The virtual reality device is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2016

The virtual reality battle is heating up.

Earlier this week, Facebook's Oculus announced its Rift headset will start shipping in March with prices starting at $599, and now we have been given a glimpse into how much Sony's rival will cost.

A listing, which appears to have been posted by accident on Amazon's Canada site, has revealed the PlayStation VR will cost $1,125 CAD, which converts to $800 USD or £770.

A listing, which appears to have been posted by accident on Amazon's Canada site, has revealed the PlayStation VR (pictured) will cost $1,125 CAD, which converts to $800 USD or £770. The page has since been taken down and Sony said it is not confirming the price rumours

The page was spotted by Forbes, and the price has since been removed.

Sony said in a statement: 'This was an error by Amazon, we haven't announced price for PlayStation VR.'

However, it is not clear if this means that the posting of the listing was an error, or the price shown on the listing was the mistake the statement refers to.

OCULUS RIFT PRICE ANNOUNCED Oculus, the VR firm bought by Facebook, has begin accepting preorders for its highly anticipated Rift virtual reality headset. The $599 headset will be delivered to the first customers in March, although the first wave sold out on the firm's website in seconds, and was quickly changed to show an April delivery date. It will also require most users to buy a new high-end gaming PC, and experts claim only 1 per cent of machines currently on the market are powerful enough to 'drive' the headset. Advertisement

Given the significant, $200 price difference between Oculus' and Sony's device, it suggests that the latter may be targeting an even higher-end market, or it may come with a range of PS4 accessories bundled in.

It also goes against predictions made by analysts who expected the Sony version to be cheaper than Oculus' to appeal to a wider range of gamers, especially those who already use the PS4.

At this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sony's chief executive Kaz Hirai told the BBC that it has more than 200 developers working on 100 new titles for the PlayStation VR.

He said: 'I think the fact that we have more than 200 developers signed up to the PlayStation VR program who are working on probably more than 100 titles that will play on PlayStation VR, is a testament to the kind of support that we're getting from the content creation community on PlayStation VR.'

Earlier this week, Facebook's Oculus Rift (pictured) announced its headset will start shipping in March with prices starting at $599. It will also require most users to buy a new high-end gaming PC, and experts claim only 1 per cent of machines currently on the market are powerful enough to 'drive' the headset

Given the significant, $200 price difference between Oculus' and Sony's device (pictured), it suggests the latter may be targeting an even higher-end market, or it may come with a range of PS4 accessories bundled in. It also goes against predictions made by analysts who expected the Sony version to be cheaper than Oculus'

SONY'S 1TB PLAYSTATION 4 In July, Sony released a 1TB version of its PlayStation 4 console. In addition to the extra HDD space, which can be used to store games and films, it also launched with more entertainment options. Users can stream and playback video and music files over their home network, get PlayStation music with Spotify and the console has Sky Go support with Now TV. Advertisement

Another serious VR contender is HTC.

The Taiwanese firm also used the conference to announce its Vive Pre system.

The firm has built on the original model unveiled ten months ago and has made the latest model more comfortable with a redesigned strap to give it more stability and balance.

On the inside, interchangeable foam inserts and nose gaskets mean the Vive Pre fits more comfortably and securely to the user.

It has an updated front-facing camera and a new dual stage trigger that makes interacting with objects smoother, while haptic feedback makes these interactions feel more lifelike.

Vive is set to launch to consumers in April 2016, although prices have not been revealed.

The firm originally unveiled the device at 2014's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. At the launch, Shuhei Yoshida (pictured), president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, said the headset had been in development for three years

Another serious VR contender is HTC. The Taiwanese firm used this week's Consumer Electronics Show to announce its Vive Pre system. The firm has built on the original model unveiled ten months ago and has made the latest model (pictured) more comfortable with a redesigned strap to give it more stability and balance

The PlayStation VR, or PSVR, has a head-mounted display with 1080p HD resolution and a 90-degree field of view, while sensors built into the headset track head movements.

The firm unveiled the device at 2014's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and at the launch, Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, said his company had been working on the technology for more than three years.

VIRTUAL REALITY EXHIBIT LETS COUPLE SWAP BODIES Have you ever wanted to see the world through your partner's eyes? That's the concept behind BeAnotherLab's Gender Swap experiment that uses Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets to let wearers experience how other people see the world. Through the use of the headset, and a series of first-person cameras, the system creates the illusion that partner A can see what is being recorded by the visor worn by partner B, and vice versa. One member of the couple is called the user, while the other is the performer. Through the Oculus Rift goggles, the user is shown a video stream taken from the perspective of the performer's eyes. Each couple agrees on a set of synchronised movements and the partner's mirror each others hand gestures, and so on, while wearing the headsets. By mimicking movements, it creates an illusion in the brain that what the performer is seeing, is actually being seen through the eyes of the user. Advertisement



