Virtual-reality gaming era dawns

Sony’s PlayStation VR is poised to take an early lead in what is considered year zero for the virtual-reality industry. The virtual reality device will go on sale in the United States on 13 October with 50 titles available by the end of the year, Sony said at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles on Monday.Sony shares, which had declined earlier, were up 0.6%.At US$399 (N$6 064.80), it’s about half the price of the US$799 (N$12 144.80) HTC Vive, developed by HTC and game publisher Valve. Facebook priced its Oculus Rift at US$599 (N$9 104.80). While those headsets offer higher quality graphics, they also require high-end computers to run. Sony’s device was designed to work with the PlayStation 4, which 40 million people already own.The company is looking to cement its lead over Microsoft’s Xbox One and Nintendo’s Wii U consoles, which have sold 21 million and 12.8 million units respectively. Sony, which plans to introduce a more powerful version of the PS4 code-named PlayStation Neo, forecast total console sales will climb 13% this fiscal year to 20 million units.“Our mission is to make PlayStation the best place to play games,” Andrew House, head of the company’s games business, said at the event. “This E3 marks one of the strongest line-ups in PlayStation history.”Microsoft earlier this week introduced a new, smaller Xbox gaming console for sale in August that features 4K Ultra HD video and a streamlined controller. It also announced a powerhouse new device planned for the holiday season next year, called Project Scorpio for now, featuring a graphic processor that can perform calculations at a speed of 6 teraflops. The company is also developing HoloLens augmented-reality goggles.Nintendo predicted in April that Wii U sales will fall to 800 000 units this fiscal year, from 3.26 million. The Kyoto-based company said it is also exploring virtual-reality products, although no concrete plans exist as yet. Its new NX gaming device will debut in March 2017.BLOOMBERG

Virtual-reality gaming era dawns

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-21

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Virtual-reality gaming era dawns

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-21

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