The launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive has VR enthusiasts salivating for both headsets and content, but these platforms are anything but inexpensive. The Rift (without motion controllers) is $600, while the Vive (with motion controllers) will sell for $800. The third major VR player, Sony, has announced a $400 standalone VR headset and a $500 kit that includes the motion controller and camera you need to actually use VR. Even that $500 price is considerably below the HTC Vive, but the fact that PlayStation VR is tied to the PS4 is a no-go for many PC gamers. Sony is dropping hints that it might address this problem by bringing its kit to the PC space as well. This would be an unusual move for Sony; Microsoft has typically been more willing to bring its console peripherals to the PC space.
In an interview with Nikkei (as translated by Gamesindustry.biz), Sony Computer Entertainment executive vice president Masayasu Ito suggested that PC compatibility could be added at a later date, even if it wasn’t present on launch day. “Since the PS4’s internal parts are similar to those of a PC, this is a possibility,” Ito said. “Right now we’re focused on games, so we’re not at the point of announcing anything, but there’s a possibility to expand into various field.”
Ito also told the press that the reason Sony shifted its launch for Project Morpheus to the back half of the year had to do with increased demand. Apparently Sony expects to sell 1-2 million PSVR headsets this year, and couldn’t manufacture them quickly enough to supply that many during a spring launch. Delaying the ship date gives the company more time to ramp production.
PSVR, PS4K, and the PC market
We don’t know how the final PSVR hardware / experience will compare with Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive, but a PC-compatible PSVR kit could be an enormous hit if Sony builds in compatibility with either Steam VR or the Oculus Store. Manufacturers that hit the “good enough” sweet spot often sweep the mainstream market, even if more expensive products offer a superior experience.
The rumors of a PlayStation 4K could complicate the VR question, however, especially if that console offers any kind of upgraded graphics hardware. VR needs all the horsepower you can throw at it — a 10-15% performance gain at 1080p might be nice, but not a game changer, while that same performance boost in VR could make the difference between nausea and a steady stomach. Sony isn’t billing the PSVR as a PS4K peripheral, and we don’t have any kind of launch day for the new console iteration, but a $400 PS4 on top of a $400-$500 PSVR kit would put the buy-in price near $1,000. The PS4’s VR might be somewhat weaker than Oculus, but it’s not clear yet if that would translate into running well on lower-end PCs — that’s another system aspect we’d have to evaluate when and if Sony ships a PC-compatible product.
Bringing the PSVR kit to the PC space, meanwhile, could be an extremely smart move. Microsoft has nothing equivalent in the pipeline for the Xbox One; HoloLens is an early product with a four-figure price tag and no serious efforts to bring it to console hardware. A PSVR with broad compatibility across the PC space would give gamers a cheaper way to access VR from their primary gaming platform. Gamers who own both a PS4 and a gaming PC (yes, such people exist) would benefit the most, with the ability to move the same peripheral in-between platforms and titles.
All of this hinges on the PSVR’s ability to compete with the likes of Oculus and HTC, but we’re curious to see how this develops. Anything that pushes the price of decent VR gear lower and makes it more accessible is a good thing for the larger VR market.
