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PlayStation’s new Discord integration is a key step for the cross-play dream

By: Samuel Axon
Cross-platform voice chat has arrived on the PlayStation 5.

Enlarge / Cross-platform voice chat has arrived on the PlayStation 5. (credit: Samuel Axon)

This week, Sony rolled out Discord voice chat support for PlayStation 5 consoles, marking the first time a third-party OS-wide game voice call option has been available on Sony's consoles.

Previously, PlayStation 5 users could display what game they were currently playing on their Discord profiles, but they couldn't communicate with other players without using their phones, tablets, or computers.

The rollout follows a similar one on Microsoft's Xbox consoles last fall. Discord voice calls had long been available on PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. The only major gaming platform outlier is Nintendo's Switch.

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Sony Halves Reported Sales Expectations For Coming PSVR2 Headset

By: BeauHD
Sony is drastically scaling back its sales expectations for next month's launch of the PlayStation VR2 headset, according to a Bloomberg report citing "people familiar with [Sony's] deliberations." Ars Technica reports: The PlayStation 5 maker now expects to sell just 1 million PSVR2 units by the end of March, down from sales expectations of 2 million units in that period, as reported last October. Sony expects to sell about 1.5 million more headsets in the following fiscal year, which ends in March 2024, according to the report. The scaled-back sales expectations would put the PSVR2 slightly ahead of the pace set by the original PSVR headset, which sold just under a million units in its first four months and 2 million units in just over a year. But that kind of sales pace looks less impressive today, when a headset like the Meta Quest 2 can sell a reported 2.8 million units in its first quarter, on its way to total sales of over 15 million, according to market analysis firm IDC. The Quest 2 has a few key advantages in the competition with Sony's upcoming headset, including an asking price that's $150 less, even after a recent price hike. The self-contained Quest 2 also doesn't need to be tethered to any external hardware, contrasting with the PSVR2's reliance on a hookup to a $499 PlayStation 5. Despite the Quest 2's success at its relatively low price, though, the VR industry at large seems to be moving toward the higher end of the pricing spectrum these days. Meta's Quest Pro launched last October at a bafflingly high $1,499, though a one-week sale has slashed that price by $400 for the moment. And next month's standalone Vive XR Elite will cost $1,099.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Sony: Would-be PlayStation 5 buyers “should have a much easier time” now

By: Samuel Axon
The PlayStation 5.

Enlarge / The PlayStation 5.

In a blog post published on Monday, Sony hardware VP Isabelle Tomatis announced that there is now an "increased supply" of PlayStation 5 game consoles after more than two years of shortages. "If you’re looking to purchase a PS5 console, you should now have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally," she wrote.

This is the second time this month Sony has publicly said that it believes its PlayStation 5 supply woes have concluded—the first was during a press conference at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

In the blog post, Tomatis pinned the prior struggles on "unprecedented demand." That seems to be true, according to analysts who watch Sony and the video game industry—but there may have been other factors at play, such as pandemic-related supply constraints for some components.

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PSVR 2 launch includes only a handful of exclusive titles

By: Kyle Orland
<em>Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain</em> is one of the few exclusive titles available for next month's PSVR 2 launch.

Enlarge / Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain is one of the few exclusive titles available for next month's PSVR 2 launch.

Those who purchase the PlayStation VR 2, available next month, won't be able to play their existing PSVR library on the new headset. But they will be able to purchase more than 30 titles on the headset's February 22 launch and a total of 37 within a month of that launch, Sony announced today.

The initial PSVR 2 lineup is overwhelmingly a sort of "greatest hits" collection of titles available on existing VR platforms. Almost all of the headset's launch window titles are also available on SteamVR, the Oculus Quest platform, or the original PSVR.

Of the handful of PSVR 2 exclusives, the previously revealed Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain stands out as a first-person adventure in the vein of Half-Life: Alyx. As far as third-party exclusives, Supermassive's The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR is an on-rails VR roller-coaster akin to the similar Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, while Fantavision 202X is a fully 3D take on the infamous, fireworks-filled PS2 launch title (and will also work without a headset).

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