Sony has said that its PlayStation VR headset will be “affordable” as it’s been designed “for the mass market”.
The company has not yet announced how much the virtual reality platform will cost but speaking to Polygon, Worldwide Studios’ president Shuhei Yoshida reiterated comments made last year by PlayStation CEO Andrew House that it will cost the same as a new gaming platform – most speculate it will cost in the $350-$400 range.
While Yoshida and other Sony executives would not be drawn on how much PS VR will cost ahead of an official announcement, the word “affordable” was reportedly used frequently.
“If you just talk about the high-end quality, yes, I would admit that Oculus may have better VR,” says hardware engineer Masayasu Ito. “However, it requires a very expensive and very fast PC. The biggest advantage for Sony is our headset works with PS4. It’s more for everyday use, so it has to be easy to use and it has to be affordable. This is not for the person who uses a high-end PC. It’s for the mass market.”
Oculus Rift conservatively costs $1,400 for the headset ($600) and a computer capable of running it. A new PS4 costs $400, meaning a total of $800 if Sony does opt for a $400 price point. It isn’t cheap but perhaps Sony is hoping people would prefer to have the $600 difference in their pocket rather than invest in a high-performing PC.
To get the cost down, PS VR features a lower resolution screen than the Rift or HTC Vive and a smaller field of vision but Sony employees tout their headset’s 120 Hz refresh rate as a key advantage.
While Sony will yet not commit to a price for the headset itself, there is some good news on the software front, with games being priced the same as non-VR PS4 titles from $10 to $60.
Last month, GameStop’s CEO suggested PlayStation VR will launch in the autumn.
