Sony's Virtual Reality Headset Will Be Cheaper Than Rival Devices

After involving into next-generation gaming and unveiling a virtual reality headset priced significantly below rival devices, Sony is fueling investor optimism. Since early January, the valuation of the high-tech company has climbed to its highest level.

Sonly has established its upcoming PlayStation VR as a mass market VR headset. According to Forbes, the PlayStation VR will be launched in October 2016. Sony is preparing to bring the virtual reality experience to millions of consumers at E3.

Sonly has announced on Tuesday that the PlayStation VR will come with a price tag of just $399. This is less than half of the $800 HTC Vive and $200 lower than competitor Oculus Rift.

Users who are looking to get a hold of Sony's PlayStation VR will also need to add $50 for the PlayStation Camera. Some games also require special PlayStation controllers.

In order to achieve the impact of a low price point, it appears that Sony used the strategy of unbundling for its virtual reality headset. Even so, in living rooms across the world, there are about 36 million VR-ready PlayStation 4s. This creates a strong potential installation base for Sony's upcoming PlayStation VR.

The HTC Vive and Oculus Rift come with better specs than Playstation VR, but these devices require high-end computers to run. On the other side, developers can gain an advantage by working with the PlayStation 4's fixed system from Sony.

Most of the demos on both Oculus and PlayStation VR feel comparable in terms of the VR experience with demos on PlayStation VR. The performance and quality of the VR applications come down to the software, and Sony is strong in that department.

According to Independent, Damian Thong, an analyst at Macquarie Group in Tokyo, declared that the price of Sony's PlayStation VR is really compelling. With a price tag below its competitors, Sony sees its PlayStation VR as a broader ecosystem push ands aims for mainstream market share.