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[foolishoptimist]

When you say "specs wise" are you solly focusing on the reselution? Because last I looked the DK2 didn't have a refresh rate 120 MHz or an oled with rgb sub pixels..
But I do agree with you on the price point

Yes. Obviously, Sony have gone for a high end 1080P screen, but as Sony manufactures their own screens, I don't expect the per-unit cost difference to be significant. Assuming they're making them in high enough volumes.

I could be completely wrong though...

The DK2 was using off the shelf components, it's got a Galaxy Note 3 screen inside of a fairly rudimentary shell. All of the consumer headsets will have custom components, and a great deal more R&D into their overall design and comfort than a devkit.

There would have been a profit margin on those screens though. And how many units were they manufacturing/assembling? Smaller the production run, the more each unit costs.

No one is going to price their launch VR headset with the aim of recouping R&D from the hardware.

 

[BruceCLea]

The PS3 was an astronomical loss leader. Sony sold each unit at a loss of around $240 if I recall correctly.

Shu is saying they want to sell this hardware at the absolute break even point to spur adoption, knowing full well the only games that will run on it will be for the PS4. It won't be like the 3DS, with janky ass hardware sold with profit.

I know. I was making a joke about a poorly translated answer. Everyone chill. Ha

 

[boyshine]

Even if Sony doesn't make money on the hardware, they need to convince retail that they will make money on it. Due to install base, VR software is likely to be mostly digital-only, so for retail to want to even sell this there has to be a significant margin.. if not, this is a new PSP Go situation.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Even if Sony doesn't make money on the hardware, they need to convince retail that they will make money on it. Due to install base, VR software is likely to be mostly digital-only, so for retail to want to even sell this there has to be a significant margin.. if not, this is a new PSP Go situation.

I didnt even think about this, most of the PSVR games ive seen are digital only titles, retailers are going to want to see lots of physical games if they are going to have a PSVR demo set up with their employee's showing people how it works.

 

[whitehawk]

Even if Sony doesn't make money on the hardware, they need to convince retail that they will make money on it. Due to install base, VR software is likely to be mostly digital-only, so for retail to want to even sell this there has to be a significant margin.. if not, this is a new PSP Go situation.

Damn, didn't even consider this. Voucher codes at stores?

 

[creatchee]

Hopefully the crow eating demo is ready at launch.

It's a (relatively expensive) peripheral that you can only use on a particular console. Other than enthusiasts, who the hell is going to buy it on a large scale?

 

[pvpness]

It's going to fail regardless - the question is if it fails spectacularly enough to cripple/kill VR entirely or just Sony-branded VR.

How would it kill VR entirely? That seems like a ridiculous suggestion.

 

[AllIsOneIsNone]

People thinking this will be less than 300 are straight up dreamin'.

 

[Dazza]

It's going to fail regardless - the question is if it fails spectacularly enough to cripple/kill VR entirely or just Sony-branded VR.

If it's going to pull down VR entirely that Oculus/Facebook and Valve/HTC problem. They are severely doing not enough marketing and PR to the masses, whereas Sony are.

How would it kill VR entirely? That seems like a ridiculous suggestion.

Yep agreed

 

[creatchee]

How would it kill VR entirely? That seems like a ridiculous suggestion.

Sometimes it only takes one brand's product of a certain type to fail (particularly on something new to market) for competitors to pull the plug on their similar devices.

Edit: also public perception to performance of said product.

 

[boredandlazy]

Sometimes it only takes one brand's product of a certain type to fail (particularly on something new to market) for competitors to pull the plug on their similar devices.

Edit: also public perception to performance of said product.

Yeah, it'd only be a billion dollar write-off for Facebook...

 

[wapplew]

The more they talk about keep the price low, the more I think this will be expensive.
We've try our best selling it at lost but that thing just too expensive to make or something like that.

 

[InaudibleWhispa]

There would have been a profit margin on those screens though. And how many units were they manufacturing/assembling? Smaller the production run, the more each unit costs.

No one is going to price their launch VR headset with the aim of recouping R&D from the hardware.

I believe they've sold around 100,000 devkits, including the DK1. I agree that they're not going to try to recoup R&D from hardware pricing, it'll benefit all manufacturers to keep the price as low as possible, I meant more that they didn't have to put as much thought into the design and comfort of a devkit, and as a result it's in a simple printed plastic shell. Here's a teardown of the DK2, and here's the components of the consumer rift. When you're putting much greater attention to detail into the design, resulting in many more custom components (even setting aside the better custom screen, lenses, tracking and camera that these consumer devices will have), I have to imagine the cost adds up.

 

[valkillmore]

$300-350 will most certainly be the price me thinks.

I also expect more 'experiences' to be bundled with it than games. Probably one full fledged game will be bundled with it, plus playroom vr plus stuff like putter space walks or vr tourism, which I am excitedly anticipating.

 

[UrbanRats]

It's a (relatively expensive) peripheral that you can only use on a particular console. Other than enthusiasts, who the hell is going to buy it on a large scale?

