Sony's new VR headset, the PlayStation VR, will arrive on the market on October 13, according to company's announcement during E3.
PCMag reports that Sony's VR gadget will work with all PlayStation 4 gaming consoles. The company also announced that during this year it will release 50 VR-friendly games for the PlayStation VR.
According to PCWorld, the PlayStation VR headset will cost $399 as a standalone device. However, a set of PlayStation Move controllers at $25, a PlayStation Camera at $40-$60 will also be needed in order to use the new VR headset. Adding a PlayStation 4 console, the real price is getting closer to $500.
Sony actually offers a $500 VR bundle that includes a game called "VR Worlds", the headset, the PlayStation Move controllers and a PlayStation Eye. The company opened pre-orders for the bundle in March, but the offer sold out in hours.
During the E3 presentation, PlayStation VR proved to be a serious contender on the emerging VR gaming market. Sony's platform has already strong launch game catalog including popular titles such as "X-Wing VR Mission," "Star Wars Battlefront," "Resident Evil 7" and "Batman: Arkham VR." The game collection also includes a new space adventure called "Farpoint."
It is expected that Sony's VR headset will deliver a visual quality somewhere in between the performance of Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. However, it is still unclear how well VR will run on the current PlayStation 4. On the PC, virtual reality requires a Radeon R9 290 or an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970. This is a graphics card power that the PS4 cannot match.
Sony's PlayStation VR is using reprojection and provides a modest 1080p resolution that works from 60 to 120 fps. Meanwhile, the Oculus Rift offers an impressive 2160-by-1200 resolution at 90 frames per second.
Virtual reality will still be taxing on Sony's PS4, even with lower resolution requirements than a PC. For this reason, Sonly is preparing a future upgrade to the PS4 called PlayStation Neo. The upcoming gaming console has been confirmed on Friday, June 10, but Sony still did not provide more details at E3.
