After months of guesswork about when Sony would finally release its much-awaited PlayStation VR headset — and for how much — the company finally announced those important details today at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. So, will PS VR be the iPhone of virtual reality — or the 21st century equivalent of the Nintendo Virtual Boy?
Sony had long hinted that the PlayStation VR — formerly known by its codename Morpheus — would be priced similarly to a new game console, and the $399 price announced today puts the headset in line with what you’d expect to pay for a current generation console.
It’s unclear if that includes the PlayStation Camera, which is necessary for the PS 4 to track the headset’s movements, or if the PS Camera must be bought separately for people who don’t currently own one. If so, that retailers for $60, but can be purchased for closer to $45 on Amazon and elsewhere.
The company also confirmed that the VR would go on sale in the U.S. in October, which aligns with earlier comments from GameStop that it would begin selling the device in the fall.
The Rift, from Facebook-owned Oculus, launched earlier this year with a $699 price tag, but requires the use of a computer powerful enough to support the device — putting the total cost at closer to $1,500.
The HTC Vive — a co-production of HTC and gaming company Valve — is set to sell for $799 when it launches in the U.S. That too, will need a computer to support the headset.
The biggest selling point for the PS VR is that the computer needed to run the games — the PS 4 — is already in many millions of homes worldwide.
Sony says that some 230 developers are working on games for the VR, with 50 games expected to be released in the coming year. Among those titles is a PS VR exclusive version of Star Wars: Battlefront.
“We believe PlayStation VR is best poised to deliver VR to the mainstream,” explained Sony’s Andrew House at the GDC press event.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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