The Sony HMZ-T2 head mounted display / VR headset is now available for purchase in Canada. Back in October we caught the HMZ-T2 HMD available in a number of countries for some other outrageous prices. Sony Canada brings the price down a bit, but it’s still even more expensive than original HMZ-T1. Additionally, Sony U.S. has yet to roll out the HMZ-T2 and it’s possible that they never will.
Sony Canada has priced the HMZ-T2 at $999 CAD which is roughly equal to USD ($991). Yes that’s pretty damn expensive, but significantly less than the €999 ($1610 USD) that Sony UK is charging!
The HMZ-T2 is currently listed as backorded from Sony Canada, likely indicating a small supply. The site estimates that new units will go out next week on 01/30/2013.
Sony doesn’t call the HMZ-T2 a VR headset or even a head mounted display, and that’s quite honest of them — the HMZ-T2 doesn’t include headtracking or a super-wide field of view (45 degrees) that would make for a good virtual reality experience. Instead, the HMZ-T2 is more like a wearable 3D HDTV… the company calls it a ‘Personal 3D Viewer’. However, that hasn’t stopped people from using it as a VR headset by equipping it with a third-party head tracker.
There’s no indication that the HMZ-T2 will ever launch in the U.S. We haven’t seen it pop up even months after being released in other regions. At least one person has said that “Sony does not have any plans to release HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer in the US,” though this comes from a moderator of the Sony community forums — not a particularly solid source. Interestingly, the HMZ-T2 was present earlier this month at CES 2013, which is held annually in the U.S.
See Comparison of Head Mounted Displays
New Sony HMZ-T2 Video
Sony also recently put out a brief new promotional video for the HMZ-T2: