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Is Sony working on a wireless version of its PSVR headset?

A new patent tells us they possibly are.

psvr

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Sony looks to be working on a wireless version of its PSVR headset, according to a patent published by the Japan Patent Office over the weekend. The images accompanying the patent suggest that the headset will communicate with a breakout box via wireless methods, without wires.

When the original PSVR came out, we all wondered how well it would fare against the standalone VR headsets such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. It seems our worries were misplaced, Sony had sold 3 million headsets by August 2018, and with another 700,000 sold in the last quarter of the year, the company is well on the way (if not already passed) to 4 million units sold. That’s pretty impressive.

Those sales figures outperformed initial optimistic forecasts, which could mean that Sony will be bringing the patented wireless version to market. The PSVR was maligned for the rats-nest of wires and adapters that it needed to work with a PS4, so this might also herald Sony taking on customer feedback.

The original patent was filed two years ago, so it could also mean just that Sony wanted to cover all its bases

The drawings accompanying the patent show a PS4-shaped console connected to a breakout box that handles the wireless communication with the headset, and a fairly large camera module, which has varied sensors on it, likely for head or positional tracking.

wireless psvr patent images

Image: Sony

In contrast, competitors like Oculus or HTC have been working on standalone portable VR headsets. With Sony making the Vita end-of-life, a standalone VR headset to replace Sony’s portable games system could be one possible way Sony could go. The wireless PSVR could just as easily be slated to release with the PS5, whenever we hear some more news about that. Certainly, VR would benefit from the rumored extra processing power of the next-gen console.

With Sony skipping E3 this year, we can only guess at when the announcement for the next generation of PlayStation will be. We do know that most of its first-party development houses are geared up for creating games for the new console, with only a few upcoming games scheduled for the PS4 as it gets closer to its swansong.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.

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