Sony’s $399 price tag for the upcoming PlayStation VR headset is ‘totally fair,’ according to Oculus VR Founder, Palmer Luckey.
Speaking with GameSpot at GDC this week, Luckey suggested that Sony’s main priority was trimming costs for its virtual reality headset, something which he feels the format holder has done a good job at.
"I know how much this technology costs. We’re building a headset, we’re trying to sell it as affordably as possible. We have some higher quality stuff, our manufactured stuff, and we have some really nice soft goods and fabric going on in ours. We also have multiple LED displays instead of just one display. But [the Oculus Rift] at $599 is actually not that far off.
"We’re selling $599 with a controller, and with the remote, and with a couple of games. If someone doesn’t own them already, [Sony] is selling a camera, a controller, and you’ve got the headset—we’re actually fairly similar in cost. They are cheaper, but I think it’s a totally fair price and they’ve definitely done a good job of keeping the cost down. Clearly that was a priority."
Luckey went on to highlight the differences between both devices, noting PS VR is targeting a different market to what Oculus is aiming for with the Rift.
"I think [the markets] are almost completely different. People who buy a Rift are people who already own a high-end PC or are willing to buy a high-end PC for VR. People who buy a PlayStation VR are people who already own a PlayStation, or PlayStation VR is something that convinces them to buy a PlayStation that they probably already wanted for other reasons, not VR reasons. I don’t think there are many PC gamers that are going to buy a PlayStation and PlayStation VR from scratch. And I don’t think there are many PlayStation gamers that are going to buy a Rift and a high-end PC. They’re kind of very separate markets at this point."
Sony confirmed during a panel at GDC yesterday that PS VR will be released in October 2016. Read up on the list of 200+ developers currently working on the device here.