Oculus Rift and HTC Vive may be hitting the market first, but according to GameStop CEO Paul Raines, it is PlayStation VR that will launch with the strongest games library over its chief competitors.
Speaking generally about the platform, Raines expressed his own excitement about virtual reality, and how he believes it will open up a new frontier in the industry for both developers and consumers. The talk featured an the ICR Conference 2016 in Orlando, where the executive then drew attention to Sony’s device in particular.
“The more important thing will be the title count at launch,” Raines said. “I think that’s going to be big. And from what we can see at this point, Sony seems to have the strongest title count.”
According to Sony, there are more than 100 titles currently in development for PlayStation VR, whether they’re designed natively for the platform or added support to an existing title such as DriveClub or Project CARS. Such talk of the future naturally brought up the question of GameStop’s place in it, considering that the exponential growth in digital sales have lumped additional pressure on high-street retailers.
Despite this, Raines remained optimistic about the future that virtual reality brings.
“Once we know more about it, we’ll plug it in,” Raines said. “But I certainly think [GameStop] is going to be a store you’re going to want to buy your virtual reality products at. And it will come with a variety of accessories, by the way–there’ll be goggles and gloves and motion [controllers] and all kinds of things. So it’s very promising in a lot of ways.”
We’re on the verge of a VR arms race, and things are only going to intensify as said devices inch closer to launch. Currently Valve is angling the HTC Vive for an April release, while the Oculus website indicates that the Rift will begin shipping in May. Early reports have suggested PlayStation VR will follow in quick succession come June – possibly bearing No Man’s Sky as a launch title – though Sony is yet to officially lock down a date.