PlayStation VR now has an official name, which means that its launch is getting nearer. Due out during the first half of 2016, the platform holder has hinted several times over the past few months that the peripheral is all but finished, and that it's just waiting for the software to catch up. But one thing that we don't know is how much the headset is going to cost.
However, speaking with Bloomberg at TGS 2015 this week, executive Andrew House has indicated that it will be priced like "a new gaming platform", which has sounded some serious alarm bells here at Push Square Towers. He may merely be suggesting that the launch will be treated like an all-new system, but surely if it costs anything like a console it will flop.
We've held polls on this subject in the past, and the general consensus seems to be that the majority of you would be willing to pay between $100 and $199 for the peripheral, so a $399 fee just isn't going to wash. Clearly this is the last great challenge that the manufacturer faces with this initiative, because it's the price that's going to put people off.
[source bloomberg.com]
Comments 37
What the holy F did you expect, anything below 250 would be a fricking miracle.
Its got the word PlayStation on it, they expect it to sell regardless. Again.
Will this be their wake up call? I hope so, because we need more PS2/4 and less everything else.
@viciousarcanum True. But it also be a miracle if it gets any kind of momentum at a price above $250. If they're serious about making it a success, they need to lose money on it.
@get2sammyb
Believe me, they will. If they sell it for $399, the only way it is marginally profitable is because every headset sold means they sold a PS4 and even then they have to rely heavily on software they move. At this point the headset they use in events can be build for about $700, and than I'm not even talking marketing and R&D.
There's no way Sony will be able to get the price down to $250 within a year without doing major concessions, which in the end would mean the downfall of VR anyway. I've said this a million times already: Sony isn't in the position to jumpstart the VR market and they should just postpone the PSVR to at least 2017 so they can use off the shelve parts. Even then they would have to sell it at a major loss, but by that time parts are cheaper and more PS4s have been sold.
Don't get me wrong, I want this more than anyone since I've had some hands on time with it; this is the only VR headset that makes you look cool and which is designed as a visor, so you can go in and out the virtual world fast. But I'm willing to pay $400- $500 for the full VR experience, something not even 1% of all PS4 owners are.
Chances of this being a success must be less than, what, 10%?
I'm genuinely interested in it and will pick it up at some point just to see what it's all about, but I just can't see it shifting the numbers to warrant software being developed for it.
I'll get it, but not on day one, and I won't pay a high cost for it. I'll be the one waiting to see if it will sell well, and if Sony will keep attention onto it...if it ends up being another Wonderbook or Move or even VITA TV, then count me out. I'm tired of investing in game items at high prices that they only make a few games for it and then cut it off. I'm looking at you, Wonderbook, Wii balance board, Wii Zapper, Rock Revolution Drum Kit
I really can't believe that they will risk selling it cheap as the costs behind must already be huge. I'm from the uk but I'm willing to spend £300 on it. That's the sort of cost I'm expecting do anything below will be a bonus. I'm really excited about this. Vr taking over or even getting any great triple games behind it are probably a while off but I want to be there from the start. The sooner they release a solid release date and price the better though. Give us some time to save some money!!!
Im willing to pay upto £300 just aslong as I get a couple of good games with it. I can't see it costing more than £300 which is roughly $450.
@kyleforrester87 but will you buy at launch...?? Sony needs those day one sales...it's all well and good to say..meh..I'll buy it down the line...but what are u willing to do to contribute to getting it off the ground in the 1st place ?? People have to come to the realization that this is 2015...it costs money to breathe...if u haven't got internet..slap yourself...if your phone isint smart..slap yourself...it costs money to even look at a ps4...if u managed to get one....thats awesome...if u haven't...enjoy the 6 to 8 months shelf life u got on that ps3 cause more sooner than later Sony is going to switch direction and focus on ps4 products...basically what I'm trying to say..is that whether Sony is in a position to Jumpstart the VR gaming industry or not they're trying...while you guys are complaining about a price point...199 ?? Cmon bruh...u gotta be dreaming...i expect 350$ and up as Sony is probably going to market it as a separate system/plug in..be realistic guys
@get2sammyb If they sell it for anything less than $250 they are either taking a big loss in each one or are making them on the cheap side which will hurt VR selling potential more than if they were pricy and actually did a good job.
