Sony Computer Entertainment has unveiled lots of information regarding their contribution to the incoming virtual reality era, once known as Project Morpheus but now simply called PlayStation VR.
Most importantly, Sony has shared both the release window for PlayStation VR and how much it will cost you to own it when it’s released. On top of that, they’ve shared technical details, previews for games and experiences, and more. You can find all of this in the videos below.
The most important thing for PlayStation users who are excited about virtual reality, is that the PlayStation VR will only cost you $399. That’s significantly cheaper than the $599 that the most prominent of the forthcoming VR products, Oculus Rift, will cost you. But given that you’ll have access to more games with Rift, this makes sense. Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey thinks the PS VR price is right on the money, and the two should not be compared because they’re different products for different people.
Speaking to GameSpot from the Game Developer’s Conference, Luckey says:
“I know how much this technology costs. We’re building a headset, we’re trying to sell it as affordably as possible. We have some higher quality stuff, our manufactured stuff, and we have some really nice soft goods and fabric going on in ours. We also have multiple LED displays instead of just one display. But [the Oculus Rift] at $599 is actually not that far off. We’re selling $599 with a controller, and with the remote, and with a couple of games. If someone doesn’t own them already, [Sony] is selling a camera, a controller, and you’ve got the headset””we’re actually fairly similar in cost. They are cheaper, but I think it’s a totally fair price and they’ve definitely done a good job of keeping the cost down. Clearly that was a priority.”…
“I think [the markets] are almost completely different. People who buy a Rift are people who already own a high-end PC or are willing to buy a high-end PC for VR. People who buy a PlayStation VR are people who already own a PlayStation, or PlayStation VR is something that convinces them to buy a PlayStation that they probably already wanted for other reasons, not VR reasons. I don’t think there are many PC gamers that are going to buy a PlayStation and PlayStation VR from scratch. And I don’t think there are many PlayStation gamers that are going to buy a Rift and a high-end PC. They’re kind of very separate markets at this point.”
Another important thing is, of course, the games and what the VR headset will offer. During the 2015 PlayStation Experience, some of their VR games were shown and it did not go well. These looked, for the most part, like dated games that had people thinking it was going to be a repeat of the motion gaming trend.
How things will ultimately play out remains to be seen, but along with all of this info a trailer has been released for something called VR Worlds, which looks much closer to what people are hoping VR will be. It looks more like a collection of experiences than an actual game, but it’s a step in the right direction. There’s also some other games previewed, most of which are underwhelming (helped along by some truly awful music and bad acting in some cases), but others that are much more exciting like that dinosaur VR game Robinson: The Journey. There’s also a new Until Dawn on the way made specifically for VR.
PlayStation VR will be released in October of this year. You can find the game at Amazon though pre-orders aren’t being taken just yet.
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