At this year’s Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, more than forty exhibitors are showcasing virtual reality devices – that’s a massive 77 percent rise compared to 2015.
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Now, that’s a good deal less than $600.
An even more interesting piece of information is that Forbes says that Sony reiterated that they are targeting a release for PlayStation VR in the first half of 2016, which many have thought to be insane without a release date or price announced yet. Well, it appears that gamers are none too pleased with that $600 price tag for Oculus, and as a result, this might leave the door open for Sony.
For virtual reality (VR) aficionados, not to mention Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) investors, January 6 was a red-letter day. What does it take to make something that won’t make people uncomfortable and won’t turn people off of virtual reality?
Meanwhile, Valve and HTC have partnered to produce the HTC Vive which, with a pre-release emphasis on premium quality, is anticipated to exceed the price point of the Rift, while requiring a similarly powerful PC. The Rift price was set at $599, but many potential users will need to make sure their PC is VR-ready.
Now, let’s talk about one competitor, the PlayStation VR which is expected to cost as much as a console (between $300 to $400), and a more reliable speculation suggests something near $400. According to Nvidia, Oculus’ device takes “seven times more graphics processing power than a typical PC game”.
Or you could build your own PC and cut down cost. Pre-ordering for the bundled system will start in February, but customers who order the Rift system now will qualify for the bundle price when the PC becomes available. The company has actively courted game developers to launch content with the Rift and is fielding other ideas by way of its app marketplace.
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Unlike with the launch of the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, Sony wants to ensure that PlayStation VR launched with a strong roster of VR-enabled titles and experiences from day one. Oculus founder Palmer Luckey said in a tweet the same afternoon that Rift went on sale that, “We are experiencing insanely high load”, and went on to apologize for the order hiccups.
