More so than any year before it, E3 2015 will herald a major focus on the burgeoning market of virtual reality, according to high-street retailer GameStop.
With devices such as the Oculus Rift, Sony’s Project Morpheus and Valve’s HTC-powered Vive waiting in the wings, there’s plenty to be excited about. In fact, the company’s CEO Tony Bartel even went so far as to say that there will some “fantastic announcements” in the VR field.
“There’s going to be a lot of gameplay at E3, and we’re excited to see that,” Bartel said. “We’re excited to have others see what we’ve seen already, which is fantastic innovation amongst these games. I think the other thing that’s going to take a lot of space and time at E3 is virtual reality,” he said. “I think that’s going to be something that a lot of people spend a lot of time on.”
Ahead of its expected release in the early stages of 2016, Project Morpheus is set to feature heavily in Sony’s E3 press conference now that the company has displayed its commitment to virtual reality, forming specialist developer North West Studios in the process. Valve, on the other hand, is a company that is traditionally absent from the main event, though that doesn’t necessarily rule out a pre-E3 announcement relating to either the Vive headset or software that will be supported on the company’s new-fangled hardware.
Last and certainly not least among the big VR players is Oculus. Set to host its own conference prior to E3 kicking off in earnest, the company has a significant chunk of expectation resting on its shoulders. Just yesterday, we learned that a premium Oculus Rift bundle – including a VR-capable gaming PC and a headset to match – will run up a bill to the tune of $1,500. In other words, a pretty high barrier to entry.
All will be revealed when each company plays their respective cards during E3 2015, and we’ll have all of the VR-related tidbits for you here on We Got This Covered.
