Playstation VR Gets A Price, Release Date, And A Star War

The Great VR Wars (as we will soon be referring to them) is about to go into full swing, what with many of the VR headsets currently in development arriving on store shelves faster than you might think. The HTC Vive is expected to lead the pack with units shipping out in May, and Oculus RIft will follow soon after in July. Now another big virtual reality name has joined the fray for release in the next few months, as Sony has confirmed an official launch window for their Playstation VR.

During a special event last night at GDC, Sony very much blew the lid off their planned release of the Playstation VR, unveiling an October 2016 launch date and a $399 price point to go with it. Now that price point is a big deal, as that would put the Playstation VR as the cheapest VR headset market on the option (yes, really — creating immersive and expansive virtual worlds isn't cheap, yo.) But as a cool little disclaimer, the $399 price point does NOT include the mandatory camera, which comes at an additional $60. Sneaky Sony, huh? Still though, even at $460, it's hundreds of dollars cheaper than the Vive or the Oculus.

And Sony certainly seems to be pushing the software for the headset, if the other bit of news from the event is any indication. The publishing giant will be teaming up with EA and DICE to craft a Star Wars: Battlefront VR experience exclusive to the Playstation VR. This Battlefront experiance should not be confused with the other Star Wars VR "experience" leaked yesterday, Trials on Tatooine, which will be released for the HTC Vive.

So yes, we have two competing Star Wars VR experiences coming to these headsets. It's like the nuclear arms race, but with Star Wars. Who will come out on top? By the end of 2016, it seems likely we'll have an answer.