 2 (PSVR 2), with which owners of the Playstation 5 will soon be able to immerse themselves in virtual worlds.
While presenting the design of the new headset to SPIEGEL, Yujin Morisawa speaks of "one of the most challenging products of his design career".
The biggest difference to a console is of course that the user puts on the headset, says Morisawa.
In addition, it had to accommodate more technical components than in the previous model from 2016.
As with the console, Morisawa also uses a black and white look for the VR glasses.
He says he and his team took the shape of spheres as a basis this time, both for the headset and the hand controllers.
This visualizes that it is a 360-degree experience.
The Playstation 5 has a much "harder" look, says the designer, who has worked at Sony since 2002.
Compared to the previous model, he has simplified the headset design, says Morisawa: The headband, for example, now consists of fewer parts, but offers the same wearing comfort.
According to him, the entire headset weighs a little less.
In order to find the best possible places for cameras, motors and buttons, numerous prototypes were tried out.
Unlike the Meta (formerly Facebook) Quest 2 headset, which is particularly popular in the USA, Sony's headset requires a cable connection to the console, which somewhat restricts the wearer's freedom of movement.
In contrast to the previous model, this time you can play in all directions.
Tracking works via four cameras built into the front of the headset.
A camera is no longer required for the console.
Also new is that the headset can vibrate and offers eye tracking (read more about the technology here).
The lens distance can be adjusted to your own eye distance using the rotary wheel.
According to designer Morisawa, there is also a fan to prevent the lenses from fogging up and to cool the headset.
Price and launch date remain unclear
Yujin Morisawa says his work on Playstation VR 2 began while he was still designing the Playstation 5.
He was driven less by science fiction templates than by his basic idea of creating a kind of Playstation 5 universe with a story behind it.
In a way, he wanted to visualize the gaming experience, Morisawa said.
When designing the console itself, for example, he was concerned with the energy and emotions of the players.
Although Sony revealed what its new headset will look like this Tuesday, crucial questions remain unanswered: about the release date of Playstation VR 2, the price and the games available at launch.
The actual wearing comfort can only be assessed in the practical test.
Because not every headset that looks interesting is really suitable for VR gaming.
At least Sony can hope for a leap of faith, because its first headset wasn't super comfortable, but it was less uncomfortable than most of the devices from the competition.
And then it remains to be seen how easy or difficult it will be to secure a copy of the headset right at the start.
Yujin Morisawa does not provide any information on this.
However, he says that the global supply crisis did not force him and his team to make any compromises when it came to design.
