Devices

“Three separate waves of pre-orders” for the PlayStation VR have resulted in sellouts, but units of the virtual reality system for the PS4 console will be available for purchase at retailers Oct. 13, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE).

The PS VR update was provided Oct. 3 in a blog post by Sid Shuman, SIE director of social media. PS VR pre-orders orders started in March at retailers, including GameStop. Hundreds of North American retail stores — mostly GameStop and Best Buy locations — have been conducting hands-on demos of the VR system since then.

Despite the promising demand for PS VR, however, the system may not be an instant, mass-market hit. For one thing, there’s the pricing: $399.99 for the headset system and headphones or $499.99 for the PS VR Launch Bundle that includes the VR system, PS Camera, two PS Move motion controllers, and a copy of the Sony VR software title “PlayStation VR Worlds.” That is, of course, on top of the $299.99 entry-level price that a consumer must pay for the PS4.

PS VR arrives as the PS4’s dominance over rival Microsoft Xbox One hit a bump in the road over the summer. The PS4 had been consistently outselling the Xbox One. But Microsoft introduced the Xbox One S, featuring Ultra High-Def (UHD) Blu-ray and 4K streaming support, in early August at a starting price of $299 (https://www.mesaonline.org/2016/06/13/e3-microsoft-adds-4k-hdr-to-xbox-one/). The Xbox One then significantly outsold the PS4 in August in the U.S., according to NPD’s sales data. (September data hasn’t been reported yet.)

It’s too soon to say whether PS VR will be enough to help the PS4 climb back into the No. 1 game console system spot in the U.S. during October. Sony might have to wait at least another month, until after the launch of the $399 PS4 Pro Nov. 10.

“It’s a hard sell to buy a PS4 for VR when you know the PS4 Pro will make it look better,” Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said by email Oct. 3. The PS4’s price was lowered to $299.99, with the arrival of the new slimmer model, “so it’s going to sell very well on its own, but not because of VR,” he said.

An extra challenge for the PS4 could be that Sony said the new version of its console will support 4K streaming, but not UHD Blu-ray.

SIE’s Shuman also said in the PS VR blog update that “there are already games in development that run natively” at 90 frames per second (fps), adding: “In the future we may potentially see some games running natively at 120fps as developers become more experienced with creating games for PS VR.”