As sceptical as I am about the imminent adoption of Virtual Reality technology, I’m pretty excited for it. For a long time, I really, really wasn’t – but going eyeballs on with the stuff has made me keen to experience it in my own home.
One of the big concerns is that it’s bloody expensive. No matter which of the three major incoming VR headsets you’re looking to get, it’s going to cost a fortune – especially if you don’t already have a capable system or console.
We recently did a PC build guide, and to target entry level VR, you’d be looking at spending R16 000 just for the PC itself – without factoring in the $599 Oculus Rift or the $799 HTC Vive. We still don’t know what the PlayStation VR is going to cost. Sony’s previously said it would cost as much as a console and they’re not straying from that too much.
In a new interview though, Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida has said that PlayStation VR is for mass market consumption, so it needs to be a little more affordable.
“If you just talk about the high-end quality, yes, I would admit that Oculus may have better VR,” Ito said in an interview with Polygon. “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.”
As you can see though, the cheaper headset will come with a downside – it won’t be quite as visually impressive as the Rift or the Vive. I don’t think anyone was realistically expecting it to be, though.
Last Updated: March 10, 2016
Pieter Kruger
March 10, 2016 at 09:20
No, THIS is the most affordable of the lot…..
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 10, 2016 at 09:23
Yeah, but no one likes the Ouya.
Marc O Polo
March 10, 2016 at 09:24
I don’t know why ppl want virtual reality… I don’t even enjoy reality…
I went outside once… The graphics were amazing but the gameplay was shit!!!
CypherGate
March 10, 2016 at 16:15
Well this will take you away from actually reality and put you in worlds you wish you could be part of! Ok if the world was Silent Hill 2 then id say no… lol
Kikmi
March 10, 2016 at 09:38
*grabs popcorn and waits for the inevitable apocalypse*
tenshi_a
March 10, 2016 at 14:59
I think this is the one case this generation where the benefits of console gaming outstrip PC gaming. The devs (good ones, that is) can get better performance out of one standard piece of hardware, than they could out of generic PC hardware. So even though the PS4 isn’t that high-powered compared to top modern PCs, it can stand alongside them in terms of dedicated VR. Well, hopefully, anyway. 🙂
CypherGate
March 10, 2016 at 16:14
Its still going to deliver a brilliant experience. I mean thats what it really is about. Graphically it might not be on par with PC but that was expected. Anyone thinking otherwise needs to seriously get their heads checked. I predict that Sony will be the front runner to VR with sales. Occulus second and VIVE third. Simply because of price.
Gardos
March 11, 2016 at 08:59
From what I’ve heard, the Vive is brilliant and it’s one of those things you can’t truly appreciate until you’ve tried it. It’s way out of my price bracket though so I’ve resigned myself to trying it out at a garage sale somewhere about 8 years from now.