Apple Vision Pro could get a gaming boost thanks to Sony's PSVR 2 controllers
Sony and Apple could collaborate to make the Apple Vision Pro more suitable for gaming
🤝 Apple and Sony are teaming up to improve the Vision Pro
👏 Sony is making its PSVR 2 Sense controllers compatible with Vision Pro
🎮 Sony’s PSVR 2 Sense controllers should help the Vision Pro’s gaming capabilities
📉 Apple has apparently sold less than half a million Vision Pro units
Apple is reportedly working with Sony to bring its PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers to Apple Vision Pro to enhance the headset’s gaming capabilities.
According to Bloomberg, the partnership between Apple and Sony was agreed earlier this year and will see Apple sell the PSVR 2 controllers online and at its retail stores. Apple already sells the PS5 DualSense controller.
Sony has reportedly spent months working on adding PSVR 2 controller support to Apple Vision Pro, and the controllers would make Apple’s headset a more appealing proposition to developers. The PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers will also work for productivity tasks and media editing, giving users a more precise input method than the current hand and eye tracking.
Apple and Sony would have announced the move several weeks ago, but Bloomberg says the companies have postponed the rollout. It’s still expected to happen, though.
The PlayStation VR Sense controllers support six degrees of freedom (6DOF) and would make Apple Vision Pro a viable gaming platform for VR games. However, don’t expect the level of fidelity that PS5 can provide.
The Apple Vision Pro may have an M2 chip inside it, but Apple didn’t design its headset with gaming in mind. A lot of power is required to run the Vision Pro’s many sensors and video pass-through cameras, not to mention its high resolution displays.
Still, Apple will hope that an increase in the headset’s gaming capabilities could spur on a few more sales, or at least make a successor more appealing. Bloomberg estimates Apple has sold less than half a million Apple Vision Pro units and those who did part ways with $3,499 aren’t using the headset as much as the company would like.
Sony will also be more than willing to help Apple if it means it can make more money from its VR headset, which has also underperformed. Recent price cuts have certainly helped, but Meta’s Quest 3 and new Quest 3S are still the market leaders by some distance.
We recently went hands-on with one of the few native Apple Vision Pro games, Gears & Goo. It’s a AR tabletop tower defense game coming to Apple Arcade on January 9.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.