According to the executives from GameStop, their PlayStation VR pre-order was the quickest sellout in the company’s history where the company’s PlayStation VR pre-order went out of stock within 5 minutes. Even at Amazon, the initial stock of Sony PlayStation VR, which was a ‘launch bundle’ also sold out within 10 minutes after the deal went live.
PlayStation VR – The First VR Headset for a Console
Sony announced PlayStation VR at the E3 event this year and will be launched in October this year. The upcoming PlayStation VR Headset will be used with the current generation PlayStation 4 as well as the upcoming PlayStation Neo. PlayStation VR will be the first VR headset compatible with a gaming console. The HTC Vive, which has already made its way into the market and the upcoming Oculus Rift are exclusive to PC users only.
The PS VR headset features a 5.7-inch display inside supporting 1080p resolution. PlayStation VR has LEd lights on it which will help the PlayStation Camera to track its movement and project in the VR accordingly. Sony said that while PS VR can be used as a display unit as well, users would have to use the PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 controllers in some VR games and PlayStation Move controllers in others.
PS VR Game Titles, Another Sign of Success
Sony announced that more than 230 different game developers and publishers are currently working on various gaming titles for the upcoming PlayStation VR.
Moreover, up to 50 titles will be ready till the launch of the VR headset. Some of the launch titles include Eagle Flight, VR Worlds and EVE: Valkyrie.
PlayStation VR cheaper than Oculus and HTC Vive
Seeing the $799 price tag for HTC Vive and $599 for Oculus Rift, Sony’s PlayStation VR seems pretty cheap with a price tag of $399. And to have a VR-Ready PC is pretty expensive and the total cost of the VR setup can easily reach above $1,000. However, Sony’s VR setup should cost a lot less. A PS4 can be bought for as low as $350, the PS VR headset is priced at $399, Move controllers are available for around $50 and the PS Camera is also available at $50, making the total cost of Sony’s VR setup no more than $850. Even if you add the pricing of the PS Plus subscription and the price of games, the total cost still remains a lot less than a PC VR gaming setup.
If you can still get your hands on the PlayStation VR ‘launch bundle’ it would still be a good deal to grab since the bundle includes the PS VR headset, 2 Move controllers, PlayStation Camera, cables including headphones etc. for just $399. If you buy these separately, it will cost you more. Currently, majority of the retailers have PlayStation VR out of stock and there is no word from any of them when it will be restocked again.
What does this mean for VR Fitness?
It’s obvious that with PlayStation coming into the fold of the virtual world, that VR is becoming more mainstream than ever. As all gaming consoles have already learned in their efforts prior to VR, fitness is an eventual necessity for true market expansion and this VR endeavor will be no exception. While you can now really be Batman in a game and focus on his detective skills, it will take some time for even PlayStation and the many developers they have on board to truly capture a superhero worthy experience that will lend itself to fitness, but that notwithstanding is further proof that it is coming and an obvious path that this new system will follow—and this will blow PlayStation Move out of the water!
-Michael De Medeiros
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