Sony Holding PlayStation VR Presentation At GDC 2016

Sony has sent out invites for a PlayStation VR event during Games Developers Conference 2016. The invite-only event will be held on March 15 in San Francisco. The "exclusive press event" will begin with a presentation on the PlayStation VR. That begins at 2pm PT, followed by several hours of hands-on demos. Hopefully Sony will announce the price and release date for PlayStation VR. I also hope it doesn’t break my wallet with its price like the other VR headsets (i.e Oculus and Vive). When do you think it’ll release ? How much do you think it’ll cost ? 

Is Apple Making A VR Headset ?

According to Financial Times, Apple has hired Doug Bowman, a former computer science professor from Virginia Tech whose research included 3D user interfaces. This could point in the direction of the company developing something with VR. What Apple has up there sleeve’s remains to be seen, but with so many of its tech competitors venturing into VR, Apple isn’t likely to be left out of the party. What do you think of Apple developing something involving VR ?

HTC Vive Pre-Orders Start On February 29

HTC has announced that they will be opening pre-orders for there Vive VR headset on February 29. Cher Wang, chief executive of HTC, told the Telegraph during an interview. Oculus Rift is now available for pre-order already, for a shipping date of April and the price of $600. While a report has claimed that Sony’s PlayStation VR headset will cost $400 - $600. One thing is for sure, like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive will require a beefy, high-spec'ed PC to run, which will cost eager consumers even more if they are not yet up to speed. While for PlayStation VR all you need is a PS4. What do you think the price of the Vive will be ? If it’s priced anything like the Oculus Rift then I don’t see it catching on. 

Oculus Rift Founder Knew About PlayStation VR Before There Kickstarter

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey knew Sony was pursing something with VR and even met with the company to discuss VR before he launched the crowdfunding campaign for the Oculus Rift. "I knew some people at Sony working on VR before I even started my Kickstarter campaign actually," Luckey told IB Times. He "brought them in early on" to share what they had been working on and discuss "what the minimum standards were for a good VR experience." When asked about PlayStation VR being a potential Oculus Rift competitor, Luckey said "that might be true," but "it really is a separate market." Luckey also said that PlayStation VR "isn’t quite as high end as" the Rift. While he thinks "it's still a good headset," he pointed to the hardware powering the headset as a limiting factor, noting that "PlayStation 4 is not nearly as powerful as our recommended spec for a PC." Luckey is kinda a fool if he thinks that Playstation VR isn’t a competitor. PS4’s might not be as powerful as PC’s, but if Sony makes the price of PlayStation VR lower then the Oculus Rift then Luckey and the Rift Should watch out. What do you think ? 

Reports Claim That The PlayStation VR Will Cost $400-$600

Sony hasn’t officially announce how much PlayStation VR will cost, but one research group has now provided a pricing prediction. In a new report from SuperData about the virtual reality market, the research group expects it to cost between $400-$600. By comparison, the Oculus Rift consumer model will start at $600. One of the biggest differences between Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR is that if you own a PS4 then you’re good, where as the Rift needs a compatible PC to run it. PlayStation executive Andrew House has said that PlayStation VR would be priced as a new gaming platform. If he's talking about a traditional home console like the PS4, Xbox One, or Wii U, House's comments would suggest PlayStation VR will cost around $300-$400 or close to that. PlayStation VR is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2016, though a specific release date has not been announced. As long as PlayStation VR cost less then the $600 Oculus Rift, then I and many others will buy PlayStation VR over the Oculus Rift. What do you think of this report ? 

There Are 100+ VR Titles Currently In Development For Playstation VR

In an interview with the BBC, CEO Kaz Hirai confirmed that there are "about 100 or more" titles already in development for PlayStation VR. He also added that the 200 developers who had already signed up to the company's PlayStation VR Program were "a testament to the kind of support that we're getting from the content creation community on PlayStation VR". "I think we have a lot of good support," he said, "and it'll be a great product coming out later this year." Hirai also believes that the advance of virtual reality through video games will likely impact into other entertainment products, including movies. "With the install base of the PlayStation 4 close to 36 million units, that there in of itself is a huge audience we're going to cater to, and once we have a lot of people who are really into virtual reality through games I think then we'll be able to expand beyond gaming, especially because we have a lot of content that we create ourselves at Sony Pictures Entertainment." What do you think of VR ? 

The Oculus Rift Will Cost $600, Releasing In March

The Oculus Rift has opened pre-orders for its  virtual reality headset and it'll cost you $600. Pre-orders for the Rift include EVE Valkyrie, and everyone that purchases one will also get Playful’s 3D platformer, Lucky’s Tale. You won’t be charged for the Rift until it ships in March. If you don’t get in on the first wave, You can pre-order yours on Oculus’ website. Based on the Rift price, you’re looking at a PC in the neighborhood of $900. Rift-compatible PC bundles that include the computer and the Rift will be available for order in February. For those wondering if your existing PC is compatible, here are the required specs:

• Graphics card: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater
• Processor: Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
• Memory: 8GB+ RAM
• Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
• Input: 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port
• Operating system: Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or newer

To me $600 is a little steep for VR, especially since theres no way to try it before you buy it. Here’s hoping PlayStation VR is little lower, preferably around $400.

New York Times Subscribers Will Receive Google Cardboard For Free

If you’re a New York Times subscriber, then you’ll be able to get your hands on Google Cardboard for free. The Times will be sending out over 1 million Google Cardboard units to subscribers as part of the launch of their new New York Times VR app, which is launching on both iOS and Android on November 5th. For those who don’t know, Google Cardboard is a little folding cardboard box with a couple of lenses. You can fit any smartphone running iOS or Android into the headset and you can get a taste of VR technology. The New York Times is using Google Cardboard as a way to explore virtual reality’s as a news platform. New York Times VR will feature new virtual reality stories so subscribers can dive deeper in stories. If you’re a Times subscriber, Google Cardboard will come along with your paper during the weekend of November 7th. What do you think of The New York Times using VR in this way ? Its an interesting concept, lets just se how this pans out.

Oculus Rift Is Months Away From A Consumer Release

It looks like Oculus Rift consumer model is now months away from being released. This is according to Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe, who said during the Web Summit 2014 that the latest version of the Crescent Bay headset is "largely finalized for a consumer product." He said “We're all hungry for it to happen," "We're getting very close. It's months, not years away, but many months." "We've gone out there and set this bar and said, 'We want to get it right,'" "We don't want it to be four or five years. We're eager for this to happen." When the Oculus Rift is released, it will most likely sell for around $200-$400, according to previous statements from Oculus. What do you think of Oculus ? Are you a fan of VR technology ? Would you buy one ?