Sony Delays Virtual-Reality Launch

TOKYO—Sony Corp. delayed the release of its PlayStation VR virtual-reality system by several months, giving competitors a half-year head start on a technology expected to create a major market.

The headset for the flagship PlayStation 4 console will go on sale globally in October, Sony said, after previously saying it would become available by June. It will cost $399 in the U.S., €399 ($443) in Europe, £ 349 ($499) in the U.K and ¥ 44,980 ($395) in Japan.

Sony said it pushed back the launch to ensure it ships enough units and has a wide variety of software available.

At a press event Tuesday on the sidelines of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Sony PlayStation chief Andrew House said more than 50 games will be available between October and the end of the year. One of them: the exclusive virtual-reality version of Electronic Arts Inc.'s "Star Wars Battlefront" at launch.

Virtual reality, which provides users with an immersive experience, is expected to generate a huge market in the coming years, with applications far beyond videogames, including travel, health care and education. Researchers at Gartner Inc. forecast nearly 40 million headsets will be sold world-wide by 2020.

PlayStation VR's main rivals include the $599 Oculus Rift from Facebook Inc. and the $799 Vive from HTC Corp., scheduled for release later this month and in April, respectively—well ahead of Sony's headset.

Even with the delay, analysts see advantages for Sony. The Rift and Vive, already priced higher than the PlayStation VR, require high-end Windows computers to operate—bringing the total cost to more than $1,500.

The total cost for Sony's system, including a $349.99 PlayStation 4 console, will be less than $1,000. Sony said it has sold 36 million PS4 consoles world-wide.

"Sony is better positioned than its rivals when it comes to attracting casual users, and I don't think the release timing would be a problem as long as the product is ready by the coming year-end holiday season," said Yu Okazaki, an analyst at Nomura Securities.

It could be a crowded shopping season in the videogame aisle. Sony rival Nintendo Co. is preparing a next-generation system code-named "NX," which some analysts believe could be available as early as October. It isn't clear whether the NX would compete directly against PlayStation VR, as Nintendo has released few details about the system.

As growth slows for traditional videogames—challenged by free-to-play smartphone games—Sony has been broadening its PlayStation offerings beyond gaming to capture a wider audience.

The latest addition is PlayStation Vue, a cloud-based live-streaming TV service that became available in U.S. cities this week.

Write to Takashi Mochizuki at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 15, 2016 21:25 ET (01:25 GMT)

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