The same shit was said about ps4 though, nobody was interested in consoles anymore, only a handful of hardcore gamers, yadda yadda yadda.
Thing is, all the companies involved (Sony, Oculus, Valve) seem to acknowledge and be prepared for relatively slow adoption rate, with the hardcore gamer crowd (and tech enthusiasts) in the forefront, for the first couple of years.

Nobody expects to sell 100 million headsets in the first year of VR.

 

[specialK]

 

[Crayon]

Even if Sony doesn't make money on the hardware, they need to convince retail that they will make money on it. Due to install base, VR software is likely to be mostly digital-only, so for retail to want to even sell this there has to be a significant margin.. if not, this is a new PSP Go situation.

That's right. The headset has no disc drive. It'll have to be digital only. Doomed.

 

[jellies_two]

It's a (relatively expensive) peripheral that you can only use on a particular console. Other than enthusiasts, who the hell is going to buy it on a large scale?

That can be said of oculus as well:
A relatively expensive peripheral that you can only use on a small subset of correctly built pcs owned by an enthusiast gamer, with over 300 bucks ready to spend. Many of whom have a ps4 as well. Hmm.

 

[cakefoo]

Excuse my cynicism, but do people honestly expect this to sell ? who is the market for how are they going to mass market a peripheral that cost's damn well near the console. I fear this is going to be another Move, albeit with much less commercial success and a more costly loss.

Sony's strategy with Move was poor: the core PS3 gamer frowned upon motion controls, and the timing was bad- the Wii ship had sailed.

VR on the other hand is a new technology that has actual core gamer appeal, so it stands to reason that Sony would be targeting existing PS4 owners primarily. Win those gamers over, let them demo it to their friends and family. In a few years, when it becomes more affordable, the mass market will adopt it. VR doesn't have to be a runaway success, it just has to leave a good first impression. The rest of the dominoes will fall into place organically, just like HDTV.

 

[pvpness]

Sometimes it only takes one brand's product of a certain type to fail (particularly on something new to market) for competitors to pull the plug on their similar devices.

Edit: also public perception to performance of said product.

That would be crazy. The idea of an expensive video game peripheral bringing down the efforts of a much wider, heavier industry is so unlikely that I find it difficult to seriously consider.

OT: This thing could land anywhere between $299 and $399 is my guess.

 

[TAJ]

The price announcement will be a mic drop moment.

 

[Portugeezer]

There is hope for $300 and below.

Yes, VR Cinema apps already exist. Possibly one coming to PS4, maybe.

Plot twist: using this would cause you to watch the video in lower resolution.

 

[valkillmore]

The price announcement will be a mic drop moment.

A PSX mic drop moment? Or is that too early? Maybe CES?

 

[Neuromancer]

A PSX mic drop moment? Or is that too early? Maybe CES?

PSX is a good guess. I'd just be happy with a release day.

 

[The Maverick]

$299, been calling this for the last year. It won't cost more than the system that runs it.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

There is hope for $300 and below.



Plot twist: using this would cause you to watch the video in lower resolution.

We need those 8 and 11k smartphone screens Stat.

 

[Tobor]

It's a (relatively expensive) peripheral that you can only use on a particular console. Other than enthusiasts, who the hell is going to buy it on a large scale?

They'll sell every unit they can make at launch. From there it's all dependent on the software.

If they can hit $299 they're in great shape.

 

[DarkFlame]

Will not make money? Might as well be renamed Playstation Charity

 

[Clockwork5]

Not trying to make a profit. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Most consoles are sold for a loss for the first few years.

 

[joecanada]

199 would be bat shit crazy I mean who hasn't spent 150 just on headphones?

299 seems likely and would be okay although alot of peeps wouldn't be able to afford it.

399 could possibly kill it buuut there's always enthusiasts

 

[autoduelist]

199 would be bat shit crazy I mean who hasn't spent 150 just on headphones?

The vast majority of people? Although I agree with your general statement.

 

[YuShtink]

I believe they've sold around 100,000 devkits, including the DK1. I agree that they're not going to try to recoup R&D from hardware pricing, it'll benefit all manufacturers to keep the price as low as possible, I meant more that they didn't have to put as much thought into the design and comfort of a devkit, and as a result it's in a simple printed plastic shell. Here's a teardown of the DK2, and here's the components of the consumer rift. When you're putting much greater attention to detail into the design, resulting in many more custom components (even setting aside the better custom screen, lenses, tracking and camera that these consumer devices will have), I have to imagine the cost adds up.

Not sure if someone else might have corrected you yet but Oculus has sold around 200k total between the 2 dev kits, 85k+ for DK1 and 120k+ for DK2 I believe..

Zuckerberg just stated again in the last day or two that he only realistically expects sales in the "hundreds of thousands" in the first year.