Who in the Hale thought this was gonna be between 100 and 200 dollars? Why would you want it to be that cheap, which would mean the product itself is cheap and not up to par with competing products. O culus VR has already stated that to make their unit work lile it should it will run you 1500 (that includes the gaming rig). Either way I firmly believe this is all an effort to make the ps4 look cool and stay fresh in the market. How many kids will beg for a ps4 with the hope that one day they can talk their parents into buying the VR? I think all this helps push the PS4 to the levels of ps2 popularity.
@Slime_Rothstein Will I buy at launch? No, of course not. If the demand isn't there day one for it to be successful then it is simply not the right time to be releasing such a product, if indeed it will ever be the right time.
@Slime
there's realistic and there's sick of useless expensive add-ons not worth the purchase because they flop or once initally launched don't get any further promotion and investment. I also am interested in this and will buy at some point for a max of £250-300 may i mention but unfortunately I ain't a shareholder in Sony and don't make anything off the sales of these products so why will I get conned into contributing to the production,R&D,promotion and stablization of a risky products cost etc. again?
I don't mind how much it costs as long as it's top notch quality and I'm not the only person who's going to own it, I want to know it'll get supported throughout its life span
Oh man, this has "overly expensive" and "under supported" written all over it.
Welcome to circa 2010 and the kinect, that wonder piece of tehcnology, best not buy into the hype that much.
I think some of you are not seeing the bigger picture here. The hardware may be expensive. It may be a technological leap forward. It could be the next big thing. But the reality is that if it's priced too high, it will stunt sales, and developers will drop it like a rock.
Even the Kinect which is one of the most successful hardware add-ons ever struggling to get software on its very impressive install base. If Sony's not willing to get the cost down and lose money on this, then it'll be a failure out of the gate, and they shouldn't have even bothered with it.
Let's not forget that people will also need a PlayStation 4 to play this, and potentially multiple PlayStation Move controllers. I'm really curious how they plan to sell this, because so many elements of the initiative have "disaster" written all over them.
Well that's it then. If VR costs over £200 me and my group of gamies are out. Seriously Sony should get as many people onboard as possible, make it affordable and mainstream then offer better luxury versions at higher prices. Look at keyboards, mice, headphones, monitors etc. There are cheap-mid-super expensive versions. £150 is max I will pay ^_^ and only if I can watch or play all my current games/films... and if there a few lengthy RPG or FPS appearing on the VR... and not dumb indie experiments or just horror stories. Bring Witcher, far cry or Skyrim to VR and I'll be a purchasing bunny.
If it works with all PS4 games i'd pay $300 max. If it only comes with a demo then I'd pay $150 max. If it doesn't get massive 3rd party support then it will be another PS Move and Vita flop.
The Playstation Camera is priced at £59.99. This is a virtual reality headset we are talking about. Expect £300 and up.
I'm really quite surprised by the huge amount of misunderstanding around how much this should cost. People saying stupid things like "every PS4 game should support it" are even worse. That is 100% impossible. The Witcher 3 runs at between 20-30fps, VR games need to run at 60fps per display (at the very least), so 120fps in total. Not only that but you have to design the game around it in many cases. The HUD and other elements need to be placed in a special way specifically for VR.
The Witcher 3 is a third-person game, as are many other games of course, so that would be pretty crap for a VR experience. Who are you meant to be? Geralt's invisible stalker? And enjoy turning the camera around your avatar and getting the sensation of being spun around in a giant washing machine every 4 seconds. Are you expecting Sony to get every single developer to redesign all of their games? Write to Phil Fish and get him to remake Fez as a first-person game?
