The race to virtual reality is on and Sony Corporation intends to win it for the consoles with the Sony VR (formerly Project Morpheus). To do this, the company has confirmed “about 100 or more” VR titles currently in development for its PlayStation console and VR headset.

When asked by the BBC if he thought PlayStation VR was falling behind competitors such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, both VR products with announcements at CES 2016, CEO Kaz Hirai cited the notable support from the developer community PlayStation VR has seen to date.

He then went on to say that 200 developer have already signed up to the company’s PlayStation VR program.

“With the install base of the PlayStation 4 close to 36 million units, that there in of itself is a huge audience we’re going to cater to, and once we have a lot of people who are really into virtual reality through games I think then we’ll be able to expand beyond gaming, especially because we have a lot of content that we create ourselves at Sony Pictures Entertainment.”

When asked, “Who is going to want it?” Hirai believes that immersion is the key.

“I think that for PlayStation the fact that we offer a very immersive gameplay experience on the PlayStation 4 even with a flat screen panel today and really taking that into the virtual reality world is a more immersive gameplay experience that we can provide,” Hirai replied. “For us it is about making a better and more immersive gameplay experience that really separates us from everyone else.”

He also added that with the adaptation of virtual reality for the PlayStation’s audience would provide the foundation for future developments into broader categories of entertainment such as movies and education.

Tough competition but a built-in audience

The PlayStation VR, with its named changed from its prototype Project Morpheus, faces some stiff competition in the upcoming 2016 VR market between Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. However, the PlayStation VR headset has a built-in audience similar to other devices released with and for consoles such as the Microsoft Kinect, PlayStation Move and other peripherals. This means a smaller but more dedicated audience for PlayStation VR, which would provide a niche but not necessarily a breakout hit.

The Oculus Rift has been the clear forerunner for many years now, having announced and produced a working VR consumer-grade prototype before any other company and it just went on pre-order today. The only sticking point for the Oculus is the unexpectedly high price point for its headset at $599. The HCT Vive, a release from game distribution giant Valve Corporation, shows a great deal of promise with a cutting-edge headset but its price is still yet unknown.

And that’s only competition amid headsets, which promise to be an extremely expensive endeavor, although the PlayStation VR has a leg up on both the Rift and the Vive in that the computer requirements would simply be a PlayStation 4 (and not a $2,000+ desktop PC).

The challenge will come from other quarters for PlayStation VR, however, as an industry report from SuperData shows that mobile virtual reality such as Samsung VR may be the clear leaders in the expected 5.1 billion dollar industry this year. SuperData believes that the extremely cheap and accessible VR capabilities provided by a plastic shell and a mobile phone will lead the year.

SuperData cites 71 percent of the consumer base turning to lightweight VR experiences such as Google Cardboard and Samsung VR; whereas PC VR such as HTC Vive and Oculus Rift will take up 17 percent, with PlayStation VR lagging behind at 5 percent.

Featured image credit: PlayStation VR (formerly Project Morpheus) courtesy Sony Corporation