Continue to be skeptical about virtual reality. Go ahead, it’s ok. After all, what has the concept ever done but crash and burn in the form of one half-assed peripheral after another? Hell, if it wasn’t for virtual reality, none of us would have had to suffer through the terror of the “Lawnmower Man.”

In fact, being cynical about virtual reality is your duty as a responsible consumer.

That being said, that little sliver of hope that exists from countless sci-fi works that the idea can work, has to be getting bigger and bigger every time another jaw dropping impression of the Oculus Rift hits the web. It’s new approach to the concept continues to look better and better with every showing, and may just be a more significant release than any next gen console at this stage in their respective development cycles.

Perhaps realizing this, and no doubt being aware of the Rift team’s insistence on not being bought out, Sony appears to be throwing their hat into the VR market as news broke today about a new model of their HMZ headset that will emphasize immersive capabilities similar to that of the rift. While the only official response on the subject is a cryptic “We don’t talk about that” from a high ranking Sony official (making the subject the hardware equivalent of a trip to Ravenholm), the official announcement a new model of the headset will debut in mid November (likely alongside the PS4) suggests there is some truth behind the rumor.

Now whether or not this particular model is Sony’s answer to the Rift, or if one is truly in the works at all, is debatable, but it’s not hard to fathom other major gaming companies wanting in on the action, as any exciting idea that can potentially lures in the ultra casual gamer dollars is deeply coveted in the industry, as evidenced by the motion control craze kicked off by the runaway success of the Wii.

It’s not irresponsible to continue treating VR as a pipe dream not ready for the big time, but ironically continuing to ignore the popularity of the idea entirely is becoming the fastest way to live in a reality truly different from our own.