Coming soon to a screen strapped to your face: virtual reality is back

Sony, Oculus and HTC should all settle in for the long haul - having the first launch or selling cheapest at Christmas won't be enough to win the war

Sometimes it seems like thebattle to be the must-have Christmas gift starts earlier every year. On Tuesday, 2016's battle began in earnest, with the announcement of Sony's virtual reality headset, the PlayStation VR.

The headset, which will cost 350 on its launch in October, is the third such device to be revealed in last few months. It will launch to stiff competition from Facebook-owned VR firm Oculus and Taiwanese hardware firm HTC, each of which are bringing their own versions to the market in the coming weeks.