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PlayStation VR Headset Debuts in October for US$399

Sony announced during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) event on Tuesday that it will launch its PlayStation VR virtual reality headset in October with a cost of US$399. Sony had previously planned to release PlayStation VR (then known as Project Mopheus) for the PlayStation 4 console in the first half of 2016.

Sony previewed the content that will be bundled with the PlayStation VR headset. It is also streaming a video outlining the headset's features.

The announcement notes that more than 230 developers are working on content for the new headset, and Sony expects more than 50 games that use the technology will debut from the headset's launch in October to the end of the year. Sony Corporation President Kaz Hirai previously stated that "We have more than 200 developers signed up for the PlayStation VR program who are working on probably about a hundred or more titles that will play on PlayStation VR."

Sony will offer its PlayStation VR Worlds software when the product launches. It will contain five different games that will use the virtual reality headset. The games include The London Heist, Into the Deep, BR Luge, Danger Ball, and Scavenger's Odyssey. Sony will also offer The Playroom VR game on the device's launch. Sony is streaming trailers for both games.

Supermassive Games announced that it is developing Tumble VR, a virtual reality version of its 2010 Tumble game, which used the PlayStation Move controller and stereoscopic 3D. The game will use the Social Screen feature of PlayStation VR to allow another player to play the game without using the PlayStation VR headset. Sony is streaming an announcement trailer for the game.

Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shūhei Yoshida had revealed the headset at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) event in 2014. He said at the time that "virtual reality is the next innovation from PlayStation that will [shape] the future of games." The company had revealed the device at GDC in 2014 so it could "continue to improve on this prototype by gathering feedback from developers," and it revealed the headset's new model at GDC 2015 last March.

Other confirmed games that will have PlayStation VR support include Tekken 7, as well as Rez Infinite and Ace Combat 7. Sony is streaming a video featuring games currently in development for the PlayStation VR.

Facebook Inc.'s Oculus division announced in January that the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will ship on March 28 for US$599. Valve and HTC Corp.'s Vive headset will ship in early April for US$799.