The HMZ-T1 head mounted display from Sony is supposed to be launched, according to Sony Japan, on 11/11/11, alongside another much anticipated product. Although most marketing materials that we’ve seen have agree with this 11/11/11 date, it seems that US gamers and display hobbiests in the US will be able to get their hands on the futuristic looking HMZ-T1 more than two weeks early.

According to the device’s product page at SonyStyle.com, which is accepting US pre-orders for the HMD, the HMZ-T1 (aka “personal 3D viewer”) will become available “on or about 10/26/2011, a full 16 days prior to the Japanese release date.

Because of the nature of the product, I wasn’t expecting a big show from Sony’s US side with regards to the HMZ-T1, but to my surprise, they’re now pushing the product on the front page of Sony.com (as you can see below). The US tends to be less quick to adopt cool new technology, generally passing it off as ‘novel’, than other countries around the world. I’m curious to see how many of the HMZ-T1 are sold in the US.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."