PlayStation boss Andrew House didn't beat around the bush at Sony's planned PlayStation VR press conference in San Francisco earlier today. In a presentation that lasted 30 minutes, the Welshman very quickly discussed the platform holder's commitment to innovation, before confirming that its fancy PlayStation 4 peripheral will retail for $399.99 in the United States and £349.99 in the UK.

That's an impressive price point, especially when you consider that the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive both sell for significantly more, but it did omit one major detail: the required PlayStation Camera will not be included in the box. Presumably, the manufacturer will encourage retailers to build bundles around the optical extra, but if you don't already own one, then you'll need to shell out a little more.

The company's also opted not to include any PlayStation Move controllers, which is perhaps the bigger disappointment here. With the glowing wands not included in the box, the install base is going to be split, and subsequently it's unlikely that developers will opt to build their games specifically around motion controls.

PlayStation VR PS4 PlayStation 4 Price Release Date 1

Despite these setbacks, though, the price is very good, and considering PlayStation's brand power and retail presence, the platform holder now stands a very strong chance of dominating the fledgling virtual reality space in this first phase. It's clearly got support, too: it expects to release 50 compatible games within the launch window, with more than 230 developers actively working on the platform.

It's now down to Sony to get as many people to try PlayStation VR as possible

And perhaps the feather in its bow today was the unexpected announcement that it's teamed up with EA Games and Lucasfilm to create a PlayStation VR exclusive "experience" based upon Star Wars Battlefront. Additional details on that are forthcoming, but it's not hard to imagine how this could end up being a very big deal – even if it's a watered down version of last year's PlayStation 4 game.

Finally, the manufacturer added that it will be offering a Cinematic Mode in PlayStation VR, which will enable you to play all of your PS4 games on a simulated cinema screen. This functionality's never going to be the main selling point for the peripheral, but it's a nice bullet point – as is confirmation that everyone who purchases a headset will be able to download The Playroom VR for free.

A promising start for PlayStation VR, then; the initial blast of good news was immediately tempered by the confirmation that the mandatory PlayStation Camera will be sold separately – but even taking that into consideration, the price is still far better than many anticipated. It's now down to Sony to get as many people to try this as it possibly can, because seeing really is believing when it comes to VR.

Are you happy with PlayStation VR's price point, or is it still too steep for you to consider? What do you make of the PlayStation Camera being sold separately? Which games have got you most excited for virtual reality? Enter a different dimension in the comments section below.

Will you be buying PlayStation VR in October? (180 votes)

  1. Yes, without a doubt36%
  2. Maybe, I want to try it first35%
  3. No, it's too expensive for me14%
  4. I'm not interested in VR14%

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