‘PlayStation VR Will Take A Ton Of Marketshare If It’s Priced At $500 Or Below’ – Michael Pachter

'If I get a ‘dumbed down’ version of it for $500, instead of a super high quality one for $1500, I’ll take the $500 version all day long.'

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

It will take even more if it's priced $300-$400.

Do it!

[Overload]

One thing people should keep in mind is that Sony already produces most the components required for PSVR in mass.

[xHeavYx]

I think $350 is the magical number.

[uptownsoul]

As only Michael Pachter can do...He's either wrong...or he's stating the obvious...(The latter is the case in this article)

My guess is $349.99 & release date = date of Sony's E3 press conference

[Eonjay]

Yes, being a hardware manufacturer obviously has its benefits. They already have the necessary pieces in place so there is no additional cost.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

$249 - $349 just for the headset. No controllers. No camera. No game. I'm in HEAD FIRST!!

@Overload & Eonjay

There are people who don't understand that Sony has been in business since the late 1960's. Audio and Visual technology is Sony's specialty.

[Sunny_D]

@Eonjay

Well, I wouldn't say there is no loss. Sony has stated they are willing to take a loss on each PSVR sold when they launch. The reason why is because the PS4 makes sony Profits as well as software, so they can offset the costs that way.

[SmielmaN]

Good point Overlord. If the price can stay around $400 Canadian I'll be in for sure.

[NewMonday]

predict it will be $350'ish standalone for those who already have the move and camera, a bundle for the set could be $450-$500

[TFJWM]

$399 Confirmed price for US October 2016 release

[darthv72]

How can the PSVR take a "ton" of market share when it is in a different market than the PC offerings? It literally is in a market all by itself.

Pretty much it IS the market share (for consoles).

[FriedGoat]

@darthV I will not be looking to buy a Rift or Vive if I pick up a PSVR. I'm sure drivers will eventually come out for PC. I don't want multiple headsets, so in away they are all in the same market, only sony's has the potential to be wider.

[I_am_Batman]

We'll probably find out later today. $300 for the Headset alone would be a good price. Maybe they can sell it in a bundle with the camera and a Move Controller for $400. Sony should include some basic tech demos too.

[harrisk954]

MY PREDICTION:

$399.99: Headset only
$499.99: Bundle (headset, 2 Move controllers, camera)

[AgentSmithPS4]

$499 for just that seems too high, unless they're adding in a full game and a lot of tech demos etc.

[sourav93]

$399 Price confirmed! October 2016 launch.

[IamTylerDurden1]

At 399 PSVR is going to kill.

[3-4-5]

* It won't take marketshare away from consoles or dedicated handhelds as it is it's own thing.

There is more than enough room to included multiple VR's in the market as they will only compete with each other and there is room to do so.

[Cyb3r]

My wallet is ready

[nyctophilia13]

Srsly just take my money already

[IamTylerDurden1]

I want it, so many quality games announced. All you hear is good things about PSVR.

[Next_gen_2015]

Its amazing how sony fans on this site say that but most wont even buy it. Talk is cheap

[Neonridr]

Nobody is offering a $1500 headset though Pachter, so that's a poor analogy.

[deanparadise]

Agreed. Plus if I have a choice between a dumbed-down version for $400-$500 and high-quality version for $600 (Oculus), I'm absolutely paying for the higher quality version if it's actually tangibly better.

Then again, Sony's success with the PS4 has proven that the crowd will follow the "best perceived" version, which means anything could happen because Sony does an excellent job at marketing the PS4.

[SmielmaN]

I don't know if referring to PSVR as a "dumbed down" version is necessarily accurate. It depends on the content and value for the investment.

For example, I drive a $74,000 truck with all the bells and whistles. Someone might say "that's crazy, I will buy the $40,000 version that has the features and capabilities I want".

Doesn't mean the $40,000 truck is "dumbed down", it means its value for the cost is excellent for their needs. Nothing is dumbed down, it's just a matter of preference. Does my truck do more than the other? Yes. Is it important to the other buyer to have a bunch more features? No.

[kraenk12]

Truth is many have stated Sonys screen tech is superior to the Rift and Vive even at lower resolution. Make of that what you will.

[UKmilitia]

oculus for the £600 plus the £1200 pc needed to run it right or

£349 psvr and a £250 ps4,i know what im going with.
enjoy your master race.

[Corpser]

You want it cheap or want it good?

[G20WLY]

Both - is that okay? lol

[Eonjay]

Like right out of the 'nVidia is better than AMD' playbook... and then run a DX12 game and realize that you have been scammed.

[Relientk77]

Captain obvious is back

[GryestOfBluSkies]

this guy once predicted that sony would release a ps3 without a blu-ray drive... i would never call him captain obvious

[VJGenova]

Captain oblivious?

