If Sony's PlayStation VR won't end up as powerful as its launch colleagues, the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, it's certain to beat them on price thanks to the cheaper cost of a PlayStation 4.
Sony's history with consumer-grade VR stretches back to the 1990s, with its Glasstron PLM line, recently superseded by HMZ 3D visors.
Its status as manufacturer, game developer and publisher means that Sony is well-placed to marshal both hardware and software production behind the PlayStation VR's 2016 launch.
"Gran Turismo Sport" is the next iteration in Sony PlayStation's flagship racing dynasty, for example, and is confirmed for PSVR.
Also among over 70 titles announcing support for the kit is "Ace Combat 7," whose franchise has an appropriate fondness for spectacle. "Rez Infinite" continues a critically-acclaimed franchise and a close relationship with "Assassin's Creed" publisher Ubisoft has resulted in "Eagle Flight."
As for how it matches up against 2016's two other major VR headsets, the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, March 2015 specifications for the PSVR posted a display resolution of 1920x1080 pixels.
That's lower than the Rift and Vive's 2160x1200, even though PSVR outdoes them both with a 25% faster screen refresh rate of 120Hz. With PC technology continuing to progress ahead of the PlayStation 4, any performance gap is likely to increase over successive iterations.
However, just like the Rift and the Vive, PSVR is still waiting on an official price and a precise launch date, both factors that could play to Sony's advantage.
Firstly, where the Rift is due before the end of March and the Vive is now looking to April, PlayStation VR is to launch sometime before July.
That leeway gives Sony extra preparation time when it comes to technology and games, retail readiness and a suitable response to the Oculus and Vive debuts - Sony's successful PS4 launch has shown it can adapt well in those situations.
Secondly, the PSVR is to be "priced as a new gaming platform," as per PlayStation CEO Andrew House.
That puts it at $399, the PlayStation 4's launch price, in the same ballpark as both the Rift and Vive. But, to look at just headset price is ignoring the cost of equipment needed to power it. This is where the PSVR comes into its own.
For as extravagant as it may be to some, certainly pricier than slapping an Android phone into $20 worth of Google Cardboard, a PS4 and PSVR combo is a lot less expensive than building a $1,000 Rift-ready PC - and there are over 30 million PS4s already in the wild.
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