It's going to be a bit of a slow burn but I'm a 100% believer that it won't stop burning from this point forward. The tech is super impressive. Worthwhile software WILL come. From who we don't know, and exactly when we don't know. But the tech works. It's not the Matrix but our eyes and ears are almost completely fooled at this point, and now we'll be able to interact 1:1 with our hands, even if there's no real haptic feedback. In the same way that enough still frames in quick consecutive order fools our eyes into seeing motion (aka cinema), these top tier HMDs will convince 95% of our eyes and ears that we are seeing and hearing an actual place around you. A low resolution place, but an actual place nonetheless. It simply can't be turned off or denied, even if you consciously know its not real. I'm soo excited for these devices to finally start hitting store kiosks and the public in general.

 

[The Artisan]

Can this be used with all PS4 games or specifically VR games? I curious if it can be used as a regular display also.

what's confusing to me now is that you still need a Ps4 to have VR work right? so for anyone who is interested in this box, it's the price of that + $350 for a Ps4 if they don't already have one

unless there'll be another bundle including both boxes

 

[Raven Prime]

what's confusing to me now is that you still need a Ps4 to have VR work right? so for anyone who is interested in this box, it's the price of that + $350 for a Ps4 if they don't already have one

unless there'll be another bundle including both boxes

What's so confusing about it? And I think it's probable that they'll sooner or later bundle PSVR with PS4's.

 

[InaudibleWhispa]

Not sure if someone else might have corrected you yet but Oculus has sold around 200k total between the 2 dev kits, 85k+ for DK1 and 120k+ for DK2 I believe..

Ah, last time I saw numbers it was worded "Over 100k dev kits sold" and I assumed it meant altogether, I guess that was just DK2 sales.

 

[Fat4all]

what's confusing to me now is that you still need a Ps4 to have VR work right? so for anyone who is interested in this box, it's the price of that + $350 for a Ps4 if they don't already have one

unless there'll be another bundle including both boxes

How is this confusing?

You need a PC to run Vive and Oculus, too.

 

[AmyS]

Probably $299 then, $349 max. It won't be more expensive than a PS4 itself.

 

[Neuromancer]

what's confusing to me now is that you still need a Ps4 to have VR work right? so for anyone who is interested in this box, it's the price of that + $350 for a Ps4 if they don't already have one

unless there'll be another bundle including both boxes

That's not confusing. I bet there will be a bundle some day, but maybe not at first.

 

[UltimaPooh]

$399

I bet it's this.

Probably with one of the VR games and a subscription to PSN of some length.

Oh and it's probably come with a movie that is shot for VR.

 

[PdotMichael]

Hum Valve?

You mean HTC?

 

[onQ123]

what's confusing to me now is that you still need a Ps4 to have VR work right? so for anyone who is interested in this box, it's the price of that + $350 for a Ps4 if they don't already have one

unless there'll be another bundle including both boxes

It will be 40 million or more PS4's already sold by time the VR kit is released so that's not a problem. adding the price of PS4 to the VR set would be like adding the price of a HDTV to a Blu-ray player or adding the price of a computer to internet service.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

You mean HTC?

Valve is involved in the production of the HTC Vive.

 

[bobbytkc]

199 would be bat shit crazy I mean who hasn't spent 150 just on headphones?

299 seems likely and would be okay although alot of peeps wouldn't be able to afford it.

399 could possibly kill it buuut there's always enthusiasts

199 will make it an impulse buy for me.

 

[daxy]

It's gotta be 300 at most, 400 is too damn steep. 250 is that Wii impulse-buy sweetspot.

 

[Hexa]

$199 for just the HMD.
$350 bundle including the camera, high quality headphones, and RIGs/some other game.

They're going to have to include the head phones in the bundle as PSVR has no audio solution on its own and if people tried it with the crappy head phones that would suck. Would Pulse Elite Edition work?

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

I have a really hard time picturing it costing more than the actual PS4, so $349.99 and less would be the guess for me.

 

[Hollycat]

Come on Sony $50!!!

(I can dream)

 

[onQ123]

I'm still not seeing why people think this will cost so much.


Wii U pad has basically the same stuff that a VR set has, even your basic smart phone have the parts, with VR they just take out the stuff they don't need like the touch screen , cameras, wifi & so on while enhancing the stuff that's needed.


for Sony this is just finding the right screen to attach to a PlayStation Move/DS4 parts inside of a nice headset.

 

[Pachinko]

Package will probably cost them around 350-400 USD to build and ship and market per unit but I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they sell it for 299.99 or less !

Imagine a deluxe VR package that comes with the headset, it's link box / cables as well as a PSeye and Move controller AND a few sample "experiences" like the london heist. This whole package is 299.99 USD. Or for those that already have a move / pseye , they can buy just the headset for as little as 199.99(available in much smaller quantities).

There's a bit of an issue here due to the requirement of a console plus 3 peripherals so the pricing and marketing will need to reflect all of that.

 

[glassgannon]

a $500 bundle would be an absolute killer considering the next best option isnt even remotely close