Sony’s PlayStation VR is likely to be trounced in the virtual reality gaming hardware battle this year by Oculus Rift, according to industry chatter.
Oculus will release its VR gaming headset in March with a price tag of $599, although filmmaking company Visualise feel that the Rift has what it takes to conquer Sony’s own foray into the world of virtual reality gaming when it launches later this year.
According to Sam Trudgian (via DailyStar), the reason Rift has the advantage is due to the fact it has a dedicated audience buying into the VR market, while PlayStation 4 owners are predominantly focused on regular gaming.
That said, he still feels that Sony’s device has plenty of legroom going forward to make its mark in the VR market.
"I believe that initially Oculus will have a slight edge over PSVR because of the gaming market that will be exposed to each release. Followers of Oculus are followers of VR and, for Sony, it’s quite the opposite as their fans are fans of the content hosted on PlayStation consoles," he said.
"Another factor to take into consideration is the price range of the release and previous investments into each company’s tech. Consumers of the PS4 have already invested in a console and games to play, some of which were also last gen titles, at next gen prices.
"The Oculus market however is waiting for the right time and unless their followers have bought a dev kit previously, they’ve only spent time researching when the new kit arrives. This is not to underestimate the secondary burst of interest which will come after the initial release of the PSVR.
"When shown its potential, it could potentially leapfrog Oculus as the PS4 market is significantly larger and has dedicated social elements in place."
PlayStation VR is scheduled for release in the first half of 2016, though a price point has yet to be announced. However, Sony has said that it aims to position the device at a similar cost to a new games console. The latest rumors would certainly support these claims, with PS VR said to retail for $299.