The PlayStation VR will be cheaper than the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive

A few weeks ago, most of us would’ve thought that the PlayStation VR was a bit too expensive, but after it was announced that the Oculus Rift will sell for $600, while the HTC Vive will sell for $800, paying $400 for the PlayStation VR doesn’t seem so bad. Sony announced the official price at GDC 2016 on Tuesday, as well as the launch date, which is sometime in October. You’ll need a PlayStation Eye camera for the virtual reality headset to work, however, and many games will require you to use PlayStation Move controllers, neither of which are included with the PlayStation VR, but even buying the headset and all the accessories is cheaper than buying an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. 

How does it feel to wear the PlayStation VR? Sony invited the press to try the final design for the headset today in San Francisco. Broadly speaking, the most affordable high-end consumer virtual reality headset feels comfortable and accessible. The headset, which rests on the top part of the head like a visor, is sturdy but lightweight. A thin, rubbery flap juts from the hard plastic to prevent light from entering the headset when it’s worn, pressing around your eyes, cheeks, and nose. The flap feels a bit cheap and didn’t quite prevent light from sneaking in during my demos, though my lack of familiarity with adjusting the headset to my face was at least partly to blame. The rest of the headset feels as if it’s been constructed with the same materials as the PlayStation 4’s shell, lending it a tangible familiarity. The most important part of a VR headset is the display, and the PlayStation VR’s display is fine. In demos, objects in the distance were sometimes blurry. 360-degree video was fuzzy enough to remind the viewer that we’re still in the early days of virtual reality. But when playing video games, the fidelity is easy to forget.