Playstation VR will be Weaker, Cheaper than Alternatives, Says Sony VP

Sony recently unveiled a their own VR device for use with the Playstation 4 console, aptly named the “Playstation VR”, to the moderate-to-little surprise of the gaming world. After all, they did a similar thing, aping Nintendo after the release of the Wii, so why wouldn’t they opt to ape the Oculus Rift now that it’s proven to be a wild success?

Well, while it’s exciting to have some competition on the market for the Oculus, there are a few mysteries that remain--specifically, what the exact difference will be between the two, beyond one being designed for high-end gaming PC’s and the other being designed with the PS4 in mind.

Well, fortunately, in a recent interview with Polygon, Sony Computer Entertainment Vice President Masayasu Ito clarified some of those differences--or, more specifically, the difference of power vs. cost.

"If you just talk about the high-end quality, yes, I would admit that Oculus may have better VR. 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."

So while it’s probably going to be noticeably weaker than the Oculus Rift, it will also be more affordable--in the interview, they estimate around $300-$400 a pop, which means it’s at least $200 cheaper than the Rift, and half the price of HTC’s Vive.

Unfortunately, it could still be a ways away: while the Oculus Rift is coming this month, and the Vive is coming in April, we’ve still got a wait ahead of us until we see any Playstation VR on the shelves.

Still, it’s nice to see there going to be a cheaper alternative coming one of these days.