PlayStation VR Headset For PS4 Launches October 13th In The U.S.
When Sony first announced its PlayStation VR headset a few months ago, the company said it would ship in the United States sometime in October with a price tag of $399. Now we have an exact release date to share—Sony updated the status of its PlayStation VR during its E3 press conference, saying it will launch to retail on October 13, 2016.
Other details remain the same, including the price. That's not a bad deal compared to the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, which sell for $599 and $799, respectively, and require a relatively high powered PC with at least a GeForce GTX 970 graphics card. However, the base price of the PlayStation VR only includes the headset and not the PlayStation 4 Camera, a requirement for PlayStation VR, or a Move controller. If you don't already own those accessories, Sony will sell a PlayStation 4 VR Bundle for $499 that includes the headset, camera, two Move controllers, PlayStation VR Worlds, and a digital download of Playroom VR.
You can also buy the camera and controllers separately, though barring a good deal, you're not likely to save any money over the bundle. The camera retails for $59.99, though it's currently on sale at Best Buy for $40, and the each Move controller sells for around $30 online. If buying two controllers and a camera on your own, you're looking at about $120.
In any event, the $499 bundle price isn't a bad deal compared to the competition, particularly since the cost of a PlayStation 4 console is less than a VR-capable PC. That will make it easier for a larger number of gamers to enter the VR space, which in turn will help convince developers that it's worth their time and effort to make interesting games and content in VR. To that end, Sony previously promised that 50 games supporting PlayStation VR will be available by the end of the year.
As for the headset itself, it sports a 5.7-inch OLED display with a 1920x1080 resolution, or 960x1080 per eye. It can display games with a refresh rate of 90 or 120 frames per second, has 360-degree tracking, a 100-degree field of view, and a latency that measures less than 18ms. We're expecting this one to be a hot seller.
