It has been hotly anticipated, but Sony have finally announced the date they will be releasing its PlayStation VR (PS VR) headset. During this year’s Game Developers Conference, the company stated that the official release date will be October 2016 with pre-order availability from March 16.
But how much will this set you back? Reported in Tech Crunch, the retail price has been announced as $399 which is significantly lower than competitors such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive who will set their retail price between $599 and $799. This will certainly make the PS VR a more affordable and popular choice.
As reported in Gadgets 360, during the conference, Sony also released the following key specifications for the PlayStation VR:
- Display: OLED
- Screen size: 5.7-inches
- Resolution: 1920xRGBx1080 (960xRGBx1080 per eye)
- Refresh rate: 120Hz, 90Hz
- Sensors: 360 degree tracking/9 LEDs
- Field of view: approximately 100 degrees
- Latency: less than 18ms
- Controller: DS4, PS Move
Andrew House, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment spoke at the conference commenting on PlayStation’s ability to lead in the field of VR gaming as “PlayStation VR is best poised to deliver VR to the mainstream.”
We believe PlayStation VR is best poised to deliver VR to the mainstream. The future of gaming is here with PlayStation VR.
IHS has forecast that about 53 million people will own a PlayStation 4 console – which is required to use the new PlayStation VR – by the end of this year. But despite this, it is still unknown how well the new technology will go down with gaming fans or what Sony’s profit margin will be on this venture as VR development is costly. However, competition with VR rivals will hopefully cause a spike in popularity and create an exciting need for the technology in the commercial gaming world.
House has also announced that there will be 50 games accompanying the PS VR as well as an exclusive Star Wars Battlefront VR experience.
In a recent story reported here at Immortal News, Sony announced in February that they are currently producing a glove that will be used together with the VR headset, expanding the gaming experience even further.