[GryestOfBluSkies]

i like it

[Germany7]

Lol, exactly.
Pachter is a clown.

[Lionalliance]

$450 would be great for me

[Duke19]

You can sell hardware at a loss, if you expect Software sales to makeup for it. At launch - ill still be surprised if this is priced at $300 like so many are expecting.

Im sure it will drop to that relatively soon, but I bet early adopters will still have to foot the bill on the new tech.

[Eonjay]

Actually from my own research, most are expecting it to come in between 350-400. This doesn't necessarily speak to how much people are actually willing to pay. The bottom line is that at 40 million install base, there are obviously millions who can pay $400. And if the other headsets are selling at 600+ there is no reason to think that PSVR wont take off as well.

[Scatpants]

My money's on $400 but I also would not be surprised to see it be $500.

[Duke19]

I agree that $400 is probably the target to hit, but plenty of people on here have been posting $300 which I just don't think is reasonable to expect

[dennigo]

i'm really not sure we'll find out the price today, they are not streaming it which to my mind translates as we don't want the public to see this just yet, i would really really like to watch it i just can't comprehend why they won't stream it.

[GryestOfBluSkies]

i can see your point, but with a lot of major tech press there reporting it, im still expecting a price and date

[dennigo]

i was wrong :D

[GryestOfBluSkies]

$500 would be too much for me to jump right in. i already have the camera and move controllers, so im hoping a standalone release will be significantly cheaper than that.

[Mr_Writer85]

What could make it worth it for me is if it's going to be forward compatible.

I wouldn't mind a PSVR "slim" or 1.5 came out that had cosmetic changes (better screen, better audio, lighter, slimmer) as long as any VR game you buy either now or in even 10 years time still works on the 1.0 version.

Maybe after 7/8 years they release an even better one where your old games will work but you need the 2.0 headset to play newer games.

£400 for a VR headset that crosses over gens of consoles and lasts 7/8 years is an investment I'd be happy to make.

[Scatpants]

I guess with playstation it a closed system so they may force you to upgrade when the PS5 comes out, but with PC headsets I don't see any reason why you would ever HAVE to upgrade. The newer models will probably just be lighter with better screens maybe better tracking and latency. I'd like to see a wireless one or one combined with a slim PC backpack one day. I guess that VR place in Utah already does that.

[GryestOfBluSkies]

you may be right about not needing to upgrade the oculus, or other pc based VR. however, youll probably need to keep upgrading the pc for newer games. thats probably not detrimental to its success, as most of the enthusiasts will be doing thay anyway

[OB1Biker]

Or you could wait for it to be the price you want. I'll wait until there's a good offer and the price is right for me.

[GryestOfBluSkies]

yea i agree with that. i would definitely wait for a lower price if its 500

[Mr_Writer85]

He is right as "underpowered" as it is, it's not like the PC ones look amazing and PSVR is so bad it makes your eyes bleed.

Sure the PC based ones are supirior. But PSVR (if priced right) being a sucsses will help them as well.

Publishers and Developers will see both the PSVR and PC offering as one market. PSVR sells 10m units and the different PC offerings sell just half that each, that's 20m VR headsets.

That's 20m customers all wanting games.

In the future sure the market will be broken up with different platforms having exclusives, but most indie and 3rd party companies will just see the whole number.

[SaveMeJebus]

The sky looks blue, the grass looks green, airplanes fly and cars have wheels. There can I have Michael Pachter's job now and make 100,000+ dollars a year? Seriously, what is the relevance of this guy?

[Scatpants]

I think he also does other stuff that you probably don't know how to do.

[Perjoss]

Oh really? and we all do stuff in our jobs that he has zero clues about also, but we dont pretend to be some games analyst in out spare time. As mentioned above, this guy is always wrong or simply stating the obvious.

[Ark_]

Propably more like 100,000+ $ a month ...
Totally overpaid like most positions on top of the food chain.

[WeAreLegion]

Sony's being fairly conservative with their sales predictions. So, I have to wonder what their mindset is for that one. Then again, surpassing sales goals looks great at a stockholders meeting.

[Eonjay]

its really hard to say. But in the end, it might not be up to them. For example, if the thing sells out (it most likely will) then Sony is going to have to reevaluate its standing and investment into VR. Also, Shu had cautioned his teams to work on small projects as the tech is moving so fast that by the time we get to play the games, the methods used to optimize it will be obsolete and replaced by better techniques. Its happening really fast so its hard to predict.

[WeAreLegion]

New technologies are incredibly unpredictable. So, I agree. Especially in this industry. Nothing is certain.

