PlayStation VR will be the first piece of virtual reality tech available for console gamers when it releases in October and while PC gamers have the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive to choose from, there could be another headset entering the PC market as Sony have revealed that they would be open to bringing the PlayStation VR to PC.
A spokesperson for Sony revealed in an interview with Nikkei, translated on NeoGaf, that there is nothing stopping them from doing it from a technical point of view as lots of the internals of the PlayStation 4 are similar to that from a PC. However PS4 gamers shouldn’t be concerned though as he went on to state that Sony’s focus will remain entirely on the games that will be available for the PlayStation VR.
“Since Playstation 4 shares a lot of its internals with PCs, the possibility is there. At the moment we are focused on games and we are not ready to make any announcements at this stage, but I’d say there will be an expansion into various fields.”
The biggest draw for the PlayStation VR is its price which compared to other VR devices is relatively cheap. There will definitely be a market on the PC for a cheaper virtual reality headset but whether or not the PlayStation VR could fill that gap, I’m not so sure. PCs, especially those capable of running VR will likely be more powerful than the PlayStation 4 so would it be able to take advantage of superior hardware?
My biggest concern though would be how many games would be compatible with PlayStation VR and whether or not it would only work with games that are available on the PlayStation 4 and are built for virtual reality. If that’s the case, that restricts gamers a lot in their choice at which point they may be better just buying a PlayStation 4. There is also the question about whether or not it will require the PlayStation Camera which is currently needed.
While I don’t doubt it is possible, I can’t see Sony actually releasing the PlayStation VR for PC. By the time they would even consider it, virtual reality would have either flopped or established itself within the gaming industry. If it’s the latter which I hope it will be, the market will definitely be much more competitive with more options on offer for gamers to choose from.
It might be best for Sony to focus on the PlayStation 4 for the moment, but it just goes to show how the difference in terms of technology between the console and PC market is getting smaller.