By Dan Moren

March 15, 2016 7:13 PM PT

Sony’s PlayStation VR will be a $399 PS4 add-on

Note: This story has not been updated for several years.

Sony announced its virtual reality play during the Game Developers Conference keynote today, confirming that PlayStation VR will ship in the fall for $399.

That is, many have pointed out, cheaper than competitors like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, which retail for $599 and $799 respectively, as well as requiring expensive, high-end computers to play on. (Macs need not apply, as Oculus CEO Palmer Luckey so memorably remarked.) The PlayStation 4, which will be required for PlayStation VR, costs just $299 these days.

That bundle, however, does not include the required PlayStation Camera, which is approximately another $50, though it’s thought that other bundles will exist. (Sony claims that a lot of PS4 owners have already bought the camera, thus including it would be redundant.)

I’m glad to see VR charging ahead—I’ve been playing some truly large-scale games recently, and I can see the appeal of a more immersive experience. While I’m not likely to go out and buy a PS4 and attendant VR gear I can’t say I’m not tempted by announcements like a VR-compatible version of Star Wars Battlefront.

So I think I speak for Xbox One owners everywhere when I say: come on, Microsoft. Get your virtual act together.

[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors. You can find him on Twitter at @dmoren or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. The latest novel in his Galactic Cold War series of sci-fi space adventures, The Nova Incident, is available now.]

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