With 2016 set to be the year for virtual reality to hit the market, Sony took to the stage at games event GDC to reveal new details of its PlayStation VR headset.
The headset will go on sale in October, with the tech firm pricing it at €400. That is cheaper than rivals Oculus, which is selling the Rift at €700, and HTC’s Vive, which will cost €900.
However, it will not include the PlayStation Camera that will be needed to provide motion tracking. The camera is sold separately for €65.
Andrew House, head of Sony's gaming division, unveiled the PlayStation VR's price and availability during a press event at the GDC in San Francisco, where virtual reality gaming counterpart Oculus Rift announced its headset a day earlier.
The headset, a visor-style frame with a 14.5cm screen, includes 360 degree head tracking, a 100 degree field of vision and latency of 18 milliseconds between the time a user’s head moves and the time they see the correct image.
Mr House said the company wanted the highly anticipated headset released at a price point that would encourage quick and widespread adoption.
“We firmly believe getting the price right is crucial to driving consumer adoption of any new technology,” he said.
Sony said it expects to have more than 50 games available by the end of the year, including the free to download PlayStation VR Content is crucial to engaging fans, Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at game developer Ubisoft said. The games developer has two titles, Eagle Flight and Werewolves Within, set to launch for PlayStation VR this fall.
“Ultimately the customers will decide on what price point works for them as their entry point into VR,” he said.
More than 230 developers are building content for the PlayStation VR device.
The company has also teamed up with development company EA Sports and Lucasfilm for a Star Wars Battlefront game that will be released as a PlayStation VR exclusive.
Additional reporting: Reuters
