TOKYO: Sony said that its PlayStation VR headset, which works with PS 4 console, would be launched in October for USD 399 in the US and Pound 349 in the UK. The device, which fits over wearer’s head, features a high definition screen and motion tracking technology, allowing players to inhabit and explore computer generated worlds.

It will be the quality of the first VR games and applications that will decide whether the technology succeeds. Among PS VR’s key offerings are a gritty gangland shoot-’em-up, London Heist, a visually impressive 3D drawing package Dreams, and the next title in the multimillion-selling Gran Turismo series of driving sims.

Sony says that more than 230 developers are working on games for the device, including major publishers such as Ubisoft, 2K Games and Electronic Arts – the latter has revealed that it will release a PS VR mode for its massively successful shooter Star Wars: Battlefront. Over 50 titles are expected to be avail-able by the end of 2016.

The company is also making its VR games collection free to all purchasers of its headset. The demo contains one title, Monster Escape, that lets the headset wearer play as the monster while four other participants take part on via TV, attempting to capture the creature.

Sony is heavily pushing the concept of games that use the TV screen as well as the PS VR headset, meaning that people

who are not wearing the device can join in. “A real issue with VR is how socially acceptable it’s going to be in the home,” says virtual reality developer Katie Goode. “PlayStation VR is directly challenging this with its social screen idea. Allowing other people to join in with the VR player via the TV screen means that nobody has to be a alone in VR, and nobody else is left out.”