[kingPoS]

$400 seems to be the ideal price. I've got two move controllers at the ready.(a carryover from house of the dead & time crisis) Which brings me to my second point. Light gun games. Why aren't there any of them on the ps4?!? I'd love nothing more than to play a 4player online co-op on rails shooter on the ps4, but to my knowledge no one has developed a next gen game for that sub genre yet.

Gateway MT6706 2008

[Scatpants]

Light gun games are going to be awesome in VR. I hope they make Time Crisis for it. That was always my favorite.

[2pacalypsenow]

Cannot wait for PSVR, tried it at PSX and it was sweet.

[Yetter]

I really curious to see what Sony is targeting for sales numbers. There was recently a poll done on IGN on 'are you going to be a VR early adopter'. 15% said yes. So thats 15% seems like a decent number when you think there are 40 million PS4s out there, but then take into consideration that a tiny sliver of that visit IGN regularly and fill out this survey. On top of that, that 15% did not specify PSVR so we can't say how many of the people who answered were interested in buying a rift or a vive.

[Neonridr]

well the 15% who said yes to being an early adopter also depends on the price. Obviously the majority would be willing to jump in if the price was $250-300. But if Sony comes out with a $500 price point, then that 15% is going to shrink drastically.

We know that people on PC are willing to spend $600 or $800 for their VR headsets based on them selling out.

We will know soon enough for the PSVR.

[Death]

They better announce something soon or I'm buying a Rift for my PS4. If PSVR is cheaper though and the experience at $400 is close to the $1500 experience Rift offers, maybe I will just buy a PSVR for my PC since the two work on both platforms.

Why is it Rift doesn't cost $1500 like reported and the two can't actually take sales from each other since they don't work with other systems? If you own a PS4, you will buy PSVR. If you own a PC, you will buy Rift. Every PSVR sold will not take away from PC and each Rift sold doesn't impact PSVR sales. If Sony sells 1 PSVR they will dominate the console VR market since it's the only available option.

[Yetter]

couldn't agree more. I think there are diehard PS fans that are going to be early adopter but the VR scene to me, is going to be pushed by PC players who are used to spending thousands of dollars for their toys

[Dfooster]

It will probably end up being similar to the wii in the respect that a ton of traditionally non gamers will buy one as this years must have gadget or toy and it will sell incredibly well, but once that initial novelty has worn off only hardcore gamers will make it sustainable long term. That's where Nintendo went wrong with the wii u because they didn't appreciate the type of people who bought the wii and expected similar results with their next console and those people had moved onto the next must have item which isn't necessarily gaming related.

Therefore I think the PSVR will have a year where it can get by with novelty experiences but after the fad period has ended it must have some killer hardcore titles otherwise they won't have an audience big enough to match the production costs of a AAA title and that's when the whole VR thing could die out on console and be a niche thing on PC only.

Releasing no mans sky in VR could be the golden ticket for Sony to quickly get VR into the must have territory for hardcore gamers

[GamerGT]

Sony could announce the price now release of the hardware at E3. At E3 they should announce it releasing the following Tuesday June 21St bundle with No Man's Sky. Sony then drops the Mike.

[joeorc]

I pointed out before that Sony based on observations I have had in VR and my experience, Sony is taking the VR entry right above Mobile level VR , now that by no means is even Mobile VR weak by any real metric today's VR is not like it was in the 90's

Right now VR today is way better, it was quite a large leap in Quality in VR. GearVR by Samsung for example is a Oculus certified device..it will have access to majority of the very same games & Applications that the OculusRift has. HTC Vive is also a higher end unit for VR like OculusRift & with Playstation VR sitting between the likes of GearVR and OculusRift & Vive. You have the makings for a good position for VR to get a rather good start.

Now even above Vive & OculusRift & playstation VR is AMD's brand new VR& AR headset with no tethering with a full computer built in sporting Windows 10 OS!

See for your self..

http://www.wired.co.uk/news...

Being the high end solution for VR is great, but VR today is about all levels of VR from Entry, to console, to PC to now combo VR & AR headsets..all are important for VR& AR to grow in the market.

Playstation VR is SRT itself as the goto VR platform for game console's.
That should do pretty well with a good price point/wink

[joeorc]

Spec's on AMD AR&VR combo headset..if you want a price heavy VR unit this may be it vs Playstation VR & OculusRift and HTC Vive..this one im sure there tops its points.
Price

Sulon Q looks to be a powerful bit of kit, too. The device is based around an AMD FX-8800P processor, a system-on-chip boasting quad-core CPU and octo-core GPU abilities. The 12 total cores share memory to boost performce, AMD claims. It supports "the latest graphics APIs including DirectX 12 and Vulkan", and promises console-quality visuals on a 2560x1440 OLED display.

