Game Makers Betting Big On Virtual Reality

Assembling a computer from separate parts can be as simple as snapping a Lego kit together, and this year’s first round of consumer-grade virtual reality visors still has one foot very firmly in the enthusiast camp.

Now, that’s a good deal less than $600.

According to Hirai, Sony already has 200 developers on board to produce games for the PlayStation VR platform as many third-party game developers have shown interest and support for the tech, and those developers are collectively working on over 100 video game titles.

Azor suggested that buying this bundle would allow people to get their hands on a Rift faster than if they went through the Oculus site. Granted, the 360 beat the PS3 to market by a year and that won’t be the case for PlayStation VR and the other devices, but even so, price is critical. This information was complemented by a variety of publicly available sources as well as interviews conducted by SuperData’s analysts with key figures in the Virtual and Augmented Reality industry. It’s worth noting however, that the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are primarily for the PC, while the PlayStation VR would be most appealing to the console gamers of the world.

Along with those systems and specific chassis, you also get yourself a brand new Oculus Rift CV1 headset, though when you’ll actually receive it is anyone’s guess.

Alienware Oculus Rift bundles to ship before preorders from Oculus itself, reports The Verge – also great news if you’re looking for an Oculus ready PC.

Dell executive and cofounder of Alienware Frank Azor said that consumers will be able to purchase the Rift VR headset together with the Area 51 gamer PCs for $1,600. Inevitably, the costs for the Rift – and for the high-spec gamer PCs with VR-running capabilities – will drop over time. With the better-known Oculus Rift on the way, it could make all the difference. Using Oculus Rift when it becomes available sometime in the first quarter, viewers will be taken to a “virtual showroom” where they will add items to their shopping list from the 3D versions of merchandise displayed. Think you would not know how to properly shoot something in VR? That’s a pricey $1600 package, but one that snags you the Rift and the hardware to run it too.