It seems like the most important thing for VR's success is actually educating people about what it entails so they don't expect to be able to pay pocket change for a miracle. That said, Sony really do need to include the Move controllers with it if they're a common requirement as well as at least one full game. They can make the losses on that.
I wasn't interested in VR to begin with, but with the price tag most likely being high, I'm definitely not making the investment.
Big price -> low sales numbers -> no 3rd parties on board = end up like playstation move or WiiU.
They either have to sell it with some truly amazing software for high price or make it cheaper. High risk of flop imho.
@Slime_Rothstein If I ever met someone who didn't have internet or a smartphone, I'd be more inclined to shake their hand in awed respect. Christopher Nolan doesn't have a phone nor an email address... I guess he should slap himself then?
No-one should buy a product at launch just to 'help' a multibillion dollar company get it off the ground - they should buy it because they feel that it's worth the investment. If no-one buys it, then it's up to said multibillion dollar company to incentivise them by making it better value. If they can't afford to do so... Well, then tough. That's the business world for you.
249.99 Canadian dollars is what i'll pay for PVR .
After seeing Sony all but abandoning Vita, a system not a peripheral who in their right mind will support this?
For technology like this to catch on massively it needs to be both impressive and affordable.
I think calling it PlayStation VR will help sell it to a larger audience in it's early days because most people will know what that is. It's partly why the Vita and Wii U struggled because no one outside the dedicated gaming sites knew they were new platforms.
I'm only going to buy it if No Mans Sky is compatible with it.
they need to get games first. no one is going to buy something they cant even use. i really want to see a crud load of decent games for it and hope it takes off. but i have a feeling 3 years from now there will be a total of 5 games for it. and some of those will just be filler like all the eyetoy games.
I was in more fear of it costing maybe £500 and not £300, anyway i will happily buy at launch, spending 200 on a game doesnt bother me as i collect, collectors editions but 300 isn't a huge difference plus its hardware so bound to cost a fair bit ill be one of the first few in line it sounds like but i don't care i love sony and their playstation products, i buy anything that officially sony towards playstation and always have done. So sony ill buy one at launch many games or not, stupid or dumb just buying into a brand i know and love and will support!
If it sells for the price of a console at 399$ I'm game. Actually cheaper than I was expecting.
@Matroska is absolutely right. People who think vr can be delivered on the cheap are ignorant of the tech that's going in to this. It's not just a phone strapped to a visor. And to be honest if it was shiny new iPhone strapped to a visor off-contract it would cost way more than what the playstation vr will likely cost at launch.
AAA games cost £50 at launch. The cheapest iwatch is £300. Anyone expecting to pay less than $250 (£200) for this at launch is seriously deluded.
Cost isn't really a big factor for me. I mean, as long as we're not talking crazy money I'll be happy to put the money down for something that'll last me as long as my PS4 will and have as many games to boot. But that's just not going to be the case, is it.
@viciousarcanum Agreed.
@NomNom Same here, I was expecting the VR alone to be closer to $700+.
@viciousarcanum Exactly!
For 100 $, or 500 $, i wont buy it when it's released, i'll just wait until it has some good games, and by then the price might even change.
@kage_88 "no one should buy at launch" ok sir...have fun at the pre owned section at gamestop...cause with that attitude i know u ain't buy a thing at launch...moving along tho...@Matroska is absolutely right...educating the public as to what the thing actually does and what games will run on it should be paramount to sony...we don't want another "move" disaster....playing socom 3 and killzone 3 was terrible...the gameplay was sticky as hell...that thing ended up sitting in the corner with the gun..both in the boxes collecting dust..till i got my ps4...and if it absolutely has to be used with the move..I may reconsider my statements...but for right now...it's too early to say..I'm just hoping for a decent and reasonable price point
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