PlayStation VR is $399, but here's how much you'll really pay - CNET

Keep swiping that credit card, folks. The latest VR headset announcement comes with yet another price caveat with today's PlayStation VR price announcement not telling quite the whole story.

That $399 price tag (AU$550, £349) won't do anything unless you also own a PlayStation Eye camera, priced at $59. It simply will not work at all. Add to this that many games will also demand PlayStation Move controllers, priced at $49 each, and suddenly the "full" PSVR experience you'll need to bump that price of admission up to around $556.

The fight to be the VR platform of choice is getting very hot, and now the three major VR players have placed their cards on the table. The big question is whether price, content or ease of installation will win the day, or whether the mass market will hold fire until cheaper options become available in future generations.

Sony's PlayStation VR headset will cost you...

1 - 5 of 18

Next Prev

As we've discussed elsewhere, a VR headset is just a movie screen for 360-degree videos unless you have a way to interact inside the virtual world. So for PlayStation VR that means you need at least the PlayStation Eye camera to track your actions and translate them into the game world.

Even with these extra costs, PlayStation VR still beats the Oculus Rift launch price of $599 which also doesn't include controllers. For Oculus, you plug it into your VR-ready PC and use PC or Xbox controls as an interface, but genuine motion controls will be announced later at an undisclosed price.