Sony has conceded that its upcoming PlayStation VR headset can’t match competing device Oculus Rift in providing a ‘high-end’ VR gaming experience.
Speaking with Polygon, Masayasu Ito, PlayStation’s Executive Vice President, argued however that PS VR is a mass market product, and therefore has to be affordable for the average punter and not something targeted at the high-end PC user.
"If you just talk about the high-end quality, yes, I would admit that Oculus may have better VR," said Ito-san. "However, it requires a very expensive and very fast PC. The biggest advantage for Sony is our headset works with PS4. It’s more for everyday use, so it has to be easy to use and it has to be affordable. This is not for the person who uses a high-end PC. It’s for the mass market."
Elsewhere, PlayStation Magic Lab’s Richard Marks suggested that PS VR will be sticking around for a while yet, even hinting at a follow-up to the device at some stage.
"We definitely believe [there will be a follow-up someday]," said Marks. "We’re doing everything and planning and setting it up so that we would know how to make a next one, and make that make sense for our customers and stuff, so yeah, we don’t think of this as a one-and-done by a long shot. And we also don’t think VR is like that."
PlayStation VR is due out in the first half of 2016, with more details on the device set to be revealed at GDC next week. Stay tuned.