Want to get a PlayStation VR on launch day on October 13th? You might be out of luck.
As previously promised, Sony launched its final wave of pre-orders for the long-anticipated device this week and, as expected, they sold out fast. In fact, US game retailing giant GameStop confirmed to GameSpot that it had sold through its last allocation of units “within minutes”. Best Buy has also sold out of its stock of units as has Amazon. In other words, it’s now pretty much impossible to secure a unit online, be it either as a standalone device or as part of that launch bundle with the PlayStation Camera, two Move controllers and PlayStation VR Worlds.
You might still get lucky with physical retailers; limited stock will be available throughout the US at launch. It’s a bit of a gamble, though, and we have no idea when the next batch of units will be arriving. You can be sure that Sony will be doing all it can to keep up with demand. In fact, making room for manufacturing was the reason the device was first delayed out of its initial H1 2016 window and into October. Hopefully we’re not about to head into another Wii-like situation where it’s hard to get your hands on one for months.
PlayStation VR is set to go on sale for $399, a hugely competitive price when compared to the $599 Oculus Rift and $799 HTC Vive. It also helps that 40 million people already own the PlayStation 4 console with which it’s set to run, while its competitors run on much more expensive PC hardware. That said, there are plenty of elements we’re still unsure about when it comes to Sony’s device, including how it plans to combat simulator sickness when using its DualShock 4 controller and how to match Oculus Touch and the HTC Vive motion controllers in terms of quality with the PlayStation Move.
All these questions and more will be answered in just a few months’ time.