When it comes to AR, it offers a 110° field-of-view, and operates similarly to Hololens. You'll be able to 'hang' application windows in your real-world environment, control opacity, and control them with gestures. The Sulon Q will also come with a wireless keyboard and mouse for more conventional office input.

In many ways, the Sulon Q is shaping up like a powerful laptop for your face. It will ship with Windows 10 pre-installed, have built-in WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 3.0 Type A ports, and a Micro HDMI out port. Although it has to combat the years of build-up and excitement surrounding Oculus Rift and even Sony's PlayStation VR, it potentially has advantages in portability and power, while removing the question mark over whether your PC is powerful enough to actually run VR content.

[S2Killinit]

$450 seems like a reasonable price point. I am going to jump in on day one at that price.

[Avalanche]

PS VR will be priced between $250-$300 for the headset only

$350-$400 w/Move controllers and PS Camera.

[KillerPwned]

When is the Playstation event about the VR headset?

[Gamist2dot0]

We have 2hrs to wait for the announcement.
http://www.theverge.com/201...

[Artemidorus]

Sony have already made it clear the VR they are providing isn't as good as the HTC so it's bound to be cheaper.

[ChuckTheIceMan]

Mostly likely this will be priced at $499.

[WickedLester]

399.99, book it!

[DLConspiracy]

Before I jump into any vr I am going to try them first. I want to know what I'm spending my money on. To pick which is right for me. There's no doubt Sony is making the affordable VR but until it's been out for awhile I'm not blindly jumping in.

[VJGenova]

Is there a place that lists games that psvr will support vs oculus? Too me, a headset seems too niche, like it would be good for racing and flight sim games, but not much else.

I'm waiting for the lawnmowerman setup. That thing was boss!

[II__BONE__II]

The price will be $399.00
Not so much to scare people away and under price the competition.

[welly300]

Anything under £300 day one.

[Lastlivingsoul]

$400 confirmed. October

[Garethvk]

Sony apparently dropped a huge bombshell.

PlayStation VR

launches October 2016 for $399.

[kenwonobi]

It'll be less. 450 is the highest I think it'll go. 350 I think the lowest. 400 the sweet spot. I'm hoping 400 because I think at 350 it might be too dumbed down a version from Vive or Rift. Although it could be PSVR is just made better and smartly and still be 350. On that off chance it would be fantastic to get quality and low price.

[kenwonobi]

And my prediction just came true. It's 400 dollars. Congrats Sony. You will spank the competition again. Virtual Reality may also be a huge success at that price.

[NovaCorps]

400 bucks so yeah day one for me
bring virtual porn now and we good...joking anw day one

[bligmerk]

GDC official announcement, just a few minutes ago. $399 launch price, over launch 50 titles, separate interface box smaller than the PS4.

[Petebloodyonion]

GOOD news is the PSVR is only 400$
Bad news: you need again to buy thing separately which is great move when look at the history of similar device (not).

The move isn't required to play game so okay to leave it on the side so it can die again for 3rd time.
But the camera is required to play game so Sony is again shooting themselves with this approach.

I see lots of potential problems coming from this.

1) Peoples only buying the PSVR being told that they have to go back to the store and buy a extra thing for 60$. = not happy customers meaning negative buzz.
2) Camera shortage at the store because it might happen and will probably happen.
3) the 32 X effect. remember the picture of this transformers well Sony's isn't Sega but let's face it a PS4 + A psVr + a Camera + Psmove for the ultimate experience sounds like the basic genesis+ the 32X +the power of storage of the sega CD = the next level.

In the end Sony should pack the camera in the bundle for 50$ more.
Make a PS4+PSVr deluxe console at 700$
and sell the PSVR google only on Internet for the 5 persons in the world who already bought a Ps4 camera.

[SaveMeJebus]

I have a PS4 camera and two moves so Day One for me!

[MagicBeanz]

Sony would never try to sell the thing for $1500, its official Pachter has lost is damn mind.

[iTechHeads]

PS4 will have the VR market almost all to itself. Easily 50%+ if Sony markets it right...

[lastking95]

I dont think psvr and the other vr tech have the same market. Gear is the mobile market, Rift is pc market and psvr is console market.each being exclusive to that market so how can you compete for market share when you're the only one in it? can you use psvr without a ps console? Can you use oculus without pc and on a console such as ps4?

[Malacath]

I've had an email off Sony.

It priced at £349.99 in the UK.

Being more expensive than the console I will only buy it if it becomes a success.

[Ashunderfire86]

Well because the console launch back in 2013 and now its 2016.

[Ashunderfire86]

Holy sh*t noodles Amazon UK has it available for preorders right now!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Son...

[Mister_G]

Needs AAA games support too, without that it's doomed.