VR gaming introduces a lot of interesting new mechanics and challenges to video games. One of these is how players actually interact with the game world. There have been a few different tries at this with the PlayStation Move controllers, as well as Vive and Oculus’ various motion options. Now Sony has a new option with the upcoming release of the PSVR Aim controller, which “seeks to become the standard-bearer for VR first-person controllers,” according to Sony.
May 16th will see the release of the PSVR Aim controller. The new controller will arrive alongside Farpoint, and will be bundled with the game in various packages. The bundles are currently available for a price of $79, adding a bit on top of the base cost for the game.
The PSVR Aim controller tries to add to the immersion of the game, putting a realistically shaped gun into the hands of the player. Moving the controller will result in natural movements in the game, all of which correspond to how you’re moving in the real world. VR focuses on immersion, so this sort of extra step only adds to the experience.
The idea for a gun-shaped controller seemed to come early, but figuring out how it would work took time. “We first began working on the Aim Controller when we got the idea that using a weapon-type controller to play a PS VR shooting game will make it a much more immersive experience,” explained VP of Peripheral Design Takeshi Igarashi. Initially, we attached a DualShock 4 to the PS3 Sharpshooter to explore what sort of form factor, weight balance, and button arrangements work best to make it more intuitive.”
While the PSVR Aim controller was constructed largely with Farpoint in mind, other developers can take advantage of it as well. There are already more games being developed to use the new controller, such as ROM: Extraction and The Brookhaven Experiment.
