Sony’s virtual reality system is on its way, but it isn’t going to be cheap.
In speaking to Bloomberg, CEO of Sony Entertainment Andrew House suggested the PlayStation VR headset would be available in the first half of 2016. Without giving hard numbers, House said the headset would be priced similarly to a new gaming platform.
That leaves a fair amount of variance in pricing. The Playstation 4, Sony’s most recent console, launched at $399. The model that preceded it was released with a $499 price tag.
This price point is expected to be in the same range of other virtual reality peddlers, Oculus Rift and Valve-partnered HTC Vive serving as primary competition. The primary difference for the PlayStation VR is it will pair up with the PlayStation 4, giving it an existing power source. The other headsets will require high-end PCs, which can well exceed the price point of a stand alone console.
Price point hasn’t been an issue for sales of the PS4; according to research company IHS, Sony will have sold 34 million consoles by the end of 2015 while Microsoft will have moved 20 million of its Xbox One platform.
Sony sees virtual reality as a new frontier for gaming. “VR rewrites the rule book on how you can create games,” House said to Bloomberg. “You’re seeing a large amount of interest and work happening among smaller teams, because it’s possible to create something in VR that is very simple but still very magical.”
There are currently 10 playable titles for the PlayStation VR, and demos of the games were on display at the recent Tokyo Game Show. Sony showed off titles including RIGS: Machine Combat League and Final Fantasy XIV.