Cost of Entry
Maybe the price of the headset alone isn’t that big of a deal to you. You just really want a headset that provides a great picture that you can use. Well, none of these can be used without a platform to help deal with all of the heavy lifting required to run a virtual reality experience. Both the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive require beefy rigs to support their displays and keep things running smoothly. This is something that just isn’t included in the price of the headset.
If it’s a graphics card issue, you’re running at least one extra fee. But, many will need an entirely new computer which can easily hit over the $1,000, and that’s even if you do the labor yourself. The PSVR only requires a PS4 and a PlayStation Camera. Combined, those are both under $500 bringing the current total to around $900 to experience VR. Keep in mind that this is the price to buy things separately, there will undoubtedly be a bundle some time down the line.
This widens the potential audience for Sony. Virtual Reality is an intriguing technology that piques the interest of many. With the PlayStation offering the only way to get in at under a grand, that will draw much attention.
